GREENVILLE, SC (WAND) -- Illinois men's basketball kicked off their first day of the NCAA Tournament with an open practice before their first round game against Penn on Thursday. 

Making it to March is a dream for all college basketball players whether a freshman or a senior. The Illini have a good mix of experience with Kylan Boswell, Ben Humrichous, Tomislav Ivisic and Jake Davis back from last years team. But they also have several newcomers this season including freshman Keaton Wagler and David Mirkovic and Junior transfer Andrej Stojakovic. 

With a lot of hype around Illinois this season all the players say they are ignoring the outside noise and approaching the tournament with a 1-0 mentality even though Brad Underwood has been to the big dance six straight years. 

Illinois takes on Penn Thursday night in the first round. Tip off is scheduled for approximately 8:25 p.m. (CT) 

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