3 Things to Watch When Illinois Faces Penn in the NCAA Tournament

It's win or go home the rest of the way for Illinois, which earned a No. 3 seed in the South Region of the 2026 NCAA Tournament. That sets up a Round of 64 matchup against No. 14 seed Penn, champions of the Ivy League in former Iowa coach Fran McCaffery's first season.

After climbing as high as No. 5 in the AP Top 25 poll in early February, Illinois enters March Madness on an inconsistent run over the past month and change. The Illini are 4-5 since Feb. 7, with their only wins coming against non-NCAA Tournament teams. They also had a one-and-done showing in the Big Ten Tournament, losing 91-88 in overtime to Wisconsin.

Penn's season followed a different trajectory in that it finished third in the Ivy League regular season standings but has won five straight games heading into the Big Dance. That included a thrilling overtime victory over No. 1 Yale, thanks to a 44-point, 14-rebound effort from forward TJ Power.

Here are three things to watch as Illinois takes on Penn:

1. Can Penn handle Illinois' size and physicality?

Illinois basketball — Mar 13, 2026; Chicago, IL, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Andrej Stojakovic (2) David Mirkovic (0) defend Wisconsin Badgers guard John Blackwell (25) during the second half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | David Banks-Imagn Images

The biggest difference between Big Ten and mid-major teams is often noticeable as soon as the players take the court. That'll certainly be the case Thursday, as Illinois boasts six players who stand 6-foot-6 or taller, including to two 7-footers. Compare that to a Penn roster with just three 6-foot-9 forwards providing all the height, and the Quakers are at an immediate disadvantage.

Beyond the standing height disparity, Illinois has battled through a 20-game schedule in what many consider college basketball's most physical conference. Penn simply won't be used to that, having competed against just three power conference opponents: Providence, Villanova and Rutgers.

While Kylan Boswell is the shortest player in Illinois' rotation at 6-foot-2, he's perhaps the team's best defender as a member of the Big Ten All-Defensive team. His pressure will impact whether Penn can get into its offense.

2. Contrasting tempos

Another stylistic difference between Illinois and Penn is their pace of play. Illinois ranks 276th nationally in KenPom's adjusted tempo, while Penn ranks 88th. Narrow it down to the 68 NCAA Tournament teams, and the Illini are 54th in tempo compared to the Quakers at 25th.

Basically that means Illinois won't force fastbreak opportunities if they aren't there, instead opting to work the ball around in the halfcourt until it finds a mismatch it can exploit or the best shot possible. On the other hand, Penn – like McCaffery's Iowa teams – wants to get the ball up the court quickly and score in transition or against broken defense.

Assuming the Illini want to play at the pace they have all season, they can combat the Quakers' approach by picking up their guards early in the shot clock and stopping the ball. If Illinois is lazy at the start of possessions, Penn could surprise with quick three-point attempts to try to stay in the game.

The injury absence of Ethan Roberts (16.9 points per game) will make that task a lot more difficult, but Penn's other top three scorers – TJ Power (16.8 points per game) and Michael Zanoni (11.6) – shoot over 39 percent from beyond the arc. They'll need to have big games for the Quakers to have any chance.

3. Ivisic brothers' three-point shooting

Illinois needs to be firing on all cylinders if it's going to make a deep NCAA Tournament run and defeat the likes of No. 2 seed Houston or No. 1 seed Florida in the South Region. One sign that the Illini are indeed humming could be the outside shooting of big men Tomislav and Zvonimir Ivisic.

Tomislav Ivisic is on 🔥 @IlliniMBB

📺: Peacock pic.twitter.com/klNE9UFkQU
— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) February 11, 2026

Part of what makes Illinois one of the nation's best offensive teams is its variety of scoring options. That's seen through the 7-foot-1 (Tomislav) and 7-foot-2 (Zvonimir) Ivisic brothers, who are lob threats inside but can also play the pick-and-pop game with Illinois guards.

The Illini put opponents in a dilemma when they have to choose between stopping drives from Boswell, Keaton Wagler and Andrej Stojakovic or allowing open three-pointers to the Illinois bigs. But lately, it has been an easy choice.

Tomislav is 6-for-33 (18.2 percent) from three-point range in his past seven games, and Zvonimir is 3-for-24 (12.5 percent) in his past nine. For players who are shooting 31.4 and 30.1 percent from beyond the arc on the season, respectively, it's a significant drop-off and could be the difference in close NCAA Tournament games.