For the 2024-25 Illinois Fighting Illini basketball team, the March Madness destination is Milwaukee and the Fiserv Forum, home of the 2021 NBA Champion Milwaukee Bucks. Their opponent will be the winner of the Texas-Xavier play-in game tomorrow evening.
Fun fact- this is the first time the Illini will face a play-in game winner in their opening NCAA Tournament game.
But which Illini team will show up as the #6 seed in the Midwest Regional? Remember kids, this team is 9-9 in their last 18 for a reason.
โThey can beat anybody in the country,โ Purdue Boilermakers coach Matt Painter said to RG. โTheyโre one of those teams that could just blitz people in the NCAA, but if they get in one of those ruts, that could beat them.โ
Painter is absolutely right: there is very much an all-or-nothing, feast-or-famine trend to this Illini basketball season.
For more news and nuggets, notes and tidbits, along with TV info and tip times, for the Illini basketball NCAA Tournament opener, go here.ย
And for the Illini basketball March Madness history, 1989 Flyin’ Illini to present, go here.
Thanks for the shout out @The200Level @FanboyCarp
(around the 18:40 mark)
Is that a @Candlewood ? @ResidenceInn ? https://t.co/8R6WnIVHDKโ Paul M. Banks (@PaulMBanks) March 18, 2025
In trying to forecast how far they could go this March, it’s worth noting that their Big Ten Tournament results don’t seem to coalesce too much with how the Illini do in the big dance.
However, one specific stat has Illini basketball fans everywhere feeling extremely optimistic right now. Take a look below:
Illinois is 7-0 vs teams ranked between 15-44 in Kenpom
Kentucky is 17
Xavier is 43
Texas is 44Letโs make back to back Sweet 16โs
โ The BoardRoom (@ILLBoardRoom) March 16, 2025
If they get Xavier on Friday night, then there will be concerns about facing a coach, in Sean Miller, with a track record for consistently having success on the first weekend of the tournament.
If it’s Texas, then the Illini will have to face Tre Johnson, who is projected to be a top 5 or so pick in the upcoming NBA Draft.
So with Johnson versus Kasparas Jakucionis, you could have a first round game featuring two top ten overall picks.
KJ has drawn Luka Doncic comparisons.
“Jakucionis at Illinois is probably going to be a top-10 (NBA Draft) pick,” said former Ohio State Buckeye and leading basketball pundit Mark Titus said.
“Jakucionis, you watch him โ he hasn’t really been playing particularly well as of late ย โ but he is so smooth with it. … The way he plays, it feels like your quintessential Luka-type, a guy who’s not super athletic but he’s just under control at all times and can score the ball and is smooth with it and knows where his teammates are open and how to get them the ball.”
Interestingly enough, Jakucionis (FC Barcelona) and Doncic (Real Madrid) have something else in common- the El Clasico rivalry. They have both played professionally (obviously basketball, not futbol/football/soccer) on opposite sides of it.
It’s hard to say who would be a more advantageous opponent- Texas or Xavier.
Both are in Dayton for a reason.
However, what we do know is that facing a team that has already played a game, just 48 hours prior, has to be an advantage.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. Heโs also the author of โTransatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,โ and โNo, I Canโt Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.โ
He currently contributes to USA Todayโs NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.
