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Illinois forward David Mirkovic continues his goofy behavior by ordering cowboy hat off Amazon to have in during a regional final celebration in Houston.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

March 29, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Matt Stevens/IlliniGuys)

HOUSTON — Hours before tipoff of a NCAA Tournament regional final game, a member of the Illinois men’s basketball training staff was carrying a giant rectangler box from the Toyota Center loading dock with a look of confusion on her face.

The package she was carrying in both hands had come from an Amazon delivery truck and the recipient on the tag was David Mirkovic. It’s safe to assume, the University of Illinois men’s basketball program had not ordered any equipment, devices, medication delivered overnight for their freshman forward to wear, use or take Saturday night against Iowa. There was a knee-jerk obvious safety concerns of a fan sending the 20-year-old from Montenegro something sinister in the mail.
However, the order was directly from an Amazon retailer and not a individual person. Finally, if it would seem unrealistic that Mirkovic, whose personality has been playfully described as anything from a kindergarten student to a 12-year-old by his own Illini teammates, would have a present for himself shipped directly to the downtown Houston arena, well, you just haven’t met David Mirkovic.

“I told her ‘oh yeah, that’s the cowboy hat I ordered’,” Mirkovic said.

The training staff employee was stunned exclaiming: “Your what?!

Long after the celebration on the playing court of the Illini’s 71-59 win over Iowa and what has become the traditional water fight in the post-game locker room, media were allowed to enter. And there was the 6-foot-8 forward sitting up in a chair in front of his locker still in full uniform with a new brown cowboy hat on his head.

Nine years ago, Illinois athletics director Josh Whitman got […]

By IlliniGuys Staff March 28, 2026 (Cover photo courtesy […]

By IlliniGuys Staff March 28, 2026 (Cover photo courtesy […]

By Brad Sturdy - IlliniGuys Insider/Analyst & Co-Host, IlliniGuys Sports Spectacular

March 28, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

The Illini are Elite once again, and they face a familiar foe in Big Ten rival Iowa. The 9 seeded Hawkeyes have found a way to pull upsets over #1 seed Florida and #4 seed Nebraska and are the last ‘Cinderella’ remaining in the bracket.

Illinois has won 3 games by double digits and has continued to showcase a dynamic offense, but have added in a tremendous defense, slowing down all 3 opponents with precision execution on both ends.

Here. We. Go.

Setting the Stage
2026 NCAA Tournament // Regional Final // South Region
3 Illinois (27-8, 15-5 B1G) vs. 9 Iowa (24-12, 10-10 B1G)
Saturday, March 28 // 5:09 p.m. CT // Houston, Texas // Toyota Center
TV: TBS/TruTV – Kevin Harlan, Robbie Hummel, Stan Van Gundy, & Lauren Shehadi
Radio: Busey Bank Illini Sports Network – Brian Barnhart (Play-By-Play) & Deon Thomas National Radio: Westwood One – Spero Dedes (Play-By-Play) & Fran Fraschilla (Analyst) Satellite Radio: SiriusXM – 209 or 202

Notable
*Following Thursday night's 65-55 victory over 2 seed Houston in the Sweet Sixteen, the 3 seed Fighting Illini advance to the Elite Eight against 9 seed Iowa on Saturday in Houston (5:09 p.m. CT, TBS/TruTV).

*Illinois won its 27th game of the season, tied for the fourth-most wins in program history. Brad Underwood is the first head coach in Illinois program history to win 27+ games in multiple seasons. 1. 2005 - Bruce Weber, 37-2 – National Runner-Up 2. 1989 - Lou Henson, 31-5 – Final Four 3. 2024 - Brad Underwood, 29-9 – Elite Eight T4. 2025 - Brad Underwood, 27-8 – Elite Eight T4. 2001 - Bill Self, 27-8 – Elite Eight

*Illinois also picked up its third win over an AP top-5 ranked opponent this season, tying the program record set in 1951-52. Illinois is making its 36th all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and sixth* straight (*seventh precluded by cancellation of 2020 Tournament due to COVID-19).

*Illinois is playing in the Elite Eight for the second time in three seasons. In 2024, Head Coach Brad Underwood also led the Fighting Illini to an Elite Eight appearance, the program's first since 2005.

By Brad Sturdy - IlliniGuys Insider/Analyst & Co-Host, IlliniGuys Sports Spectacular

March 28, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

The Illini have advanced to the Elite 8 and will face the Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday at 5:09 PM CST in a battle of Big Ten rivals. But before we move on, let’s clean up the notebook from the Houston game.

First-year defensive coordinator Camryn Crocker continues to earn praise from his boss after Illinois holds Houston down in one of the program’s best results on that end of the floor.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

March 27, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

HOUSTON — Asked how Camryn Crocker got this new group of Illinois players to buy into his defensive philosophy and teachings, Kylan Boswell summed it up fairly succinctly.

“If we didn’t do it, we ran,” Boswell said. “So, yeah, pretty simple.”

Crocker was hired in May after conversations between him and Illinois ninth-year head coach Brad Underwood centered around the thin margins of turning the Illini defense from good to great. Crocker’s offseason questions about the defensive end of the floor was how a younger and new assistant coach would get these group of players to collectively agree on the system differences and philosophical changes.

“Whether it’s Xs and Os or being able to relate to us as players, Cam is just a rising star as a coach,” Illinois veteran wing Jake Davis said. “I think the coaching staff has 100 percent trust in what he’s doing with our defense. Day one, he forced us to buy in and showed us that his knowledge is off the charts. If you can prove to us players that you know what you’re talking about, it’s 100 percent buy-in from that point.”

Less than 24 hours, we look at whether Brad Underwood can get on the same historical tier of Lou Henson with a win on Saturday notching Underwood’s first Final Four appearance.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

March 27, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

HOUSTON — Even after arguably the biggest win in his tenure in Champaign-Urbana, Brad Underwood couldn’t help but acknowledge there’s two banners he’s still not guaranteed at State Farm Center: Final Four and national championship.

“It’s simple and I’ve never run from this when I’m asked. The goal has been to win a national championship here,” Underwood said. “If the day were to ever come where I don’t feel like we’re capable of doing that here, I’ll step aside and go do something else.”

The obvious question becomes if Illinois (27-8) can advance past tomorrow evening and into a Final Four, does Underwood, in his ninth season leading the Illini program, match the overall postseason production and legacy of legendary head coach Lou Henson?

While it may seem overwhelming for Underwood, who is the is the fourth Illinois coach (along with Henson, Bill Self and Bruce Weber) to lead the Illini to multiple Sweet 16 appearances since the tournament expanded to 32 teams in 1975, to be compared to the man whose name (along with his wife, Mary) is on the playing floor at State Farm Center. The story of postseason success may actually lean toward Underwood, who is now 11-9 all-time in NCAA Tournament history, but the overall longevity of program consistency will likely always stay in the category of Henson, who roamed the Illini sidelines from 1975 to 1996.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuy Staff Writer

March 27, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – When the season began, the Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball had national title aspirations. The Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball were simply hoping to make the NCAA Tournament.

Now, both programs meet Saturday in Houston with a trip to the Final Four on the line in Indianapolis.

Much has changed since Illinois escaped Iowa City with a 75-69 win on Jan. 19. Iowa has evolved offensively, developing a more balanced attack around All-Big Ten performer Bennett Stirtz. Contributors like Cooper Koch and Alvaro Folgueiras have emerged as reliable scoring threats, giving the Hawkeyes added depth.

Illinois, meanwhile, has remained potent offensively. But its postseason surge has been defined by defense, led by senior guard Kylan Boswell and freshman Keaton Wagler.

The Illini backcourt has reshaped the team’s defensive identity, setting the tone with toughness, communication, and trust. Any notion of Illinois overlooking Iowa has been dismissed internally, especially by a duo that understands the stakes.

By Zeno Jo - IlliniGuys Staff Writer March 27, […]

By Brad Sturdy - IlliniGuys Insider/Analyst & Co-Host, IlliniGuys […]

In a game where he missed six of his first seven shots, Illinois freshman guard Keaton Wagler posted career-high 12 rebounds and his third double-double in the Illini’s win over Houston.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

March 27, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

HOUSTON — In the midst of the post-game media conference at podium, Houston guard Emanuel Sharp happen to look down for a second at the box score placed in front of his microphone in utter amazement.

“Wagler had 12 rebounds,” Sharp exclaimed. “That's crazy.”

Keaton Wagler says he doesn’t remember which Illinois coach told him in locker room before his pre-game warmups that 10 rebounds was an objective. And It’s too bad because the consensus All-American would probably like to go to that person to say this task was completed and then some against one of the more physical and fierce opponents the Illini has faced this season.

“Yeah, he's a great listener. We've talked for a week about it,” Underwood said about his team’s need for perimeter rebounding. “Our bigs were going to have to hit bodies, but our guards were going to have to come clean it up. So we needed a big, big rebounding game from our guards. I thought Keaton just takes everything to heart.”

More than once, what you saw numerous times Thursday night in the painted area near the rim was big bodies flying in every direction once the basketball hit the rim and then TBS/TruTV play-by-play Kevin Harlan would say the name “Wagler” with the ball through all the carnage.

“I took that challenge on. I went in there, tried to play as tough as I could, not let them get any second-chance rebounds,” Wagler said. “So I went in there and tried to get every rebound I could.”

And if you could only see the smile that came across Underwood’s face when he heard the Big Ten Freshman of the Year selection seated right next to the Illini ninth-year head coach say the words “play as tough as I could”.

Illinois took Houston’s reputation as a physical bully and turned it against the 2-seed Cougars in their hometown to pull off a satisfying Sweet 16 victory.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

March 27, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

HOUSTON — Since arriving in Houston this week, seemingly everybody on the Illinois roster had been describing this regional semifinal matchup as a fight.

After 40 minutes of what seemed like every form of physical contact, the Illini won on all scorecards in form of a what manifested itself in a dominating 65-55 victory. Whether it was about defensively keeping Houston out of the paint, Illinois threw more punches by holding the 2-seed Cougars to just 18 points in the paint. Whether it was about keeping Houston off the offensive glass, the hometown team here in the Bayou City to just 10 second-chance points.

Houston (30-7) didn’t get a single run-out for a fastbreak bucket. If the goal was defending without fouling, the Illini held their opponent to just two free throws. And maybe most importantly, Illinois (27-8) threw the first representative punch in this fight by running off an early eight-point lead in the first half despite shooting just 35 percent from the field.

“We were just ready to set the tone and we delivered the first hit and didn’t stop throwing punches at them,” said Illinois freshman forward David Mirkovic, who ended with 14 points and 10 rebounds. “When we have that physicality on defense and control the boards, we’re a very, very good basketball team.”

The game plan created by defensive coordinator Camryn Crocker to hedge ball screens and not allow Houston’s perimeter scorers to get downhill in the paint limited Houston to just seven layup or dunk attempts on Thursday night in front of a mostly stunned partisan crowd.

By IlliniGuys Staff March 26, 2026 (Cover photo courtesy […]

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Sr. Recruiting Analyst

March 26, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Kedric Prince/IlliniGuys)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – As Illinois prepares for a high-stakes Sweet 16 matchup against Houston, the program’s future is already taking shape. The Illini have secured three commitments in the class of 2026, and each incoming freshman reflected on their high school careers while offering insight into tonight’s showdown with the Houston Cougars.

Ethan Brown
Ethan Brown, a 6-foot-4 combo guard from Rolla, Missouri, capped off an impressive high school career despite a disappointing finish.

"Our season ended not the way we expected it to. We lost in the second round of the postseason on a one-footed, prayer- one three-pointer at the buzzer. I also played with the flu that game, and it just wasn’t a great way for me to go out, but I competed."

Brown helped lead Rolla High School to a 22-6 record while putting up standout numbers.

"We finished our season with a 22-6 record. I finished the season averaging 24.0 points a game, 6 rebounds, 6.4 assists, and 3.2 steals per game. I also passed the 2,500 scoring mark during my career at Rolla Sr. High School."