Illinois breaks long drought, earns No. 1 seed; Loyola gets No. 8
The long, agonizing, frustrating wait is finally over for Illinois.
It was back on March 17, 2013 when the Illini last saw their name pop up on the CBS Selection Show as the No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
From four more failed John Groce years to the first couple rebuilding seasons under Brad Underwood to last year's team that was poised to break the streak only to see the tournament canceled, Illinois had gone seven years without being able to celebrate on Selection Sunday.
The Illini made their return with an exclamation point, a No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region with a 23-6 record fresh off Sunday's 91-88 overtime win over Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament championship game.
"It (Big Ten title) felt good but I want more," tournament most outstanding player and junior guard Ayo Dosunmu said. "We have a bigger goals and there's much more to accomplish."
The Illini open the NCAA Tournament Friday against No. 16 seed Drexel (12-7) at 12:15 p.m. The entire tournament will take place in Indiana; exact locations have not been announced.
Looming is an intriguing second-round matchup. Missouri Valley Conference champion Loyola (24-4) is dancing for the second time in four seasons, hoping to repeat the magical Final Four run in 2018.
Led by Jacobs graduate Cam Krutwig, the MVC's player of the year, the Ramblers drew a No. 8 seed and will play No. 9 Georgia Tech (17-8), also on Friday at 3 p.m.
Georgia Tech beat Florida State to win the ACC tournament Saturday night.
"Everything is going to be about Georgia Tech," Ramblers coach Porter Moser said. "Obviously Illinois was terrific down the stretch. Very, very good team, but I don't even think about them lurking."
It's the first time since Illinois and Southern Illinois made the 2007 tournament that two Illinois schools are in.
From the time when the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985 through 2013, the Illini made it 22 times, and only once (1991 and 1992) did they go consecutive seasons missing out.
That made this seven-year drought all the more disappointing, and the rebirth of the program under Underwood all the more rewarding. He expanded the recruiting footprint, mixing big-time recruits from Illinois like Dosunmu and Adam Miller with out-of-state gems Kofi Cockburn and Andre Curbelo. Seniors Trent Frazier and Da'Monte Williams stuck around through the lean years and provide toughness, leadership and defense, while transfer Jacob Grandison is proving to be a perfect glue guy, the team 14-1 since he was inserted into the starting lineup in January.
There's been no shortage of jubilant Illini locker room scenes following wins this season, and the players and coaches were once again giddy when they saw the brackets revealed Sunday.
"There's nothing better than hearing your name called and come across the screen to get into the NCAA Tournament," Underwood said, wearing the net the Illini cut down Sunday. "I haven't thought two seconds about the (NCAA) tournament. We play Drexel and that's all I know. I'm going to enjoy the moment tonight."
Loyola isn't the only storyline in the Illini bracket. A Sweet 16 matchup could pit Underwood against the school he left, a talented No. 4 seed Oklahoma State (20-8) who features the likely No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft, Cade Cunningham.
There's also No. 2 seed Houston (24-3), coached by Kelvin Sampson who drew the ire of Illini fans often while at Indiana especially during the Eric Gordon recruitment. And Underwood's mentor, Bob Huggins, is the coach of No. 3 seed West Virginia (18-9).
Illinois did pass up Michigan as the third No. 1 seed, enabling the Illini to avoid overall No. 1 Gonzaga's side of the bracket until the championship game. It's the fourth No. 1 seed for the Illini - in the previous three they advanced to the Final Four in 1989 and 2005 and lost in the Elite Eight in 2001. Illinois is the first Big Ten team to earn a No. 1 seed since Wisconsin in 2015.
Nine Big Ten teams were selected. Iowa and Ohio State (2 seeds), Purdue (4), Wisconsin (9), Rutgers and Maryland (10) and Michigan State (11) join the Illini and Michigan - the first time ever one conference has four of the top eight seeds.
Loyola, ranked No. 18 in the latest AP poll and No. 10 in the NET rankings, didn't get a seed equal to those rankings. The committee dinged the Ramblers for going 2-2 in Quad 1 games; Illinois by comparison was 13-5, the most Quad 1 wins in the country. Oklahoma State is second with 10.
The committee did put a second MVC team in the field. Drake is a No. 11 seed who faces No. 11 and former MVC member Wichita State in a play-in game.
Loyola is making its seventh appearance in the NCAA Tournament, just its second since 1985. The Ramblers are one of the hottest teams in the country and head into Friday's game having won 17 of their last 18 games. Loyola has the No. 1 scoring defense in the country (55.5 ppg) and its best record through 28 games since 1962-63 (26-2) when it finished with a 29-2 ledger and won the national championship.