CHAMPAIGN — A season of excellence for University of Illinois sports teams will continue through March Madness.
Both Illinois men’s and women’s basketball teams will start play in their respective NCAA tournaments this week after Selection Sunday.
The Illini men (21-12) clinched its fifth straight NCAA bid and is the No. 6 seed in the Midwest region.
With the seed, Illinois will travel to Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum on Friday, where it will take on the winner of Wednesday’s First Four matchup between Texas and Xavier for an 8:45 p.m. game on CBS.
Illinois is one of three Big Ten teams and one of just 13 nationally to earn a big in each of the last five NCAA tournaments and it is the longest since participating eight years in a row from 2000-2007.
The Illini is making its 35th overall NCAA appearance and have an all-time NCAA record of 45-35.
The women’s team will be making its 10th appearance in program history and will make its first appearance in the first round since the 2003 tournament. The Illini made the First Four in the 2023 tournament.
Illinois (21-9) is seeded No. 8 and will face No. 9 Creighton (26-6) on Saturday at 6:15 p.m. in Austin, Texas. The winner of the game will take on either No. 1 Texas or High Point or William & Mary on Monday.
This is the second time the Illini made the tournament under third-year coach Shauna Green and they are looking for its first tournament win since 2000.
The Illini had three ranked wins this season, equaled the program record with 10 conference victories and set a new program record with an eight-game winning streak.
With the bids, Illinois is one of nine schools in the nation to get a berth in a bowl in football and qualify for the NCAA tournament in women’s volleyball, men’s basketball and women’s basketball.