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The first spring bracketology updated from ESPN's Joe Lunardi came right before Illinois signed California transfer Andrej Stojakovic. That was obviously a difference-making move for the Illini. Stojakovic is expected to be one of Illinois' best players and, by default, one of the best in the Big Ten after earning honorable mention All-ACC recognition last season for the Golden Bears after averaging 17.9 points and 4.7 rebounds for a mediocre team.

Illinois' NCAA tournament projection with Stojakovic is two seed lines higher than it was not even a month ago. The latest from Lunardi has Illinois as a No. 5 seed in the East Region (Washington, D.C., the Final Four stop) playing Liberty in the first round in Tampa.

Seed and matchup wise that's not bad. Arkansas would be a potential second-round opponent in a 4/5 game. The Illini and Razorbacks are ranked one after another (eighth and ninth, respectively) in Bart Torvik's 2025-26 projections. That would be a fun game. Purdue looming as the No. 1 seed in the East would be more of the same.

From a geography standpoint, Illinois fans probably liked what Lunardi had in April. First two rounds in St. Louis. Sweet 16 and Elite Eight in Chicago. Final Four in Indianapolis. It's the perfect path for the Illini, and the only way to secure it 100 percent would be to snag a No. 1 seed. Something to shoot for.

Lunardi's most recent projection has Illinois as one of 11 Big Ten teams in the NCAA tournament field along with Purdue (1), Michigan (2), UCLA (4), Michigan State (4), Ohio State (4), USC (5), Wisconsin (6) Iowa (8), Oregon (9) and Maryland (10). Then there's three more — Nebraska, Indiana and Washington — among the first four out. Only the SEC, with 13, projects to have more teams.

Scott Richey covers college basketball for The News-Gazette. His email is , and you can follow him on Twitter ( @srrichey ).