Illinois basketball was primed to make the NCAA tournament last season, likely as a 5 or 6-seed, for the first time since 2013 during John Groce’s first season with the Illini. But COVID-19 forced the Illini’s tournament drought to extend one more year. Now, this Illini team is going from not being in March Madness to leading the Midwest region as the 1-seed.

Aside from walk-on Tyler Underwood, no one player on the Illinois roster has experience in the tournament. Facing No. 16 Drexel — which went 12-7, finished sixth in the Colonial Athletic Association yet won the conference tournament — Illinois has the advantage in nearly every matchup, but the key is to not overlook any team.

“March Madness is a unique type of tournament; you see a lot of upsets every night,” said senior Trent Frazier. “I don’t think you can look at seed numbers when you’re in this tournament because with so many different buzzer beaters, close games, upsets, that’s what it’s all about.

“Coach has been preaching to us how good this basketball team is, and he believes they’re not a 16-seed; they’re higher than that. We’re very focused, and we just gotta continue to be dialed in and mentally prepare to not be lackadaisical because they’re a 16-seed. We have bigger goals.”

The Dragons’ top player — 6-foot-2 guard Camren Wynter — averages 16.8 points per game and 47.3% shooting from the field and 42.5% 3-point shooting. While Wynter is a talented guard, he will likely be up against one of the league’s top defenders in Frazier or even Ayo Dosunmu.

Illinois also has the size advantage inside, as Drexel’s biggest players are 6-foot-9 T.J. Bickerstaff and 6-foot-8 James Butler. While both guys can score, with Bickerstaff averaging 10.6 ppg and Butler averaging 12.9 ppg, Illini center Kofi Cockburn’s size and physicality in the paint should overpower both of the Dragons’ bigs.

“Very well-coached team, obviously,” said head coach Brad Underwood. “They’re a team that knows exactly what they’re trying to get every possession on the offensive side. They execute extremely well. I’ve been very impressed with how hard they play … They rebound the ball great, and they have all the makings of a team that deserves to be here, so I’ve been very, very impressed watching them.”

While the Illini must respect every team they come across in the tournament, their goals stretch far past the first round. Even though the group lacks experience in March and April, Underwood believes his guys are built for the pressure.

“The game is the game,” Underwood said. “That’s not going to differ once we step on that court. It’s a different uniform than what we’ve seen in the Big Ten with a different name on the front, but it’s still five guys out there trying to beat us. We got to go compete. We’ve talked about since early January you got to win six, and you’ve got to bring it mentally every single day, and if you don’t, you go home. It’s really that simple.”

Illinois tips off against Drexel at 12:15 p.m. central time at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis.

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