9 ILLINOIS (20-12, 11-9 B1G) at the 2023 NCAA Tournament
Tournament Central	NCAA March Madness Live | Illinois Tournament Central
First Round	vs. 8 Arkansas (20-13, 8-10 SEC)
Date | Time	Thursday, March 16, 2023 | 3:30 p.m. CT
Location	Des Moines, Iowa | Well Fargo Arena
Tickets	Ticketmaster | On Location
Television	TBS (Brian Anderson, Jim Jackson l & Allie LaForce)
Live Stream	NCAA March Madness Live | NCAA March Madness Live App
Radio	Busey Bank Illini Sports Network | Varsity Network App | SiriusXM 136/204, SXM App 967
Live Stats	NCAA March Madness Live
Printable Notes	Illinois | Arkansas
Selection Sunday Press Conf.	Coach Underwood/Shannon/Hawkins (March 12)
Stats	Illinois | Arkansas | Big Ten | NCAA
Record Book	Illinois | Big Ten | NCAA
Shop	Online Store | Auctions
Social Media	@IlliniMBB | #Illini | @IlliniMBB | Facebook | YouTube

Head Coach Brad Underwood

Career Record: 223-105 (.680), 10th year
At Illinois: 114-78 (.594), 6th year
Big Ten: 66-52 (.559)
NCAA Tournament, Career: 4-6 (7th appearance)
NCAA Tournament, at Illinois: 2-2 (3rd appearance)

NCAA Tournament History

All-Time Appearances: 33rd
Streak: 3
Record: 42-33 (.560)
Final Four Appearances / Last: 5 / 2005

Series Notes vs. Arkansas

All-Time Record: Illinois leads 5-0
Streak: Illinois W-5
Last Meeting: #5 Illinois 72, Arkansas 60 (12/4/2004 @Little Rock)
Record in the NCAA Tournament: First meeting
Underwood vs. Arkansas at Illinois / All-Time: First meeting / 1-0

Illinois Basketball Under Coach Brad Underwood

• Three straight NCAA Tournament appearances (fourth precluded by COVID-19 cancellation in 2020)

• Big Ten's winningest team in league play over the last four seasons (55-25, .688)

• Four straight 20-win regular seasons

• Four straight top-five B1G finishes

• Four straight winning records in B1G play

• 2022 B1G Champions

• Led B1G in wins in 2021

• 2021 B1G Tournament Champions

Illinois NCAA Tournament Notes

• Illinois is making its 33rd all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and third straight.

• Illinois ranks fifth among Big Ten teams and 19th among all schools for most NCAA Tournament appearances.

• Illinois is one of four Big Ten teams – and one of 19 teams nationally – to earn a bid in each of the last three NCAA Tournaments. 

• Illinois' active streak of three straight NCAA Tournament appearances is its longest since participating eight years in a row from 2000 through 2007. 

• Illinois is one of 13 programs to have won NCAA Tournament games each of the past two seasons. 

• Illinois has compiled a 42-33 (.560) record all-time in NCAA Tournament games. 

• Illinois' 42 NCAA Tournament wins ranks 22nd among all schools.

• Illinois' 42 NCAA Tournament wins are third most among teams yet to win a national championship, trailing Purdue (44) and Oklahoma (43).

• Since 1975, when the field was increased to 32 teams, Illinois has advanced to the Sweet 16 eight times, the Elite Eight four times, and the Final Four twice. 

• Illinois has made five appearances in the NCAA Final Four, finishing as the national runner-up in 2005, placing third in 1949, 1951 and 1952, and tying for third in 1989.

• Illinois' five Final Four appearances are second most among teams yet to win a national title, trailing only Houston (6), and tied with Oklahoma.  

• Head Coach Brad Underwood has brought Fighting Illini Basketball back to being a national contender. His rebuild of the program brought success in year three of his tenure, leading the Illini to a top-25 finish and what would have been an NCAA Tournament appearance before the 2020 postseason was canceled due to COVID-19. He directed Illinois to a Big Ten Tournament title and #1 seed in 2021, as Illinois played in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013. Underwood guided the Illini to a Big Ten Championship and #4 seed last year, advancing to the Round of 32 for the second straight season.

• With this year's appearance, Underwood becomes the fourth coach in school history to lead Illinois to at least three straight NCAA Tournaments, joining Lou Henson (eight straight from 1983-90 and three in a row from 1993-95), Bill Self (three straight from 2001-03), and Bruce Weber (four in a row from 2004-07).

• Underwood is making his seventh trip to the NCAA Tournament with his third program in 10 seasons as a Div. I head coach. He previously led Stephen F. Austin to three consecutive appearances from 2014-2016, advancing to the Round of 32 in 2014 and 2016. He then took Oklahoma State to the Tournament in his lone season in Stillwater in 2017. Underwood owns a 4-6 career record in the NCAA Tournament. 

• Illinois has five returning players on its roster with NCAA Tournament experience: Coleman Hawkins (three games total, one in 2021 and two in 2022), Luke Goode and RJ Melendez (one game apiece in 2022), and Brandon Lieb and Connor Serven (one game each in 2021). 

• Hawkins started both games for the Illini in last year's NCAA Tournament. He had 10 points and eight rebounds in the First Round win over Chattanooga, securing the victory by blocking a shot by Malachi Smith with five seconds left and the Illini up by one. 

• A pair of transfers have the most NCAA Tournament experience on the current Illini roster. Matthew Mayer played in 10 NCAA games while at Baylor, averaging 8.6 points, and was part of the 2021 Bears squad that won the national title. Terrence Shannon Jr. played in five NCAA games at Texas Tech, averaging 12.2 points.

• Both Mayer and Shannon have played against Arkansas in the NCAA Tournament. Baylor defeated Arkansas in the 2021 Elite Eight, with Mayer scoring seven points off the bench. That was after Arkansas beat Texas Tech in the 2021 Second Round, with Shannon starting and scoring 20 points. 

• Illinois and Arkansas are meeting in the NCAA Tournament for the first time. The Illini lead the all-time series over the Razorbacks, 5-0.

• Illinois and Arkansas last played on Dec. 4, 2004 in Little Rock, a 72-60 Illini victory. Illinois took over the No. 1 spot in the polls two days later and held on to the No. 1 ranking in the AP poll for the remainder of the 2004-05 season, finishing as the 2005 NCAA runner-up.

• Illinois is 1-7 all-time against SEC teams in the NCAA Tournament.

• Illinois has earned a #10 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history.

• Illinois is 2-10 as a lower (worse) seed in the NCAA Tournament.

• Illinois is 1-0 against the #7 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

• Illinois is 24-8 when playing its opening game of the NCAA Tournament and has won its first game in each of the last four Tournaments (2011, 2013, 2021 & 2022). 

• Illinois is playing in Des Moines in the NCAA Tournament for the first time. 

• Illinois is in the West Region for the seventh time (4-6 record), and first since 2007.

• Illinois played a total of 15 games against 11 teams that made this year's NCAA Tournament, compiling a record of 4-11. 

• Illinois is one of 10 teams with multiple wins over top-2 seeds, defeating #2 UCLA and #2 Texas.

• There are eight Big Ten teams participating in this year's NCAA Tournament: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan State, Northwestern, Penn State and Purdue. 

• The Big Ten has had the most NCAA Tournament teams each of the last three seasons, with a league-record nine teams in both 2021 and 2022 and eight this year. 

Complete Illinois Game Notes (PDF)