03/26/26 11:39:00
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03/26 23:38 CDT Illinois clamps down on Houston for a 65-55 March Madness win
to reach Elite Eight
Illinois clamps down on Houston for a 65-55 March Madness win to reach Elite
Eight
By KRISTIE RIEKEN
AP Sports Writer
HOUSTON (AP) --- David Mirkovic had 14 points and 10 rebounds, and third-seeded
Illinois flexed its defensive muscles to eliminate last year's national
runner-up from the NCAA Tournament, beating Houston 65-55 in the South Region
semifinals on Thursday night.
Next up is a meeting Saturday with ninth-seeded Iowa to see which Big Ten team
will advance to the Final Four. It will be the 11th Elite Eight appearance for
Illinois (27-8) and its second in three seasons under Brad Underwood.
In the Sweet 16 for a seventh consecutive time, the second-seeded Cougars
(30-7) were thrilled to be playing a game just over two miles from their
campus. But their poor shooting gave Houston fans little to cheer about and
delighted the orange-clad Illini faithful who made the long trip to Texas.
Star freshman point guard Kingston Flemings, who expected to be an NBA lottery
pick, had 11 points on 4-of-10 shooting and Milos Uzan made just 2 of 11 shots.
But they were far from the only Cougars who struggled offensively. The team
shot just 34% in its lowest-scoring game of the season.
Illinois finished well under the 84.7 points a game it averaged entering
Thursday. But its offense was still plenty powerful enough to send Houston back
to its nearby campus. Keaton Wagler had 13 points and 12 rebounds for the
Illini, and Andrej Stojakovic --- with his dad, three-time NBA All-Star Peja
Stojakovic, in the stands --- also scored 13.
By the time the final seconds ticked off the clock, many Houston fans had
cleared out and the Illinois supporters stood and cheered as their team
celebrated.
The Illini were up by one early in the second half when they broke it open with
a 17-0 run for a 44-26 lead with about 12 minutes left. Jake Davis scored five
points during the burst, including a 3-pointer, and Mirkovic and Ben Humrichous
capped it with consecutive 3s.
The Cougars missed seven consecutive shots as Illinois built its lead. When
Uzan finally ended Houston's drought with a 3-pointer with 11:20 left, it had
been almost seven minutes since the team had scored.
Consecutive 3-pointer by Chase McCarty got Houston within nine with about six
minutes left. But Wagler and Tomislav Ivisic made 3-pointers to lead an 8-0 run
that extended the lead to 58-41.
___
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and
coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
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