Illinois defeat Houston 65-55 to reach NCAA tournament Elite Eight
Third-seeded Illinois produced a stifling defensive display to defeat last year’s national runners-up Houston 65-55 in the South Region semifinals on Thursday and advance to the NCAA tournament Elite Eight.
David Mirkovic recorded 14 points and 10 rebounds to help eliminate the second-seeded Cougars in their home city.
Brad Underwood’s side will now face fellow Big Ten outfit Iowa on Saturday for a place in the prestigious Final Four.
Historic freshman performances
The Fighting Illini severely disrupted their opponents’ rhythm, holding them to a season-low 34% shooting from the floor.
Keaton Wagler contributed 13 points and 12 rebounds to ensure the orange-clad travelling support went home delighted.
Wagler and Mirkovic made NCAA tournament history by becoming the first pair of freshman teammates to register double-doubles in the same game since 1973.
Andrej Stojakovic, son of former NBA All-Star Peja Stojakovic, also added 13 points to the winning tally.
Cougars suffer prolonged scoring drought
Houston were appearing in their seventh consecutive Sweet 16 and enjoyed significant home-court advantage playing just two miles from campus.
However, highly-rated freshman point guard Kingston Flemings was restricted to just 11 points on four-of-10 shooting.
The decisive moment arrived early in the second half when the victors embarked on a devastating 17-0 scoring run to establish a commanding 44-26 lead.
The Cougars endured a brutal scoreless streak lasting nearly seven minutes before Milos Uzan finally snapped the drought with a three-pointer.
Chase McCarty briefly narrowed the deficit to nine points with six minutes remaining, but back-to-back triples from Wagler and Tomislav Ivisic quickly extinguished any hopes of a dramatic comeback.
This victory secures an 11th all-time Elite Eight appearance for the Champaign-based team and their second in the last three campaigns.