"I think they need one more win somewhere," Lunardi said. "That's my gut, to be maybe a 10, 11 seed. I actually think they can be pretty good."

Lunardi said he could not understand why Illinois' RPI (72, according to realtimerpi.com) was so low, considering the Illini have defeated four teams in the top 25 of the RPI (Michigan State, Wisconsin, Vanderbilt and Clemson, who just jumped up to No. 25).

"I'd be hard-pressed to find a team that's ever missed with four wins like that," Lunardi said. "I still don't understand completely why their RPI is so bad, but I don't think it's going to matter. The committee has evolved to stage where that wouldn't solely keep them out."