Selection committee faces interesting cases come March

Illinois: I went into the week thinking that Illinois was in the field but at best a No. 9 or No. 10 seed. As we kept comparing the Fighting Illini, though, it was clear they had a better resume than most teams. They have five top-50 wins, with all five coming against the top 30. There are road wins (Gonzaga and Minnesota), neutral wins (Butler) and marquee victories (Indiana). Given their solid computer numbers, it's easy to overlook the losses to Northwestern and Purdue.

Jeff Borzello