Ex-NFL Receiver Antonio Brown Has Illinois' Opponent, Morehead State, Winning NCAA Tourney
One of the most random NCAA predictions came from one of the most controversial former NFL players.
Ex-NFL Antonio Brown decided to chime in on who he thinks will cut down the nets next month in Phoenix. He took to social media to predict Morehead State of the Ohio Valley Conference as the winner.
The same Morehead State the Fighting Illini play Thursday in the first round of the East Regional in Omaha. There is no real connection with the Eagles and Brown.
Brown, whose playing career was filled with controversy, is from Miami and played his college ball at Western Michigan. He gave a brief reasoning on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"I got Morehead State winning it all," Brown wrote. "I believe in their mission."
The Eagles, who have made eight appearances in the tournament, are a huge underdog as the No. 14 seed against No. 3 Illinois. What Morehead State has on its side is the Fighting Illini's recent struggles in the tournament. Despite being a high seed, they have failed to reach the Sweet 16 in their three appearances since 2021.
The Illini enter the tournament as one of the nation's hottest teams. They have won eight of nine and coming off winning the Big Ten tournament.
"We'll dive into Morehead State," Illinois coach Brad Underwood said. "We'll prepare for the postseason. The regular season is over. Thank goodness, we don't have to see another Big Ten team for a while."
Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Illini Now. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com