Illinois gets a No. 3 seed in the South Region to play the Ivy League champions in the NCAA Tournament first round on Thursday.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

March 15, 2026

For the time in program history, the University of Illinois men’s basketball program will play an NCAA Tournament game in the state of South Carolina.

The No. 3 seed Illini will be sent to The Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina to play 14-seed Pennsylvania in the first round on Thursday. This will be a coaching matchup of two close friends as Illinois head coach Brad Underwood will face former Iowa head coach Fran McCaffrey.

Illinois (24-8) notched the program's most regular-season victories in the last 20 years. Illinois was Big Ten regular season runner-up with a 15-5 season, tying the second-most conference wins in school history.

Underwood has led the Illini to a seventh-consecutive 20+- win season. Illinois is one of only four teams nationally to record 20-win regular seasons every year since 2019-20, joined by Gonzaga, Houston, and San Diego State.

Illinois enters the NCAA Tournament with the team's most regular-season victories in the last 20 years since the 2005-06 Illini squad, led by seniors Dee Brown and James Augustine, won 25 regular-season games.

Illinois has six Quad 1A wins, tied for third-most in the NCAA behind Duke and Michigan. Illinois has seven total wins in Quad 1, tied for 12th nationally.