Two years ago, Illinois rolled into the round of 16. They were in a 2 vs. 3 matchup. Their opponent was a top 10ish program with a top 10ish coach. It was described as a matchup of the potent Illinois offense against its opponent’s elite defense.
Two years ago, Illinois had a dominant superstar guard on the way to becoming a first-round draft pick.
Two years ago, Illinois advanced to the Elite 8 to face a program historically known for having an obnoxious head coach.
Two years ago, Illinois was a 2.5-point
underdog.
Two years ago, Illinois won that matchup against Iowa State.
Thursday in Houston against Kelvin Sampson’s Cougars?
Deja vu.
Illinois held off a ferocious Houston squad. It was a main event heavyweight fight. The 65-55 win sends the Illini back to the Elite 8.
It was a game that could have just as easily happened two rounds in the future.
The first half was nothing short of an ugly, mucked-up joust in which two teams shot poorly. Houston forced more turnovers while the Illini took sanctuary on the glass.
Chris Cenac is a skilled, gifted big man. He will be a high NBA Draft selection, probably in June of 2026.
But he’s not the most physical post presence. So Illinois was able to crash the boards on both ends and use that advantage to recover possessions jettisoned by turnovers.
Andrej Stojakovic has found his role on this squad: a mainlined dose of nitroglycerine for anemic Illinois offensive performances. His 9 points on 4-6 shooting in the first half helped the Illini to a 24-22 lead at the break.
Did I mention that Houston was playing this game 2.4 miles away from its usual home court? For context, Illinois was played 946 miles away from State Farm Center.
Coming into the game, Keaton Wagler was shooting 41% frm behind the arc when shooting off the bounce. That’s his game. And Houston definitely knocked him off his square, forcing Wagler to miss 7 of his first 8 shots. Houston likes to double. They take shots away as well as any team in the country.
But as Kylan Boswell exited the game with three fouls early in the second half, Illinois figured out how to beat Houston.
Illinois leaned into its identity
The talk all season in certain circles was that Illinois can beat any team in the country when it plays its game. Their second-half performance against Houston demonstrated the veracity of that vantage point.
Defensively, Illinois may not be the quickest or most “athletic” squad. But they are the tallest team in the country with the length to make it real. And they hurt opponents on the glass. And generally, they don’t foul.
Offensively, Illinois matchup hunts. And when they can’t find advantageous one-on-one matchups, they use the court as a teammate.
They space the floor to eliminate recovery time and close out their opponents’ ability.
A 14-0 run put a double-digit margin between the Illini and the Cougars. Halfway through the second half, Illinois led by 15.
This is where the glute-tightening, emotional-support hoodie-tugging portion of the game commenced.
Illinois should have been able to hold onto this lead. No matter how good the opponent may be.
Kelvin Sampson is no ordinary coach.
Kingston Flemings is no ordinary freshman.
Houston playing a Sweet 16 game in Houston is no ordinary circumstance.
Then, Keaton Wagler missed the front end of a one-and-one, and all of the familiar consternation resurfaced.
Memories of Breslin and Pauley reappeared. Thoughts of losses to Wisconsin and Michigan re-emerged.
Chase McCarty’s back-to-back unanswered threes didn’t feel like a death blow. But they did feel like the
moment before an earthquake when you feel the ground tremble beneath your boots. The once comfortable Illini lead fell into the perilous range of single digits.
(By the way, McCarty is a Freshman. I’m not going to tamper with him and nudge him into the portal. But I am guessing someone else will do so on behalf of Illini fans everywhere.)
But Illinois answered quickly with an 8-0 run to expand the lead back to 17.
The offensive formula for the Illini involved hunting open shots and making enough of them to build a lead. They certainly focused in the second half on the gold medal shots: open threes and shots at the rim. Instead of crumbling under the weight of the Cougars’ defense, the Illini thrived moving the ball and getting great shots.
Oh, and defensively speaking, Houston didn’t even attempt a foul shot until over 56 minutes into the game.
Those are foundational elements of playing a complete game.
And sure, Houston had a couple of mini-rallies down the stretch. They chipped away at the lead and the number on the scoreboard looked less dominant and more “tight slugfest.”
Kylan Boswell was in foul trouble and did not make a field goal. He shot 4-8 from the foul line, with most of those misses coming down the stretch.
Keaton Wagler put up a double-double despite not having his “fastball” in terms of scoring prowess.
Fellow freshman David Mirkovic also put up a double-double. He contributed with calm that belies his youth. What else is new?
Illinois is marching on to the Elite 8.
For the second time in three seasons, a familiar Iowa squad stands between Illinois and its first trip to the Final Four in two decades.
Illinois won the first matchup in Iowa City.
Illinois is playing a different Iowa team with a different level of accomplishment under its belt.
But Donovan Clingan is not walking through that door.
Suddenly, the path to making history, while daunting, seems like another day at the office for this deep, talented Illini roster.
