Well, the NCAA Tournament Selection Show has happened, and as expected, the Illinois Fighting Illini have once again been left out of the 68-team field. Even worse? The Orange and Blue weren’t even on the committee’s list of ‘First Four Out’ teams. Regardless, Illinois will still have an opportunity to hear their name called on Sunday night during the 2017 National Invitation Tournament.
California, Illinois State, Iowa, and Syracuse were the previously mentioned First Four Out of the NCAA Tournament, and as such, they’ll receive the No. 1 seeds in the NIT. That means Illinois will likely be named a No.