How to Watch No. 7 Illinois vs. No. 10 Colorado (NCAA Tournament Round of 64)
Game Time: 8:30 p.m. Saturday
TV Channel: ESPN2
Online Streaming: ESPN+
Odds: Illinois -3.5
Quick Hits:
Illinois Fighting Illini (21-11, 9-9 Big Ten)
Head Coach: Shauna Green (4th season)
Last Game: Iowa 64, Illinois 58 (Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals)
Colorado Buffaloes (22-11, 11-7 Big 12)
Head Coach: JR Payne (10th season)
Last Game: WVU 48, Colorado 47 (Big 12 Tournament Semifinal)
What Happened the Last Time Illinois Played In NCAAT?
- Colorado leads the all-time series 4-2.
March 24, 2025: No. 1 Texas 65, No. 8 Illinois 48
AUSTIN, Tex. — It’s been quite the season.
The No. 1 seeded Texas Longhorns were just too much to handle for Illinois. The Illini fell 65-48, ending their season in the Round of 32. With home-court advantage and more
depth, the Longhorns were too much in the first meeting between the teams in almost a quarter century.
It didn’t end as Illinois may have hoped, but this was a historic season for the team nonetheless. The season featured several milestones for head coach Shauna Green, fifth-year senior Kendall Bostic and the rest of the program. Their win over Creighton in the Round of 64 was the first March Madness win for Illinois in 25 years.
Momentum was high going into the game against the 34-3 Longhorns, but the task was going to be difficult. The Illini came into the game as -18.5 underdogs against Texas and only played six players in the win over the Bluejays on Saturday.
It wasn’t all bad on Monday, though. The Illini stuck with Texas for the entirety first quarter. The Longhorns elected to put a full-court press on the Illini for most of the opening frame, but with the help of Genesis Bryant, the Illini managed to battle through it.
However, after the start of the second quarter, things started to go downhill. Texas began capitalizing on Illinois turnovers and suffocating Illinois’ offense, forcing several five-second violations.
The Illini turned the ball over nine times in the second quarter alone while scoring only six points.
It wouldn’t get much better from there. Though the Illini would outscore the Longhorns by six in the fourth quarter, the damage had already been done.
