Illinois Faces Penn in NCAA Tournament

0:00On March 16th, Illinois basketball fans have a shot at some long-awaited payback in this year's NCAA tournament. The fighting Alini earned a number three seed and drew the Quakers in the first round. Win that and they could face North Carolina in the round of 32. It's been 22 seasons since the Tar Heels beat Illinois 75-70 in the national championship game. Earlier this week, the brackets came out and Illinois doused a top seed matchup while marking their sixth straight tournament appearance. North Carolina sits as a number six seed with plenty of talent, but they're missing their leading score, Caleb Wilson. He averaged 19.8 points per game before a month ago injury. That loss has hurt the Tar Heels, leaving them five and four cents with defeats to rivals like North Carolina State, Duke and Clemson. Still, fans remember the heartbreak from 2005 and the two regular season wins Illinois grab against them afterward, one just six months.

1:01Later and another in 2010, Illinois has to stay sharp to make this rematch happen, as North Carolina remains battle tested and dangerous despite the setback. The Illini bring their own firepower and home state momentum into the mix. A win here could chip away at two decades of what ifs and send Illinois deeper into March