POSTSEASON GUIDE | LIVE BRACKET
 
PITTSBURGH, Pa. — March Madness has officially kicked off as the No. 13 seeded Chattanooga Mocs men's basketball team is set for a matchup against No. 4 Illinois in the South Region of the 2022 NCAA Tournament First Round held inside PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on Friday. Tip-off is set for 6:50 p.m. ET on TNT.
 
Chattanooga (27-7) appears in the NCAA Tournament for the 12^th time in program history and first since 2016. The Mocs earned the Southern Conference's automatic bid after defeating Furman in a 64-63 overtime thriller that was capped off by a David Jean-Baptiste buzzer-beating three.
 
Illinois (22-9) is making a trip to the Big Dance for second-straight season and the 32^nd time in program history. The Illini have compiled a 41-32 (.562) record in NCAA Tournament games, ranking 22^nd among all schools in victories, while reaching the Sweet 16 (8x), Elite Eight (4x) and the Final Four (2x).
 
Game basics and notables can be found below.
 
NCAA TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND – SOUTH REGION
MATCHUP: (13) Chattanooga vs. (4) Illinois
DATE: Friday, March 18
WHERE: Pittsburgh, Pa. // PPG Paints Arena (19,074)
TIME: 6:50 p.m. ET
 
MEDIA COVERAGE
TV: TNT – Kevin Harlan (PxP), Dan Bonner & Reggie Miller (Analysts), Dana Jacobson (Reports)
LOCAL RADIO: WFLI 96.1FM/100.3FM/1070AM – Jim Reynolds
NATIONAL RADIO: Westwood One – John Sadak (PxP), Fran Fraschilla (Analyst)
SATELLITE RADIO: Sirius-136, XM-203, SXM App-965
MEDIA LINKS: https://www.ncaa.com/march-madness-live/game/220
 
NOTES TO KNOW
- Chattanooga earned its 12th Southern Conference Tournament title after a 64-63 OT win over Furman in the title game on Monday... David Jean-Baptiste knocked down a 30-foot buzzer beater to win it.
 
- Malachi Smith was named the SoCon Tournament's Most Outstanding Player (MOP)... Jean-Baptiste and Silvio De Sousa each earned spots on the All-Tournament team.
 
- Malachi Smith is the only player in NCAA Divsion I with 600 points, 200 rebounds, 50 assists, 50 steals, and 50 3PT... one of eight with 50% FG / 40% 3PT / 80% FT slash line.
 
- Chattanooga is 2-0 all-time against Illinois which includes a 75-63 win on March 16, 1997 in the NCAA Tournament Round of 32, propelling the Mocs to a Sweet 16 appearance.
 
- Illinois is making its 32^nd all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and second straight… ranks fifth among Big Ten teams and 22^nd among all NCAA schools for most NCAA Tournament games.
 
- Illinois is led my First-Team All-American big man Kofi Cockburn… the 7-0 center averaged 21.1 points and 10.6 rebounds per game this season… first person from a high-major school in the past four seasons to average 21 points and 10 boards… ninth overall to do it in the last 20 seasons.
 
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