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Illinois is making its 35th all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and fifth straight (sixth precluded by cancellation of 2020 Tournament due to COVID-19).
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Illinois ranks fifth among Big Ten teams and 18th among all schools for most NCAA Tournament appearances.
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Illinois is one of only three Big Ten teams – and one of just 13 teams nationally – to earn a bid in each of the last five NCAA Tournaments.
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Brad Underwood is just the second head coach in school history to lead Illinois to at least five straight NCAA Tournaments, joining Lou Henson (eight straight from 1983-90).
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Illinois' active streak of five straight NCAA Tournament appearances is its longest since participating eight years in a row from 2000 through 2007.
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Illinois has compiled a 45-35 (.563) record all-time in NCAA Tournament games.
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Illinois' 45 NCAA Tournament wins ranks 21st among all schools.
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Illinois' 45 NCAA Tournament wins are third-most among teams yet to win a national championship, trailing Purdue (49), and Gonzaga (46).
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Since 1975, when the field was increased to 32 teams, Illinois has advanced to the Sweet 16 nine times, the Elite Eight five times, and the Final Four twice.
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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.
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Illinois' five Final Four appearances are second-most among teams yet to win a national title, trailing only Houston (6), and tied with Oklahoma.
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Head Coach Brad Underwood has brought Illinois back among the nation's elite college basketball programs. His rebuild in Champaign brought success during 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.
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Underwood 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.
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Underwood guided the Illini to a Big Ten Regular Season Championship and #4 seed in 2022, advancing to the Round of 32 for the second straight season.
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In 2023, Underwood guided the Illini to the NCAA tournament for a third straight season as a #9 seed.
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Underwood's NCAA streak extended to four in a row last season, capturing the 2024 Big Ten Tournament title. Illinois was a #3 seed and advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight for the first time since 2005 behind the star performance of Terrence Shannon Jr., who averaged 23.3 points, the highest Tournament scoring average in school history. Shannon is now in his rookie NBA season with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
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Underwood is making his ninth trip to the NCAA Tournament with his third program in 12 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 7-8 career record in the NCAA Tournament.
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Illinois has a drastically different roster than the one that advanced to the Elite Eight last season. According to kenpom, the Illini have the third-lowest D-1 experience (1.08 yrs) and fourth-lowest minutes continuity (3.8%) among the 68-team field. Nationally, Illinois ranks 345th in minutes continuity and 301st in D-1 experience.
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With junior Ty Rodgers redshirting, sophomore Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn is the lone scholarship player who has appeared in the NCAA Tournament with the Illini. Gibbs-Lawhorn came off the bench in all four games last year as a true-freshman. He totaled eight points in his rookie NCAA run, highlighted by six points on a pair of 3-pointers in the first-round win over Morehead State.
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Junior walk-on AJ Redd also saw NCAA action last season, closing out Illinois' first- and second-round wins
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Two transfers into the program have NCAA Tournament experience as well. Junior Kylan Boswell played in a total of four NCAA games across his first two seasons at Arizona, including a Sweet 16 run last year. Boswell scored a season-high 20 points with eight assists in the Wildcats' first-round win over Long Beach State.
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Junior Tre White, meanwhile, played in one NCAA game during his freshman season at USC, scoring four points against Michigan State.
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The Illini have never faced Xavier in the NCAA Tournament. Illinois is 2-2 all-time against Xavier. The following is Illinois' series history vs. Xavier:
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vs. Xavier (2-2)
12-18-1961 81-69 W Champaign
12-3-2005 65-62 W Chicago, United Center
12-29-2006 59-65 L Cincinnati, U.S. Bank Arena
11-21-2018 74-83 L Lahaina, Hawaii (Maui Invitational)
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Illinois has earned a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the third time in school history, last coming in as a No. 6 seed in 1997. The Illini hold an all-time record of 2-2 as a No. 6 seed:
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1993 First Round (Salt Lake City, Utah) – #6 Illinois 75, #11 Long Beach State 72
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1993 Second Round (Salt Lake City, Utah) – #3 Vanderbilt 85, #6 Illinois 68
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1997 First Round (Charlotte, N.C.) – #6 Illinois 90, #11 USC 77
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1997 Second Round (Charlotte, N.C.) – #14 Tennessee-Chattanooga 75, #6 Illinois 63
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Illinois is 3-0 all-time against the No. 11 seed in the NCAA Tournament, most recently defeating No. 11 Duquesne in last year's second round:
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1993 First Round (Salt Lake City, Utah) – #6 Illinois 75, #11 Long Beach State 72
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1997 First Round (Charlotte, N.C.) – #6 Illinois 90, #11 USC 77
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2024 Second Round (Omaha, Neb.) – #3 Illinois 89, #11 Duquesne 63
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Illinois is 33-16 as a higher (better) seed in the NCAA Tournament.
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Illinois is 25-9 all-time when playing its opening game of the NCAA Tournament and has won its first game in five of its last six Tournament appearances (2011, 2013, 2021, 2022 & 2024).
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Illinois is playing in Milwaukee in the NCAA Tournament for the second time. In 1984, No. 2 seed Illinois opened Tournament play with a second-round win over No. 7 seed Villanova at Milwaukee Arena, 64-56.
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Illinois is in the Midwest Region for the seventh time overall (10-6 record), and first since 2021 when it was the No. 1 seed.
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Illinois played a total of 16 games against 13 teams that made this year's NCAA Tournament, compiling a record of 8-8. Here is a game-by-game look at how Illinois did against the 2025 Tournament field:
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Nov. 8 SIU Edwardsville W 90-58
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Nov. 20 vs. #8 Alabama (@ Birmingham) L 87-100
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Nov. 28 vs. #19 Arkansas (@ Kansas City) W 90-77
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Dec. 10 #20 Wisconsin W 86-80
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Dec. 14 #1 Tennessee L 64-66
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Dec. 22 vs. Missouri (@St. Louis) W 80-77
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Jan. 2 at #9 Oregon W 109-77
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Jan. 19 at #12 Michigan State L 78-80
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Jan. 23 Maryland L 70-91
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Feb. 11 UCLA W 83-78
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Feb. 15 #11 Michigan State L 65-79
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Feb. 18 at #11 Wisconsin L 74-95
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Feb. 22 vs. #3 Duke (@ New York City) L 67-110
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March 2 at #15 Michigan W 93-73
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March 7 #18 Purdue W 88-80
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March 14 vs. #11 Maryland (@ Indianapolis) L 65-88
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Eight Big Ten teams are participating in the 2025 NCAA Tournament. Joining the Fighting Illini are Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, Wisconsin and first-year Big Ten members Oregon and UCLA.
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There are seven former Illinois coaches and four former Illini players participating in this year's NCAA Tournament:
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Former head coaches Bill Self (Kansas head coach) and John Groce (Akron head coach)
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Former assistant coaches Chin Coleman (Arkansas associate coach), Dustin Ford (Akron associate coach), Stephen Gentry (Gonzaga assistant coach) and Norm Roberts (Kansas assistant coach)
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Former graduate assistant Brian Dutcher (San Diego State head coach
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Former players Dain Dainja (Memphis), RJ Melendez (Mississippi State), Skyy Clark (UCLA) and Jon Ekey (Akron assistant coach)
