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Sports Monday, March 16, 2026 | | |
| | | | | Good morning, Chicago. How's your bracket looking? Is this finally the Big Ten’s year to break the drought (and are we tired of hearing this question every March)? On the men's side, Illinois received the No. 3 seed in the South Region and will play 14th-seeded Penn in the first round at 8:25 p.m. Thursday in Greenville, S.C. The Quakers, who upset top-seeded Yale 88-84 in the Ivy League Tournament
final Sunday, are coached by former Iowa coach Fran McCaffery. The Illinois-Penn winner will face No. 6 seed North Carolina or No. 11 VCU on Saturday. On the women's side, Notre Dame received a No. 6 seed and will play 11th-seeded Fairfield on Saturday in Columbus, Ohio. Illinois is seeded seventh and will play No. 10 seed Colorado on Saturday in Nashville, Tenn. Western Illinois also made the field by winning the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament. The Leathernecks (26-5) received a No. 13 seed and will play fourth-seeded North Carolina (26-7) on Friday in Chapel Hill, N.C. Today’s eNewspaper edition | Subscribe to more newsletters | Asking Eric | Horoscopes | Puzzles & Games | Today in History | | | | It will be a scorching final full week of spring training, with projected temperatures over 100 degrees in the Phoenix area. | | | | | We hear every year about how tough the Big Ten is, but the conference has little to show for that toughness in the NCAA Tournament. | | | | | Despite some painful personnel choices, Chicago Bears GM Ryan Poles showed restraint and maturation that could pay off in the long run. | | | | | The Chicago Cubs are awaiting clarity on Seiya Suzuki’s injury. | | | | | Munetaka Murakami went 4-for-19 with one home run and five RBIs in five games. He hit a grand slam during pool play against the Czech Republic. | | | | | Josh Giddey is close on the heels of Michael Jordan in one key statistic for the Chicago Bulls. | | | |
