After the Wake Forest blowout in Champaign, the public was told for the first time that Illinois head coach Bruce Weber was blunt about his preseason goals. He wanted a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. Then after months of practice, traveling and preparation, Illinois was rewarded for their accomplishments.

Illinois was given the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and placed in a friendly Chicago regional. Illinois’ first game is against No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson in Indianapolis on Thursday at 8:40 p.m.

“We put ourselves in a position like we wanted to all year,” said Illinois junior forward James Augustine. “Now we have to take advantage of it.”

Following their game against Wisconsin, the team got a chance to meet with family and friends in The Locker Room Club, a restaurant under the United Center. There, they watched their future unfold and had a chance to enjoy it together. By being the No. 1 seed overall, Illinois will have the chance to play close to Champaign in every round and pull in their orange-obsessed fans by the busload.

“That was definitely one of our goals for some time – we wanted to play in Indianapolis, then Chicago and then St. Louis,” Weber said.

The other game in Indianapolis on Thursday is between No. 8 seed Texas and No. 9 seed Nevada at 6: 10 p.m. The winner of Illinois’ first round game will face off against the winner of that game for a chance to go to the Sweet Sixteen.

“(Texas) guards well and they are from a good conference,” Weber said. “Nevada won more games this year than they did last year (when they went to the Sweet Sixteen).”

Experts have called the Chicago regional bracket top-heavy and a little thin through the middle teams. Illinois is the No. 1 seed in the region, followed by Oklahoma State, a Final Four team from last year, and Arizona and Boston College, who stayed undefeated almost as long as the Illini had.

This tournament marks Weber’s second appearance with Illinois. Last year, the Illini were knocked out by Duke in the Sweet 16.

Ticket orders for the March 17th and 19th games in Indianapolis are still available. The games are set to be played at the RCA Dome. Tickets are to be sold on a first-come, first-serve basis, and the stadium will seat about 37,000 people for the event.