Illinois Defeats Houston in NCAA Tournament Semifinals
In Houston, David Milkovich contributed significantly with 14 points and 10 rebounds, helping No. 3 seed Illinois overpower last year’s national runner-up, Houston, with a score of 65-55 in the South semifinals on Thursday night.
Next up, Illinois will take on No. 9 seed Iowa State this Saturday to see which Big Ten team moves on to the Final Four. This marks Illinois State’s 11th time reaching the Elite Eight (with a record of 27-8), and it’s the second time in three years under head coach Brad Underwood.
The second-seeded Cougars (30-7), who have reached the Sweet 16 for the seventh consecutive year, were eager to compete just a couple of miles from their campus. However, their poor shooting performance left Houston fans disappointed, while the Illini supporters, dressed in orange, celebrated the effort that took them all the way to Texas.
Star freshman point guard Kingston Flemings, expected to be a top NBA draft pick, managed to score 11 points but struggled with his shooting, going 4-for-10. Milos Uzan had an even tougher game, hitting only 2-of-11 shots.
It wasn’t just those two; the entire Cougars team found offense elusive, finishing with their lowest scoring output of the season, shooting just 34% from the field.
Meanwhile, Illinois didn’t quite hit their usual scoring mark, which was an average of 84.7 points per game. Still, they had enough firepower to keep Houston at bay. Keaton Wagler stepped up with 13 points and 12 rebounds, while Andrei Stojakovic also added 13 points. Interestingly, his father, three-time NBA All-Star Peja Stojakovic, was in attendance.
As the game wound down, many Houston fans had already left, whereas Illinois supporters were on their feet, cheering for their team’s achievement.
Illinois held a slim one-point lead early in the second half before going on a substantial 17-0 run, pushing their lead to 44-26 with roughly 12 minutes left. Jake Davis was crucial during this stretch, scoring five points, including a 3-pointer, followed by back-to-back threes from Mirkovic and Ben Hamlicious.
During this stretch, Houston missed seven straight shots, and it took nearly seven minutes for Uzan to break the drought with a 3-pointer at the 11:20 mark.
Chase McCarty’s consecutive 3-pointers brought Houston to within nine points with about six minutes remaining. However, Wagler and Tomislav Ibisic responded with threes of their own, igniting an 8-0 run that widened the gap to 58-41.
