5-seed Illini to face Western Kentucky

Western Kentucky is kind of an ironic draw for Illini coach Bruce Weber. That's the school where he landed his first college coaching job, when he worked for a season as Gene Keady's graduate assistant coach. Bruce got his masters at Western Kentucky. He got engaged to his wife, Megan, while at Western Kentucky. It's where he got his first taste of what it's like to play in the NCAA Tournament. So there are a lot of memories tied to the school in Bowling Green.

Western Kentucky has a first-year coach, Ken McDonald, who was an assistant at Texas the previous four years. They have a guard-oriented team that shoots a lot of 3-pointers. Their claim to fame was a November victory over then No. 3-ranked Louisville, the same Louisville that on Sunday was the highest seeded team in the entire 65-team field.

Tupper