ESPN's Joe Lunardi Makes Bold Proclamation About Illinois in NCAAs
ESPN’s resident bracketologist Joe Lunardi was the only one among his competitor-peers (including FOX’s Mike DeCourcy and CBS’ Jerry Palm) to project a 6 seed for Illinois (21-12) in the NCAA Tournament.
Now, with the seeds and field of 64 settled, and Lunardi having been proven correct (the Illini are the 6 seed in the Midwest region, he has turned his attention toward predicting the outcome of the tournament itself – and Illinois fans had better hope Lunardi's Big Dance projections are as accurate as his seeding prognostication.
Time to dance pic.twitter.com/LRQEhFrsQs
— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) March 16, 2025
Lunardi pointed to Illinois’ health, saying that this squad “is finally 100 percent healthy, which isn’t great news for teams in this region." He continued on, mentioning the Illini’s excellent offensive conglomerate, led by first-year players Kasparas Jakucionis, Will Riley and Tomislav Ivisic.
Although Lunardi acknowledged Illinois’ head-scratching tendency to continue launching three-pointers almost indiscriminately (30.1 attempts per game, which ranks fourth in the country), despite shooting a pretty miserable percentage from deep (31.1), it didn’t deter him from making a bold proclamation:
“We see Illinois making its second Elite Eight in a row.”
Lunardi backed up the hot take by pointing to coach Brad Underwood’s proven success in March, as well as the return of forward Morez Johnson Jr. from a broken wrist, Riley peaking at a perfect time and the season-long excellence of Jakucionis.
First off, though, the Illini must take care of business Friday night in Milwaukee, where they will face Xavier, which toppled Texas 86-80 in Wednesday's play-in game for the 11 seed.
