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Following an 86-73 victory over Xavier in the first round, No. 6 seed Illinois advances to the NCAA Tournament Second Round and will face No. 3 seed Kentucky on Sunday in Milwaukee (4:15 p.m. CT, CBS).
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Illinois is looking to advance to the Sweet 16 in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2004 and 2005. Last year, Brad Underwood's Illini played in the Elite Eight.
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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 46-35 (.568) record all-time in NCAA Tournament games.
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Illinois' 46 NCAA Tournament wins ranks 21st among all schools.
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Illinois' 46 NCAA Tournament wins are third-most among teams yet to win a national championship, trailing Purdue (50), and Gonzaga (47).
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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 is now 6-4 in the NCAA Tournament at Illinois, leading the Fighting Illini to wins during Tournament play four of the last five years.
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Illinois is a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the third time in school history. The Illini hold an all-time record of 3-2 as a No. 6 seed:
» 1993 First Round (Salt Lake City, Utah) – #6 Illinois 75, #11 Long Beach State 72
» 1993 Second Round (Salt Lake City, Utah) – #3 Vanderbilt 85, #6 Illinois 68
» 1997 First Round (Charlotte, N.C.) – #6 Illinois 90, #11 USC 77}
» 1997 Second Round (Charlotte, N.C.) – #14 Tennessee-Chattanooga 75, #6 Illinois 63
» 2025 First Round (Milwaukee, Wis.) – #6 Illinois 86, #11 Xavier 73
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Illinois is 4-11 all-time against Kentucky. Four of those games came during the NCAA Tournament, all Kentucky victories. The Illini and the Wildcats are meeting for the first time in 41 years, since the 1984 Mideast Regional Final. That game was played at Rupp Arena, where #1 seed Kentucky defeated #2 seed Illinois, 54-51.
Illinois vs. Kentucky (4-11)
1-5-1925 36-26 W Champaign
3-30-1942 44-46 L New Orleans (NCAA Regional Semifinal)
12-20-1943 43-41 W Champaign
2-7-1944 40-51 L Champaign
3-22-1949 47-76 L New York City (NCAA Regional Final)
3-24-1951 74-76 L New York City (NCAA Regional Final)
12-22-1956 70-91 L Lexington
12-30-1958 75-76 L Lexington
12-21-1960 78-83 L Lexington
12-19-1964 91-86 W Lexington
12-9-1965 68-86 L Champaign
12-5-1966 98-97 W Lexington
12-11-1982 57-76 L Lexington
12-24-1983 54-56 L Champaign
3-24-1984 51-54 L Lexington (NCAA Regional Final)
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Illinois associate head coach Orlando Antigua spent eight total years at Kentucky, serving as an assistant coach for former UK head coach John Calipari on two separate occasions. Antigua was in Lexington from 2009-14, and again from 2021-24.
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Illinois is 3-12 all-time as a lower (worse) seed in the NCAA Tournament. One of those three wins came last season, as the No. 3 seed Illini defeated No. 2 seed Iowa State in the Sweet 16.
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Illinois is 2-2 all-time against the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, most recently defeating No. 3 Arizona in the 2005 Elite Eight. In that game, the Illini stormed back from a 15-point deficit with four minutes remaining to defeat the Wildcats in overtime, clinching a spot in the Final Four.
» 1984 Regional Semifinal (Lexington, Ky.) – #2 Illinois 72, #3 Maryland 70
» 1989 National Semifinal (Seattle, Wash.) – #3 Michigan 83, #1 Illinois 81
» 1993 Second Round (Salt Lake City, Utah) – #3 Vanderbilt 85, #6 Illinois 68
» 2025 Regional Final (Chicago, Ill.) – #1 Illinois 90, #3 Arizona 89 (OT)
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Illinois is playing in Milwaukee in the NCAA Tournament for the second time, now owning a 1-1 record following the win over Xavier. 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 (11-6 record), and first since 2021 when it was the No. 1 seed.
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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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The Big Ten went a perfect 8-0 in the first round, the best record ever by a conference in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
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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 had appeared in the NCAA Tournament with the Illini entering this postseason. 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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Two transfers into the program had 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.
