GREENVILLE, S.C. (Chambana Today) — U of I basketball rolled to a 105-70 first-round blowout over Penn yesterday, and will face 11th-seed VCU in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday.
The victory moved head coach Brad Underwood to within one win of 300 career victories. A win over VCU would also send the Illini to the Sweet 16 for the second time in three seasons.
It is Illinois’ sixth straight NCAA Tournament appearance under Underwood, who has compiled a 7-5 tournament record with the program. The Illini are one of just 10 schools nationally to earn a bid in each of the last six tournaments.
The matchup carries some history for Underwood. His very first NCAA Tournament game as a head coach came against VCU in 2014, when he was the head coach at Stephen F. Austin. The Lumberjacks pulled off a dramatic overtime upset of the Rams, 77-75, on a buzzer-beating four-point play. Illinois leads the all-time series with VCU 1-0, though the two programs have never met in the NCAA Tournament.
Illinois is 4-0 all-time against No. 11 seeds in the tournament and holds a 36-game all-time tournament appearance record, which ranks fifth among Big Ten programs.