Kentucky vs Illinois prediction, pick for March Madness second round

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Pitino and Calipari face off in March Madness battle of coaching greats

Mackenzie Salmon takes a look at the best games to watch on the first day of second round action in the NCAA Tournament including a battle of coaching legends.

Sports Seriously

MILWAUKEE — Kentucky basketball is on the doorstep of the NCAA Tournament’s second weekend.

But to advance to the Sweet 16 of March Madness for the first time in six years, UK and coach Mark Pope will have to scrape past Illinois.

The Wildcats sealed their place in the Midwest Region’s second round by virtue of a 76-57 win over Troy in Friday’s first round. The Fighting Illini took the court next, downing the Musketeers, 86-73.

The Wildcats’ foe, the Illini, are the region’s 6-seed. Illinois enters Sunday’s game with a 22-12 record on the season. The Illini finished in a tie for seventh in the Big Ten during the regular season, going 12-8. Illinois went 1-1 during the league tournament in Indianapolis, topping Iowa in its opener but falling to Maryland in the quarterfinals.

The Wildcats and Illini will battle Sunday evening at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.

Here’s what to know about Kentucky’s second-round matchup against Illinois:

Illinois has won nearly everything there is in the sport.

Except an NCAA championship.

Yes, the Illini were retroactively awarded titles in 1915 (per the Premo-Porretta Power Poll) and 1943 (by the Helms Athletics Foundation). But neither of those were won on the court.

The closest Illinois has been to that elusive title came in 2005, when it lost in the national championship game to North Carolina. The Illini have appeared in the Final Four on four other occasions; Illinois’ five appearances are tied for second most (alongside Oklahoma) among schools without a championship, trailing Houston’s six.

Friday’s triumph gave the Illini 46 victories in the Big Dance. Among schools that have yet to win a title, that’s third most, behind Purdue (50) and Gonzaga (47).

There will be a familiar face to Kentucky on the…

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Source link : https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/college/university-of-kentucky/2025/03/22/kentucky-prediction-illinois-picks-odds-march-madness-2025/82610382007/

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Publish date : 2025-03-22 14:50:00

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