Nov. 29, 2009

2009 NCAA Division I Tournament Bracket | 2009 NCAA Selection Show Gathering Photo Gallery

Fort Wayne, IN - The IPFW Mastodons will travel to Champaign, Illinois, to take on the Illini of Illinois on Thursday, December 3.

The Mastodons are part of the Stanford Regional, as the winner of the Illinois grouping will travel to Palo Alto, California for the regional round.

In the other match-up in Champaign, Dayton, from the Atlantic 10, will face off against Milwaukee, the Horizon League Tournament Champions. The winners of the two games will meet on Friday, December 4 for the right to travel to Palo Alto.

IPFW has played Illinois once, falling 3-0 in 2007, as the teams faced off in the season-opening Dayton University Tournament.

The Mastodons earned their right to play in the NCAA Tournament by virtue of their Summit League Tournament Championship win over top seeded North Dakota State in Fargo, North Dakota. The Mastodons have a 20-11 record this season. IPFW is 0-1 against teams in the current field, falling 3-1 to the Louisville Cardinals at the Ball State Active Ankle Challenge.

Illinois, ranked fifth in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll, come into the tournament with a 24-5 record after splitting their regular season-ending weekend with a win at Northwestern, and a loss at Minnesota. All five of their losses this season (Minnesota, Michigan State, Florida State and two to Penn State) come from teams in the current NCAA field, and are 8-5 this season against teams in the current field.

~Dons~