By IlliniGuys Staff

March 23, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

MILWAUKEE -- Kylan Boswell delivered team highs with 23 points and six assists, but Kentucky tied a season-high with 14 steals as the 3-seeded Wildcats defeated the 6-seed Illini, 84-75 in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Illinois (21-13) was trying to reach the Sweet 16 in consecutive years for only the fourth time in program history, but allowed Kentucky to score 26 points off their 14 turnovers.

Tomislav Ivisic scored 19 points and broke his own NCAA record for most three-pointers by a 7-footer by hitting five from the arc, one more than he connected on in the win over Xavier Friday night.

Illinois gave Kentucky (24-11) an early double-digit lead, committing eight turnovers - most of them unforced - which the Wildcats converted into 14 points and a 25-13 lead with 8:30 left in the first half.  All-Big Ten Freshman first teamer Kasparas Jakucionis was responsible for four of those and Illini head coach Brad Underwood sent him to the bench.

Once the Illini began valuing the ball, they closed the gap. Boswell scored three consecutive baskets and eight of his 10 points the rest of the way as Illinois appeared to be headed to halftime in a one-possession game. But Will Riley and Jake Davis collided on a switch and rolled under Kentucky's Trent Noah as he was attempting a three-point shot. The freshman hit two of three free throws to give the Wildcats a 37-32 halftime lead.

Kentucky threatened to run away with the game coming out of the locker room, hitting 10 of their first 11 shots to build a 47-32 lead as Illinois couldn't contain Otega Oweh and Koby Brea. The Wildcat guards would combine for 27 of Kentucky's 48 second-half points.

The Illini rallied late to cut the deficit to 74-68, but the Wildcats drained eight of their final 11 free throws to seal the victory.

Boswell was outstanding down the stretch, scoring 13 of his points in the second half as he notched his eighth consecutive double-digit scoring night. The junior from Champaign was one of the few Illini who consistently drove to the basket throughout the game.

Jakucionis finished with 13 points and had six turnovers for the fourth game in a row. Illinois won just two of nine games this season when the 6-foot-6 freshman from Lithuania, who is projected to be a lottery pick in June's NBA Draft, committed six turnovers or more.

As a team, Illinois closed the season with turnover issues. After closing the regular season with four consecutive games of single-digit turnovers, the Illini surrendered 10 or more in all four Big Ten and NCAA tournament games.

Brea scored 23 points for Kentucky, which recorded 18 assists with just five turnovers in the game.

Tre White grabbed seven rebounds for Illinois, as did Morez Johnson Jr. and Ben Humrichous, who played just 13 minutes.

The Wildcats advance to the Midwest Regional semifinals in Indianapolis, where they will face 2-seed Tennessee. Kentucky beat their SEC rivals twice during the regular season.

Stay with IlliniGuys.com for complete postgame coverage.