Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
It's been discussed before and I will admit I don't know for sure how the Committee would handle things, but I think we could easily get the St. Louis/Chicago/Indy path as a #2 seed, and possibly even as a #3 seed. Again, the details of the thinking here isn't "official," but top 4 seeds are all protected, at least in theory. In other words, a #4 seed Illinois "should" be placed in a reasonably advantageous First Weekend site, all else equal. The only reason they might not be is if a #1/2/3 seed also would prosper being in a St. Louis, so we get bumped due to being lower on the pecking order. Of course, there are also just sometimes logistical concerns that have nothing to do with geography, so a team might get shifted around for a totally separate reason, too.
It should also be noted that while the Second Weekend (i.e., "Regional") locations DO correspond to an actual quadrant of the bracket, the First Weekend sites do not have to. In other words, Iowa State could be a #1 seed in the Chicago Region and Illinois could be a #2 seed in the Houston Region, but we could both be rewarded with getting our First Weekend games in St. Louis ... other than driving up First Weekend ticket prices, Illinois' presence in St. Louis has nothing to do with Iowa State's path to the Final Four. I also am not sure the Committee would automatically avoid putting a #2/3 seed Illinois in Chicago simply because it's not ideal for whatever team gets the #1 in Chicago. I won't go digging for the post, but I once posted several examples since 2000 of a #2/3/4 seed being in a Region that was actually better for them than the #1/2/3 seed above them ... in other words, it was examples of a higher seed getting a "raw deal" to have to play in a lower protected seed's home turf. So, in our scenario, I think the Committee could easily feel that both a #1 seed Michigan and a #2 seed Illinois both deserve the "reward" of getting put in the Chicago Region, and if #1 Michigan has to face #2 Illinois at the UC, that's just tough luck for them.
Of course, the easiest thing to do here - as you noted - is to just keep winning and lock up a #1.
