Razorbacks to face Illinois in loaded West Region

FAYETTEVILLE – Arkansas, seeded eighth in the West Region, will face Illinois, the region's No. 9 seed, on Thursday, March 16 in the opening round of the 2023 NCAA Championship. The Razorbacks and Illinois will play in Des Moines, Iowa at Wells Fargo Arena. The game will tip off at 3:30 p.m. CT and be televised on TBS.

Arkansas earns its 36th NCAA bid and third straight, marking 2006, '07, and '08 the Hogs have played in three consecutive NCAA Tournaments. This is the third time in program history Arkansas has earned a No. 8 seed.

Arkansas is 22-12 in NCAA Tournament openers and owns a 48-34 all-time record in NCAA action.

The Razorbacks, coming off back-toback NCAA Elite 8 berths, are #21 in the NCAA NET (one spot lower than last season at this time when the Hogs were a #4 seed) and owns the #3 strength of schedule in the country according to WarrenNolan.com. Also, according to WarrenNolan.com, Arkansas has the #4 non-conference RPI and #7 non-conference strength of schedule. KenPom.com rates Arkansas #19 in the nation.

Arkansas won 20 games for the fourth straight year as head coach Eric Musselman extended his streak to eight 20-win seasons in eight years as a collegiate coach. Also, this marks the sixth straight year that an NCAA Tournament has been held that Musselman has led his teams to the Big Dance.

This will be the sixth time Arkansas has faced Illinois. The Illini own a 5-0 advantage in the series.

With a first-round win, Arkansas would face the winner of Kansas and No. 16 seed Northern Kentucky on Saturday, March 18.

Of the 26 teams the Razorbacks faced this season, 11 are in the NCAA Tournament.

Illinois, led by head coach Brad Underwood, comes in with a 20-12 record on the season. The Illini finished seventh in the Big Ten with an 11-9 mark and fell to Penn State in their first game at the conference tournament.

This marks the 33rd NCAA Tournament appearance for Illinois. The Illini have made five Final Fours in school history. Illinois' last trip to March Madness came a season ago when it earned a 4-seed and narrowly avoided an upset against Chattanooga before falling to Houston in the Round of 32. The Illini have 42 NCAA Tournament wins in program history.

The only common opponent between the teams this season is Missouri. Arkansas split the season series against the Tigers. Illinois took a 93-71 loss to Missouri on a neutral floor back on Dec. 22.

Kansas is the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament's West Region and will have coach Bill Self back on the sideline.

Self missed the Big 12 Tournament after undergoing a heart procedure, but the school announced Sunday he will return to lead the third-ranked Jayhawks against Howard in Des Moines, Iowa, on Thursday.

Kansas (27-7) won its first two games at the Big 12 Tournament without Self before losing 76-56 to No. 7 Texas in the title game.

The Jayhawks appeared as though they would slip to a No. 2 seed when top-ranked Houston got the top spot in the Midwest, but the NCAA selection committee still made them the No. 1 in a West Region that ends in Las Vegas on March 23-25.

Kansas faces a difficult road in its bid to become college basketball's first repeat champion since Florida in 200607.

The stacked West Region includes No. 2 UCLA, No. 9 Gonzaga, No. 11 UConn, No. 16 Saint Mary's and No. 22 TCU.