Five things to know about Penn’s first-round matchup with Illinois in the NCAA Tournament

After Penn’s shocking overtime upset of Yale in the Ivy League tournament final on Sunday, the stage is set for the 14th-seeded Quakers (18-11) to take on No. 3 seed Illinois in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The South Regional matchup is set for Thursday at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, S.C. (9:25 p.m., TNT). Here’s everything you need to know about the game.

Illinois finished fourth in the Big Ten this season and stands at 24-8 after falling to Wisconsin in the semifinals of the conference tournament. The team built its success this year on the back of freshman star and projected NBA lottery pick Keaton Wagler.

A 6-foot-6 guard, Wagler was named the Big Ten freshman of the year after leading his team in scoring with 17.9 points per game on 40.2% shooting from beyond the arc. His highlight performance came in an upset of then-No. 4 Purdue in January, when he scored a season-best 46 points.

A mismatch for most defenders, Wagler will be a tough cover for Penn’s AJ Levine, but the scrappy 6-foot guard doesn’t plan on going down without a fight.

“I’m just so excited for the opportunity to be honest with you,” Levine said. “Being able to play against a dude that’s going to be in the NBA one day, I’ve always wanted to do that. I’ve always wanted to have a chance to prove myself as an elite defender. So I’m going to go out there and just play my butt off and see what happens.”

Wagler is not a one-man band, as Illinois’ roster fields four other double-digit scorers. Kylan Boswell (13.2 points per game), David Mirkovic (13.4), Andrej Stojakovic (13.4), and Tomislav Ivisic (10.0) round out a dangerous cast of scorers that fuels one of the nation’s most efficient offenses.

KenPom ranks Illinois second nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency, with coach Brad Underwood running a modern offense that emphasizes the long ball and close-range finishes.

“The thing that’s been impressive to me is their offensive efficiency,” Penn coach Fran McCaffery said. “Obviously, it starts with Wagler, but he’s not the only one. They’ve got a lot of different guys that can create and multiple people that make threes, so that makes them really hard to guard.”

Despite being a high-scoring unit, Illinois ranks 277th in offensive pace across all of Division I college basketball — a stark difference from Penn’s tempo, which is 87th-fastest in the nation.

McCaffery is well aware of Underwood’s style of play, with the former Iowa coach facing off against Illinois frequently during his time in the Big Ten. McCaffery lost nine of his last 10 matchups vs. Underwood and had high praise for his longtime foe.

“We’ll play somebody really good, and we all know who that is,” McCaffery said. “I know as well as anybody. I coached in that league, coached against Brad Underwood. He’s one of the best in the business. They have a really good team. They’re big, they’re deep, they’re old, they have shooters, they have drivers, they have everything that you want. So we’re going to have to play extremely well consistently, you know, to beat them.”

Despite McCaffery’s personal lack of recent success against the Illini, Penn rides a hot streak into the matchup. The Quakers have won nine of their last 10 games, while Illinois won just four of its final nine games to end the regular season. Boswell reportedly called a players-only meeting after the Illini’s overtime loss to Wisconsin in the Big Ten tournament to help get the team back on the same page.

Penn’s players say they can feel their momentum reaching an all-time high, giving the team a big confidence boost ahead of Thursday.

“I watch their games, so I understand how good they are,” TJ Power said. “But I’m just excited, man. I’m excited for the opportunity. I think the way we’re playing, we can beat anyone. So we’re a dangerous team.”

Illinois ranks 11th in the nation in rebounds per game, due in large part to Mirkovic’s average of 7.8 plus the contributions of Tomislav and Zvonimir Ivisic — twin brothers who each stand over 7 feet tall. Stojakovic and power forward Ben Humrichous each stand at 6-7, giving Illinois one of the tallest lineups in college basketball.

Penn, on the other hand, doesn’t field a single player above 6-9. Quakers center Augustus Gerhardt, who led the Ivy League in offensive rebounds, is well aware of the effort needed to counter such an adept rebounding team.

“I think it’s really hard to box somebody out for 40 minutes a game, especially when they’re going to the glass every possession,” Gerhard said. “... I think I’m willing to do that because I know what it’s like on the flip side of having to have a relentless pursuit of the ball. Keeping boxing dudes out, getting their stuff. Just keep hustling. I’m not the most athletic guy, not the biggest, but I’ve worked out my whole career. We are going to continue to kind of figure it out.”

Penn fans will be happy to learn that Illinois’ biggest weakness — defending the three-point shot — plays right into the Quakers’ strength.

Illinois allows 26.2 three-point attempts per contest due in part to its oversized rotation — 327th in the nation. Penn shoots 38.6% from three as a team — good for 15th in the nation, with Power and shooting guard Michael Zanoni shooting 43.3% and 39.0% from deep, respectively.

With the season on the line for both teams, the result may come down to how many shots Penn can hit while Illinois’ tall defenders clog the paint.