By IlliniGuys Staff

March 26, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

HOUSTON - The Illinois offense has been lauded as one of the most proficient college basketball has seen in decades.

But it's their defense that will take them to their second NCAA regional final in three years.

Star freshmen Keaton Wagler and David Mirkovic each posted double-doubles as 3-seed Illinois survived a late rally by Houston to score a 65-55 victory in their Sweet 16 game Thursday night.

Mirkovic scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for his second double-double in three NCAA games. Wagler added 13 points and 12 boards.

Illinois (27-8) built a 24-16 lead in the first half, but the Cougars closed the half on a 6-0 run to go into the locker room down by just two points.

But it was a 17-0 spurt in the second half that gave the Illini a 44-26 advantage as Houston was held scoreless for more than six minutes.

But the Cougars, playing in their seventh straight regional semifinal, made one last push in the Toyota Center just about three miles from its campus. closing the gap within seven points in the final minute before Illinois locked down the win at the free throw line.

Andrej Stojakovic scored 13 points off the bench for the Illini, who avenge a 68-53 loss to the Cougars in the second round of the 2022 NCAA tourney in Pittsburgh.

Emanuel Sharp scored a game-high 17 points for Houston (30-7).

Illinois will face Big Ten rival Iowa Saturday night with a regional championship and a Final Four berth at stake.  The 9-seed Hawkeyes, which shocked South Region top seed and defending national champion Florida in a second round upset, rallied to defeat conference foe Nebraska 77-71 in the first game.

The Illini beat the Hawkeyes in Iowa City 75-69 on January 11th in their lone meeting this season.

Stay with IlliniGuys.com for continuing coverage from Houston.