Illinois defeated Houston 65-55 to reach the Elite Eight in the NCAA tournament.
Illini Defence Proves Decisive
Third-seeded Illinois eliminated Houston from the NCAA tournament on Thursday night. David Mirkovic scored 14 points and had 10 rebounds. Illinois’ defence proved too strong for Houston.
Houston’s shooting was poor, delighting the Illinois supporters who had travelled to Texas. The team shot just 34% in its lowest-scoring game of the season.
“At the beginning of the game Houston fans were a little louder, but as game was going, [our fans] started being louder in their city,” Mirkovic said. “So it’s just really important for us, I would say just like a wind to our back. They pushed us, and thanks for them.”
Key Players Shine for Illinois
Keaton Wagler had 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Illini. Wagler and Mirkovic became the first pair of freshman teammates to each have a double-double in the same NCAA tournament game since freshmen became fully eligible in 1972-73.
Andrej Stojakovic also scored 13. His dad, three-time NBA All-Star Peja Stojakovic, was in attendance.
Houston’s Offensive Struggles
Star freshman point guard Kingston Flemings had 11 points on 4-of-10 shooting. Milos Uzan made just 2 of 11 shots.
Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said, “I was proud of our kids’ effort. We just didn’t play good enough.”
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.
Road to the Final Four
Next up for Illinois is a meeting with ninth-seeded Iowa on Saturday. The winner will advance to the Final Four. It will be the 11th Elite Eight appearance for Illinois and its second in three seasons under Brad Underwood.
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 the run with baskets.
The second-seeded Cougars were making their seventh consecutive Sweet 16 appearance. 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.