HOUSTON — Freshman Keaton Wagler scored a game-high 25 points, Andrej Stojakovic added 17 off the bench, and third-seeded Illinois secured its first Final Four berth in 21 years with a 71-59 victory over Big Ten rival Iowa on Saturday in the South Region final of the NCAA Tournament.
Illinois (28-8) seized control of a back-and-forth second half with a 10-1 run that yielded a 60-52 lead with 4:06 left. The ninth-seeded Hawkeyes (24-13) and Illinois combined for 13 lead changes and seven ties in the second half until the Fighting Illini took control, first with consecutive post baskets from Tomislav Ivisic. Then, Wagler and Stojakovic finished the job.
Stojakovic completed a three-point play with 3:16 left to answer a 3-pointer from Isaia Howard and extend the Illinois lead to 63-55. After Stojakovic added a baseline layup, Wagler converted a pair of free throws with 1:12 remaining to build the lead to 67-59. Stojakovic added five rebounds to his ledger while Wagler finished 7 of 7 from the line and added three assists.
David Mirkovic posted nine points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Illinois finished with a 38-21 rebounding advantage and turned 16 offensive rebounds into 13 second-chance points.
Bennett Stirtz paced the Hawkeyes with 24 points while Sage chipped in 10. Iowa shot just 23.1% in the second half after making 12 of 21 shots before the intermission.
Stojakovic and Wagler helped the Illini overcome a ragged start that resulted in an early double-digit deficit. While Illinois missed its first four shots, Iowa started 5 of 6 and seized a 12-2 lead by the 15:56 mark of the first half, with Combs and Stirtz scoring five points apiece.
But Stojakovic got the Illini going with a second-chance basket, a steal and transition layup through a foul that sliced the deficit to 12-11. Stirtz stalled Illinois’ 9-0 spurt with a pull-up jumper and, after a lengthy delay when the horn stuck with 7:43 left in the half, Stirtz pushed Iowa to a 27-20 lead with consecutive baskets.
When Illinois clawed back to within 27-26, Sage drilled a 3-pointer that extended the Iowa lead to four, an advantage the Hawkeyes held at the intermission. The Illini shot just 37% in the first half but turned 10 offensive rebounds into 11 second-chance points to offset the Hawkeyes’ 57.1% shooting, including 6 of 12 from behind the arc.
