Illinois Earns No. 3 Seed In East Region, Will Play Morehead State In Omaha

The Illinois Fighting Illini open the NCAA Tournament Thursday against Morehead State in the East Region in Omaha.

The Illini were given the No. 3 seed while Ohio Valley champion Morehead St. is No. 14. The Illini are coming off winning the Big Ten tournament after defeating Ohio State, Nebraska and Wisconsin. They came back from second-half, double-digit deficits in every game to capture their second championship 2021.

The Illini (26-8) are one of the hottest teams in the nation. They have won of their last nine games, with the only coming to Big Ten regular season champion Purdue. They are on a four-game winning.

The Illini are led by All-American guard Terrence Shannon, who averaged 34 points in three games during the tournament. Guard Marcus Domask was also an All-Big Ten selection. This is Illinois' fourth straight appearance in the NCAAs.

Morehead St. is making its ninth appearance in school history. The Eagles (26-8) are led by one of the nation's top hidden players. Riley Minix was the Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year after averaging 20.5 points, 9.9 rebounds on 55 percent shooting.

The East may be the toughest of the four regions. It features defending champion Connecticut as the No. 1 overall seed. The No. 2 seed is Iowa State, which knocked off previous No.1 Houston in the Big 12 tournament. The No. 4 seed is Auburn. San Diego, which made the Final Four last year, is No. 5 while BYU is No. 6.

Terrence Shannon Has Another Big Game To Lead Illinois To Big Ten Title Over Wisconsin

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Illini Now. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com