March Madness: Northwestern, Illinois among men’s basketball teams seeded in NCAA Tournament

CHICAGO (WLS) — Northwestern University and the University of Illinois were among the teams Sunday who were selected and seeded for the March Madness college basketball tournament.

Northwestern will be a No. 9 seed in the east region, playing No. 8 seed Florida Atlantic on Friday in Brooklyn, New York. Illinois will be a No. 3 seed in the east region, facing Moorhead State in a first-round game Thursday in Omaha, Nebraska.

Most Northwestern Wildcats fans celebrating the announcement Sunday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston said they were expecting to get in, and they can’t wait to keep cheering the team on.

The Northwestern men’s basketball team is going dancing. For the first time in school history, the men’s team has clinched back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances.

Fans of all ages packed Welsh-Ryan Arena to take in the moment with the team.

“I mean it’s incredible… it’s a blessing,” Northwestern fan Will Klearman said. “I’ve been coming to these games since I was four years old, and just to see us in the dance for the second year in a row is incredible.”

Fans at the watch party didn’t have to wait long for the celebration as Northwestern’s matchup was quickly announced as the second matchup to open the selection show.

“Very quick… not much time before the confetti started to fall, which was great,” Northwestern fan Elliot Kadar said.

Some fans were never worried.

“We knew we were making it,” Northwestern fan Yosef Bolkowitz said. “There was no sweating.”

It has been a special year for the Wildcats, with the team upsetting some of the top teams in the nation during the regular season.

SEE ALSO | Wrigleyville Draft Kings bar begins in-person sports betting just in time for March Madness

Members of the team took time to sign autographs for kids after the announcement. The community continues to rally around the school.

“It’s a great experience,” team equipment manager Jaren McGee said. “Northwestern back-to-back years in the NCAA Tournament… never happened before, so we’re happy to do this and bring our fans out, and experience this as well. It’s been great.”

Fans know a tough road is ahead as the reigning national champs at UConn are in their region, but there’s no shortage of confidence as March Madness begins.

“I’m happy. Go cats!” Northwestern fan Jayden Wharton said. “It’s our year, we’re winning the natty. Let’s go!”

Defending champion Connecticut, along with Houston, Purdue and North Carolina, are the top seeds in a March Madness bracket that started going haywire even before the pairings came.

Of the four top seeds, only UConn heads into the tournament coming off a win. That played into the Huskies receiving the No. 1 overall seed. The other three top seeds lost in their conference tournaments.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.