Illinois rally falls short in 71-62 semifinal loss to UConn, ending Illini’s Final Four party early
· Yahoo Sports
INDIANAPOLIS — Fans in orange and blue streamed through the streets of Indianapolis hours before Illinois’ national semifinal against Connecticut on Saturday and showed up early to Lucas Oil Stadium, an hour or so before tipoff. One half of the stadium was covered in orange, as were large patches of seats in the upper decks.
A two-hour drive from Champaign and three-hour trip from Chicago probably helped. So did the draw of the program’s first Final Four appearance in 21 years.
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It had all the makings of a special weekend in Indianapolis — until UConn spoiled the party early.
The Huskies rattled the Illini on both ends of the floor for three-quarters of the game and led for all but a short stretch in the first half on the way to a 71-62 victory.
Connecticut will play for its third national championship in four years Monday against the winner of the Michigan-Arizona semifinal. The Huskies, six-time national champions, also won titles in 2023 and 2024.
After trailing by as many as 14 points in the second half, Illinois tried to mount a comeback, using a 10-0 run to cut UConn’s lead to four with 5 minutes, 2 seconds to play. Illinois freshman Keaton Wagler’s layup with 1:38 to play also cut it to four.
UConn freshman Braylon Mullins and Wagler traded 3-pointers in the final minute. But Silas Demary Jr. made two free throws to extend it to six, and UConn hung on from there with its free-throw shooting.
Illinois has had a vaunted offense all season. But there were too many moments early in the game in which the Illini looked out of control, badly missing shots, tripping on their drives. The Illini had trouble getting in an extended flow and at times looked deflated.
Wagler and fellow freshman David Mirković combined for three turnovers in the first 4:30 of the second half as UConn pulled ahead by 11 points. Mirković picked up this third foul early in the half and covered his face in frustration. At one point midway through the half, Andrej Stojaković missed on a fast-break layup attempt, got the rebound and then watched as his putback balanced on the back of the rim before rolling out.
It felt like that kind of cruel night for much of the game.
Meanwhile, the Huskies showcased what Illinois had all season — an offense capable of punishing with any number of players. Tarris Reed Jr. had 17 points and 11 rebounds, Mullins had 15 points and Solo Ball added 13 points for the Huskies.
Wagler had 20 points and eight rebounds and Tomislav Ivišić had 16 points and seven rebounds for the Illini.
The loss ended a memorable run for a fun group of Illini players.
The Illini became media darlings on their NCAA Tournament run with their interesting mix of U.S. and European players, big personalities and intense competitors.
A CBS Sports reporter called them the most fun team in the Final Four. The Athletic dubbed Mirković “The Most Interesting Man in the Final Four,” recounting a handful of hilarious stories about the Montenegrin.
Illinois coach Brad Underwood, at 62 years old and in his 39th year of coaching, was making his first Final Four appearance, leading an Illini team to the big stage for the first time since the 2005 run to the national championship game. The stars of that team, Deron Williams and Dee Brown, sat together at Saturday’s game, drawing huge cheers when they were shown on the video board.
But Illinois couldn’t make it back to the final game. The Illini will have to wait another year to try for their first national championship.
UConn took a 37-29 halftime lead behind 11 points and five rebounds from Reed.
Reed had been dominant in this NCAA Tournament heading into the Final Four, and it was no different early against Illinois. He had seven of UConn’s first 18 points as the Huskies jumped to an 18-9 lead. The Huskies made 7 of their first 13 field-goal attempts in building the cushion.
Mullins, who hit the winning shot to knock off top-seeded Duke in the Elite Eight and is from Indiana, made his first two 3-pointers and had 12 first-half points.
The Illini started cold from deep, missing their first six 3-point attempts before Wagler ended the drought with 10:30 to play in the first half, sending a roar through the Illini crowd. UConn’s Jayden Ross quickly answered with a 3. Ivišić later made a 3 without a defender on him to give Illinois its first lead at 22-21 with 7:54 to play in the first half.
Illinois came up with defensive stops but couldn’t build a bigger lead in the half, missing seven of its next eight shots. The Huskies used an 8-0 run to build its halftime lead.
Mirković had three blocks in the first half but picked up his second foul and went to the bench for the final four minutes of the half.
When the teams met earlier this season on Black Friday, UConn easily handled Illinois in a 74-61 victory.
In the days leading up to the rematch, Underwood and all of the Illini players talked about how they were a different team this time around.
That game had forced the Illini to examine what they were doing on offense with Wagler, who scored three points on three shots in 14 minutes in the game. They decided to put Wagler on the ball more, and the freshman changed the face of the Illini offense in the months that followed. His rise to becoming a second-team All-American coincided with Illinois’ rise to becoming one of the best offenses in the country.
But UConn was also a different team. Reed and Mullins were both coming off ankle injuries in that first game and combined for four points. They were a big reason why UConn pulled ahead early.
There was big buildup to the game for the Illini, who had beaten Penn, VCU, Houston and Iowa to make it to the Final Four.
During an open practice Friday at Lucas Oil Stadium, thousands of Illini fans showed up in orange to watch, while large groups of kids on field trips sat in the end zone, cheering.
Underwood said afterward that was why he came to Illinois, to go to a place where basketball was important to fans.
“If that doesn’t touch you, then you’re not human,” Underwood said.
The follow-up Saturday just fell short of also being special.
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