NCAA Tournament March Madness
#136 IL Chicago
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Projection: need to automatically qualify
This projection makes sense because IL Chicago’s resume is a mix of hard-fought Valley wins and damaging setbacks that leave little margin for error. Their best moments — road wins at Illinois State and Northern Iowa plus league victories over Drake and an old road trip to Bradley — show they can win meaningful conference games, but the résumé is weighed down by an inexplicable home loss to Ark Pine Bluff and nonconference road defeats at Oregon State, Yale and Belmont that deny them a marquee neutral-site win. With inconsistent results away from home and no standout signature victory, the clearest path onto the NCAA field is through the conference tournament, though upcoming home dates with Belmont and Illinois State and road tests at Murray State and Drake offer concrete chances to change that outlook if they put together polished performances.
| Date | Opponent | Ranking | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11/3 | Detroit | 284 | W91-71 |
| 11/7 | @Oregon St | 214 | L76-73 |
| 11/15 | @Chicago St | 358 | W67-63 |
| 11/20 | (N)High Point | 94 | L90-80 |
| 11/22 | (N)Southern Indiana | 324 | W84-73 |
| 11/26 | @Robert Morris | 193 | L88-74 |
| 12/3 | Ark Pine Bluff | 312 | L63-62 |
| 12/7 | @Yale | 70 | L80-66 |
| 12/13 | @Belmont | 67 | L87-84 |
| 12/17 | Northern Iowa | 112 | L60-54 |
| 12/21 | @Charlotte | 172 | L88-76 |
| 1/1 | Murray St | 90 | L81-77 |
| 1/4 | @Valparaiso | 154 | L66-59 |
| 1/7 | S Illinois | 124 | W70-57 |
| 1/10 | @Illinois St | 84 | W63-59 |
| 1/13 | @Northern Iowa | 112 | W69-61 |
| 1/17 | Drake | 160 | W74-67 |
| 1/20 | Evansville | 283 | W76-49 |
| 1/24 | @Bradley | 144 | W85-70 |
| 1/27 | Indiana St | 201 | W76-74 |
| 1/31 | @S Illinois | 124 | 37% |
| 2/3 | @Murray St | 90 | 26% |
| 2/6 | Belmont | 67 | 37% |
| 2/12 | @Drake | 160 | 45% |
| 2/15 | Illinois St | 84 | 44% |
| 2/18 | @Evansville | 283 | 70% |
| 2/21 | Valparaiso | 154 | 66% |
| 2/24 | Bradley | 144 | 64% |
| 3/1 | @Indiana St | 201 | 54% |