Penn men’s basketball draws a No. 14 seed, matchup with No. 3 Illinois in NCAA Tournament

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Four hours after it secured its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2018 on Sunday, Penn men’s basketball learned it’s a No. 14 seed in the Big Dance and will play No. 3 Illinois in Greenville, S.C. in the tournament’s South region.

Penn and Illinois will tip off at 9:25 p.m. Thursday in Greenville, S.C., with Ian Eagle, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill and Tracy Wolfson on the call on TNT.

In that previous NCAA Tournament appearance, Penn controversially drew a No. 16 seed and a matchup in Wichita, Kan. with No. 1 Kansas, to whom it lost, 76-60.

Penn’s highest-quality nonconference win this season came on Nov. 17 against a Saint Joseph’s squad led by ex-Penn coach Steve Donahue at The Palestra. Penn, now slotted at No. 150 in KenPom’s rankings, bested then-KenPom No. 117 Saint Joseph’s, 83-74, led by 31 points from senior guard Ethan Roberts, who missed the Ivy League Tournament with a concussion.

Illinois is ranked No. 7 in KenPom after finishing tied for second in the Big Ten regular-season standings and losing to KenPom No. 22 Wisconsin, 91-88, in overtime in the Fighting Illini’s opening Big Ten Tournament game Friday in Chicago.

Brad Underwood’s Illini are an offensive rebounding powerhouse – and they’re tall. KenPom ranks Illinois’ average height – 6-foot-8 – as the greatest in Division I (and Penn’s at 112th).

Led by freshman guard Keaton Wagler, a Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award Finalist, Illinois plays at a slower tempo than Penn has preferred. The Illini’s free-throw shooting percentage is sixth-best in Division I.

The Ivy League is 2-1 in its last three opening-round men’s NCAA Tournament games, with Yale upsetting No. 4 Auburn as a No. 13 seed in 2024 and Princeton upsetting No. 2 Arizona as a No. 15 seed to begin its 2023 Sweet 16 run. Illinois is 6-5 in five consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances under Underwood.

Fran McCaffery amassed a 6-9 record against Illinois in 15 games with Brad Underwood helming the Illini from 2017-18 through last season, McCaffery’s final campaign leading the Hawkeyes.

The NIT announced Sunday night that Yale, as a No. 3 NIT seed, will host UNC Wilmington (26-6, 15-3 CAA) Tuesday at 7 p.m. on ESPN+. Yale is in the Winston-Salem region, where Wake Forest is the No. 1 seed.