Dancing in Des Moines: Arkansas draws Illinois in first round of NCAA Tournament
The Arkansas Razorbacks (20-13) are headed to their third straight NCAA Tournament as a No. 8 seed and will face the No. 9 seed Illinois Fighting Illini (20-12) in the first round.
It’s the first time since 2008 that Arkansas has made it to three consecutive NCAA Tournaments. The Razorbacks are coming off of back-to-back Elite Eight appearances under Eric Musselman and will be looking to make history as no team in program history has every gone to three straight Elite Eights.
History will also be at stake in their first round matchup with Illinois, as Arkansas is 0-5 all-time against the Fighting Illini. The two teams have never met in the postseason and haven’t played since 2004 when Illinois defeated the Hogs, 72-60.
Illinois finished tied for fifth in the Big 10 this season under fifth-year head coach Brad Underwood. He’s guided them to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances since taking over in 2017. The Razorbacks are 5-1 in first round games since 2008, with the lone loss coming to Butler in 2018.
The game time is still yet to be announced, but they will be playing on Thursday of this week.
