Freshman Keaton Wagler scored 25 points and Illinois ended Iowa’s underdog March Madness run by dominating in the frontcourt, beating the Hawkeyes 71-59 to advance to the Final Four for the first time since 2005. This will be the sixth trip to the Final Four for Illinois, which has never won a national title.
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Phil’s son resolve dispute over NYPD reality showA red fox stows away on a cargo ship, traveling from England to the USWorries about flying seem to be taking off. Here's how to cope with in-flight anxietyAt Middle Creek, timing and distance shape a photo of migrating geeseThe World in PicturesUganda reintroduces rhinos into a protected area where they have been extinct since 1983Dietary supplement makers push the FDA to allow peptides and other new ingredientsDoctors share the best ways to get the most from a bidetOne Tech Tip: Here's how AI can help you in your job huntTras un mes de guerra con Irán, Trump no cumple algunos de sus objetivos y busca ponerle fin Phil’s son resolve dispute over NYPD reality showA red fox stows away on a cargo ship, traveling from England to the USWorries about flying seem to be taking off. Here's how to cope with in-flight anxietyAt Middle Creek, timing and distance shape a photo of migrating geeseThe World in PicturesUganda reintroduces rhinos into a protected area where they have been extinct since 1983Dietary supplement makers push the FDA to allow peptides and other new ingredientsDoctors share the best ways to get the most from a bidetOne Tech Tip: Here's how AI can help you in your job huntTras un mes de guerra con Irán, Trump no cumple algunos de sus objetivos y busca ponerle finIllinois coach Brad Underwood celebrates after Illinois beat Iowa in an Elite Eight game in the NCAA college basketball tournament Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Houston. Illinois’ Brad Underwood, center, celebrates with players after an Elite Eight game against Iowa in the NCAA college basketball tournament Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Houston. Illinois’ Keaton Wagler celebrates after Illinois beat Iowa in an Elite Eight game in the NCAA college basketball tournament Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Houston. Illinois players celebrate after beating Iowa in an Elite Eight game in the NCAA college basketball tournament Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Houston. Illinois players celebrate after beating Iowa in an Elite Eight game in the NCAA college basketball tournament Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Houston. Illinois coach Brad Underwood celebrates after Illinois beat Iowa in an Elite Eight game in the NCAA college basketball tournament Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Houston. Illinois coach Brad Underwood celebrates after Illinois beat Iowa in an Elite Eight game in the NCAA college basketball tournament Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Houston. Illinois’ Brad Underwood, center, celebrates with players after an Elite Eight game against Iowa in the NCAA college basketball tournament Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Houston. Illinois’ Brad Underwood, center, celebrates with players after an Elite Eight game against Iowa in the NCAA college basketball tournament Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Houston. Illinois’ Keaton Wagler celebrates after Illinois beat Iowa in an Elite Eight game in the NCAA college basketball tournament Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Houston. Illinois’ Keaton Wagler celebrates after Illinois beat Iowa in an Elite Eight game in the NCAA college basketball tournament Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Houston. Illinois players celebrate after beating Iowa in an Elite Eight game in the NCAA college basketball tournament Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Houston. Illinois players celebrate after beating Iowa in an Elite Eight game in the NCAA college basketball tournament Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Houston. Illinois players celebrate after beating Iowa in an Elite Eight game in the NCAA college basketball tournament Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Houston. Illinois players celebrate after beating Iowa in an Elite Eight game in the NCAA college basketball tournament Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Houston. HOUSTON — Illinois is heading to the Final Four for the first time in 21 years, and Andrej Stojakovic made clear the Fighting Illini have much bigger goals. “I don’t want anybody to think this is it,” he said. “We didn’t get to the Final Four just to get there. We’re coming to win two more games.”run by dominating in the frontcourt, beating the Hawkeyes 71-59 on Saturday to end a Final Four drought that dated to 2005. “It’s better than I dreamt it would ever be,” coach Brad Underwood said. “Thirty-nine years in the business and that’s all I’m going to say about my side of this. This is about these guys.” This will be the sixth trip to the Final Four for Illinois, which has never won a national title. The Illini will face either “This is what kids dream of,” said Wagler, who was named the South Region’s Most Outstanding Player. “I know I dreamed of this when I was growing up, playing in the Final Four, competing for a national championship. To be able to do it with the people around me, teammates, coaches, fans, managers, everyone, it means a lot ... but we’re not done yet.”has paid off in this tournament. Tomislav Ivisic of Croatia, who stands 7-foot-1, and his 7-2 twin brother Zvonimir have shined in March. The much taller Illini outrebounded Iowa 38-21. David Mirkovic led the way with 12 rebounds. Illinois also outscored Iowa 40-12 in the paint. “We were dominant on the glass from the first minute, even in the beginning of the game,” Tomislav Ivisic said. “They started the game better, but rebounding kept us in the game.” Stojakovic, who was born in Greece but whose father is Serbian three-time NBA All-Star Peja Stojakovic, scored 17 points for third-seeded Illinois. His dad watched proudly as his son punched his ticket to the Final Four, and Wagler’s parents — who met when they played basketball at a junior college in Kansas — cheered wildly throughout for their son.“He gets probably not near enough credit for how tough he is because he’s very unemotional and very stoic,” Underwood said of the 19-year-old Wagler. “But he’s tougher than nails.” Bennett Stirtz scored 24 points for the ninth-seeded Hawkeyes , who knocked off top-seeded Florida in the second round as part of an impressive run under first-year coach Ben McCollum, a four-time Division II national champion at Northwest Missouri State. Stirtz played for McCollum there, then followed him to Drake and finally Iowa. The Illini went on an 8-0 run, with four points from Tomislav Ivisic, to take a 58-51 lead with less than five minutes remaining. Isaia Howard made one of two free throws for Iowa after that, but an alley-oop dunk by Zvonimir Ivisic pushed the lead to 60-52 with about four minutes to go. Sage Tate hit four consecutive free throws for Iowa to get the Hawkeyes within four with two minutes to go. But Stojakovic added a layup for Illinois before Wagler made two free throws to make it 67-59. “Our lack of shooting caught up with us,” McCollum said. “I think that we couldn’t space it, and so when you can’t space it, you can’t get to the rim. So it just became a problem where we were having to take tough 3s.”Illinois never led in the first half but took its first lead just after halftime. There were a dozen lead changes before the Illini pulled away.“Nothing I can control. ... Just move on, move forward,” McCollum said. “It didn’t probably impact the fact that we gave up 16 boards.”Along with Wagler, teammates Mirkovic and Stojakovic were also named to the all-tournament team for the region. Rounding out the team were Stirtz and Nebraska’s Pryce Sandfort. Live updates: Yemen’s Houthis claim responsibility for missile attacks on Israel as war in Middle East intensifies
NCAA Mens Division I Basketball Championship Ben Mccollum David Mirkovic Keaton Wagler Illinois College Sports Iowa Basketball Iowa Hawkeyes College Basketball Mens College Basketball IL State Wire March Madness NCAA Tournament TX State Wire NCAA Mens Bracket Illinois Fighting Illini Mens Basketball Texas IA State Wire Brad Underwood Sports Pryce Sandfort Isaia Howard
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