Earlier today, we mentioned that Illinois's men's basketball team narrowly missed out on this year's NCAA tournament and, instead, fell into a number one seed in the NIT. But a look at the schedule shows Illinois playing Stony Brook (located on Long Island, New York) on the road (Wednesday, March 17, 8 p.m., ESPNU). What gives? It seems Cirque du Soleil already has Assembly Hall booked. From IlliniHQ [via Deadspin]: more ›

The first day of the NCAA tournament saw only one upset and that was the last game of the night as the 12th seed Western Kentucky Hilltoppers made 5th seed Illinois' visit to the Big Dance a short one, hanging on for a 76-72 victory over the Illini. After a close opening 10 minutes, Western Kentucky pulled ahead of a sluggish Illini team that was missing star Chester Frazier. The Hilltoppers were up 68-51 with a little over four minutes to play when Illinois showed life and began a furious comeback, cutting the lead to one score in the final minute, but just couldn't get over the hill. Trent Meacham led Illinois with 24 points and Calvin Brock did an admirable job filling for Frazier, scoring 14 and bringing down 10 rebounds. more ›