Illinois vs VCU: March Madness Showdown

0:00On March 20th, Illinois moved on in the NCAA tournament after a convincing 105-70 win over Penn in the first round. Now they face 11 seated VCU on Saturday night at 6.50pm, central time on CBS, right there in Greenville, South Carolina. VCU earned their spot by winning the Atlantic 10 tournament, and they've been on fire, taking 17 of their last 18 games. Their only recent slip came against St. Louis, a team that just crushed Georgia by 25 points. Illinois has been up and down lately, going 5 and 5 in their past 10 outings, but they live sharp again, hitting the century mark against. Penn, meanwhile, analysts point out VCU's momentum as a big wildcard in March madness. ESPN's matchup predictor heavily favors the Alini, though, giving them an 82.4% shot at advancing to the sweet 16. That lines up with Illinois's edge in size, strength, and athleticism over the Rams. Still, VCU has scores like Terrence Hill Jr., who can light it up, and they've thrived in close games.

1:04With the talent gap clear, expect a physical battle, but the Alini seemed primed to keep rolling.