The first ticket to the Final Four was punched.
On Saturday, March 28, No. 3 seed Illinois held off No. 9 seed Iowa State 71-59 in the Elite Eight of the 2026 Men’s NCAA Tournament behind 25 points from freshman superstar Keaton Wagler.
With the win, the Fighting Illini advanced to the Final Four for the first time since 2005, when Deron Williams’ team, which won 37 of its first 38 games, lost to North Carolina in the national championship game.
They will play next Saturday in Indianapolis against the winner of Sunday’s matchup between No. 1 overall seed Duke and No. 2 seed Yukon.
Andrej Stojakovic, whose father is former NBA All-Star Peja Stojakovic, scored 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting for Illinois. Tomislav Ibicic added 13 points and two blocks for the Illini.
Despite below-average outside shooting from one of the nation’s best offenses, coach Brad Underwood’s team dominated the glass, grabbing 16 offensive rebounds and scoring 13 second-chance points.
The Illini took control late in a back-and-forth game that featured seven ties and 13 lead changes. Trailing 51-50 with 7:20 left in regulation, Illinois held Iowa scoreless for 2:54 and without a field goal until 5:37, scoring eight unanswered points.
In his final collegiate game, Bennett Staats scored a team-high 24 points for the Hawkeyes, who were appearing in the Elite Eight for the first time since 1987. No other player on the University of Iowa team scored more than 10 points.
The Hawkeyes shot 57.1 percent from the field in the first half, but only 23.1 percent in the second half, missing 20 of 26 field goal attempts and 12 of the last 13.
When is the Final Four?
- Last 4 dates: Saturday April 4th and Monday April 6th
