Illinois clamps down on Houston for a 65-55 March Madness win to reach Elite Eight

HOUSTON (AP) — David Mirkovic had 14 points and 10 rebounds, and third-seeded Illinois flexed its defensive muscles to eliminate last year's national runner-up from the NCAA Tournament, beating Houston 65-55 in the South Region semifinals on Thursday night.

Next up is a meeting Saturday with ninth-seeded Iowa to see which Big Ten team will advance to the Final Four. It will be the 11th Elite Eight appearance for Illinois (27-8) and its second in three seasons under Brad Underwood.

In the Sweet 16 for a seventh consecutive time, the second-seeded Cougars (30-7) were thrilled to be playing just over two miles from their campus. But their poor shooting gave Houston fans little to cheer about and delighted the orange-clad Illini faithful who made the long trip to Texas.

“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.”

Star freshman point guard Kingston Flemings, who is expected to be an NBA lottery pick, had 11 points on 4-of-10 shooting and Milos Uzan made just 2 of 11 shots.

But they were far from the only Cougars who struggled offensively. The team shot just 34% in its lowest-scoring game of the season.

Underwood was asked about his team's defensive performance.

“I think it’s a mental focus,” he said. “We’ve been very good at times defensively. It’s just sustaining it. We’ve got very capable defenders, we’ve got size and length, and we just got to make shots difficult.”

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. Keaton Wagler had 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Illini, and Andrej Stojakovic — with his dad, three-time NBA All-Star Peja Stojakovic, in the stands — also scored 13.

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.

“I was proud of our kids’ effort,” Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said. “We just didn’t play good enough.”

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 it with consecutive 3s.

The Cougars missed seven consecutive shots as Illinois built its lead. When Uzan finally ended Houston’s drought with a 3-pointer with 11:20 left, it had been almost seven minutes since the team had scored.

“We were getting stops and we were limiting them to one shot, and to tough shots as well,” Wagler said. “Making them shoot tough middies or contested at the rim, 3-pointers, all of that, and then we were going in and grabbing the rebound and offensively we were getting the shots that we wanted, we were knocking them down.”

Consecutive 3-pointer by Chase McCarty got Houston within nine with about six minutes left. But Wagler and Tomislav Ivisic made 3-pointers to lead an 8-0 run that extended the lead to 58-41.

Wagler, the Big Ten freshman of the year, shot 4 of 14 from the field but led the team in rebounds.

“Coaches were telling us before the game: ‘It’s going to be a guard game to get rebounds. We need 10-plus out of the guards,’" he said. “So I took that challenge on. I went in there, tried to play as tough as I could, not let them get any second-chance rebounds. I went in there and tried to get every rebound I could.”

Uzan thought the rebounding of Wagler and Illinois' other guards was a key to the game.

“That’s what hurt us, defensive rebounding from the guards,” he said.

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

Illinois guard Keaton Wagler, left, is fouled by Houston guard Emanuel Sharp (21) during the second half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament Thursday, March 26, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Illinois guard Keaton Wagler, center, tries to get past Houston guard Emanuel Sharp (21) during the second half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament Thursday, March 26, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Houston forward Joseph Tugler (11) is embraced by a teammate Kalifa Sakho after losing to Illinois in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament Friday, March 27, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Illinois center Tomislav Ivisic (13) reacts after defeating Houston in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament Friday, March 27, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Illinois players celebrate after defeating Houston in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament Friday, March 27, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — From the opening minutes until the end of the game, Arizona scored almost at will.

The Wildcats used one of the best offensive performances in the NCAA Tournament to get over the Sweet 16 hurdle for the first time in more than a decade.

Brayden Burries scored 21 points and fellow freshman Koa Peat added 21 as part of a record-setting balanced attack that sent top-seeded Arizona to a 109-88 win over Arkansas on Thursday night to reach the Elite Eight for the first time since 2015.

“This is the most fun I’ve had playing basketball, honestly,” Peat said. “I love my teammates. Just seeing them be successful, it just makes me happy. Then they find me as well. So we went out there and played our Arizona brand of basketball. I thought everything fell in place, and I thought the whole team played really good today and a lot of guys stepped up.”

There had never been a performance quite like the one Arizona (35-2) delivered as the Wildcats shot 63.8% from the floor for the best mark in the Sweet 16 since 2005.

Ivan Kharchenkov also had 15 points, while Jaden Bradley, Motiejus Krivas and Tobe Awaka scored 14 apiece as the Wildcats became the first team in NCAA Tournament history with six players scoring at least 14 points in a game.

“I feel like that’s what makes us so special, is because anybody can go off on a given day,” Burries said. “Everybody contributes in their own way.”

The Wildcats will take a 12-game winning streak into the West Region final against second-seeded Purdue on Saturday night. The Boilermakers beat Texas 79-77 in the first game.

“I thought our guys were great offensively today,” coach Tommy Lloyd said. “The great thing about basketball and the tough thing about basketball is, unfortunately, that doesn’t automatically translate to Saturday. We’ve got to find a way to kind of recreate that rhythm we had tonight.”

Lloyd has won a record 147 games in his first five seasons as a head coach but has been unable to find tournament success before this season. Arizona had lost three times in the Sweet 16 and once in the first round as a No. 2 seed in Lloyd's first four seasons.

But the Wildcats have rolled through this year's tournament outside of a couple of tense moments in the second round against Utah State, outscoring the opposition by 67 points in three double-digit wins.

Freshman Darius Acuff Jr. scored 28 points for fourth-seeded Arkansas (28-9) in what might be the final college game for the talented freshman who scored 88 points in three tournament games. But he didn't get nearly enough help against the deeper Wildcats.

The frustration for the Razorbacks boiled over in the second half when Nick Pringle and coach John Calipari both got technical fouls and Billy Richmond was ejected after getting a flagrant 2 foul for shoving Kharchenkov.

The Razorbacks reached the Sweet 16 for the fifth time in six seasons but once again fell short and are still seeking their first Final Four appearance since 1995.

“They were on all cylinders, and we weren’t quite what we’ve been,” Calipari said. “That’s why you get a 20-point bulge. Every one of their guys, they’ve got a bunch of guys that can play, and they’ve got a couple other guys that do exactly what they need to do to help their team win. But they’re good.”

Arizona had a nearly flawless first half offensively, shooting 64% from the field, making 15 of 17 free throws and protecting the ball well against the Razorbacks defense. That helped stake the Wildcats to a 54-43 lead, as they tied for the fifth-most points scored in the first half of a Sweet 16 game.

Arizona built the lead to 18 early in the second half on a three-point play by Burries to the delight of Warriors coach and former Wildcats star Steve Kerr, and Arkansas never really threatened the rest of the way.

“We’ve had the freedom of playing free and it makes it difficult for defenses to lock in,” Kharchenkov said. “If you stop one guy we have another. If you stop that guy we have another. Today everybody popped off.”

The Wildcats are one win away from reaching their first Final Four since 2001.

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

Arkansas head coach John Calipari argues a call during the first half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament against Arizona, Thursday, March 26, 2026, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Arkansas guard Darius Acuff Jr. (5) shoots over Arizona center Motiejus Krivas (13) during the second half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Thursday, March 26, 2026, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd hands the ball to a referee during the second half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament against Arkansas, Thursday, March 26, 2026, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Kelley L Cox)

Arizona guard Brayden Burries (5) celebrates after scoring during the second half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament against Arkansas, Thursday, March 26, 2026, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Arizona forward Koa Peat (10) dunks during the first half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament against Arkansas, Thursday, March 26, 2026, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Kelley L Cox)