Looking at the bracket for the Midwest Regional in San Antonio, Illinois coach Bill Self admits to wondering if he overslept by a week. On paper, certainly, our region and the East look the toughest, but once you get here, they are all good. Michigan State, the defending champions, play 12th-seeded Gonzaga on Friday. I don't think Tom Izzo would say he's got an easier road. That's what I love about the tournament.
Self knows something about that.
His seventh-seeded Tulsa team toppled Cincinnati and Miami in last season's tournament, then pushed North Carolina to the brink in the South final before ending its improbable run. Illinois hasn't been this far since 1989, the last time the Illini made it to the Final Four.