Illinois beat the Iowa Hawkeyes 71-59 on Saturday to advance to the Final Four for the first time since 2005.
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run by dominating in the frontcourt, beating the Hawkeyes 71-59 on Saturday 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. The Fighting Illini will face either Duke or UConn next weekend in Indianapolis.The much taller Illini outrebounded Iowa 38-21 in the South Region final. David Mirkovic led the way with 12 rebounds. 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. Andrej 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 famous father 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, who was named MVP of the region. 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.
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