Illinois earns No. 4 seed in Big Ten tourney

The Big Ten Tournament returns this week after a two-year absence and the Illini will be in attendance.

The Illini ended the regular season with a record of 31-20 and a conference record of 17-7, tied for second-best in the Big Ten. That was good enough for the team to earn a trip to Omaha for the opportunity to be awarded an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.

Illinois will play its first game at 9 p.m. Wednesday. They’ll play against the 5-seed Michigan Wolverines, who the Illini have yet to see this season. The last time they faced off against the Wolverines, Michigan was ranked as high as No. 13 in the nation during the 2021 season. The Illini ended up splitting the season series three games apiece.

This, however, is a completely different ball club Michigan saw in 2021. The Illini have won 9 out of their last 10 games, with recent wins over Penn State, Nebraska, and Miami (OH). Safe to say the Orange and Blue are rolling into Omaha looking to stay hot and make some noise.

Here’s the entire bracket.

How to Watch the Big Ten Baseball Tournament

TV Channel: Big Ten Network

Streaming: Fox Sports App

Illini Radio: WDWS 1-400-AM

For more information visit the Big Ten website here.