By IlliniGuys Staff

March 21, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

GREENVILLE, S.C. - Much is made of Illinois' height as the tallest team in college basketball this evening.

But Saturday night, it was their depth that made the difference.

With star freshmen Keaton Wagler and David Mirkovic looking mortal at the start, Andrej Stojakovic stepped up to score 21 points off the bench as the 3rd seeded Illini put away Virginia Commonwealth 76-55 in their NCAA Tournament second round game.

The victory came on the heels of Illinois' 105-70 thumping of Penn in Thursday's tournament opener, giving the Illini their first back-to-back 20-point wins in NCAA tourney history.

Stojakovic, who scored just eight points in 20 minutes of action against Penn, sparked an Illini offense with 16 points in the first half. Illinois (26-8) jumped out to a 20-8 lead before their offense sputtered, allowing the Rams to go on a 20-6 run of their own.

The junior guard responded with a personal 9-0 spurt as Illinois held VCU scoreless for the final three minutes to take a 35-28 lead into the half.

Stojakovic, appearing in just his second NCAA Tournament game after playing his first two seasons at Stanford and Cal, hit for a season-high 30 points against Maryland on January 21st. But he had topped the 20-point mark only twice since suffering a high ankle injury at Michigan State on February 7th, playing a reserve role ever since.

Illinois opened the second half on a 15-4 run to build a 50-32 advantage and were never threatened the rest of the way.

Tomislav Ivisic turned in his most complete game in a month with 14 points and 11 rebounds, his third double-double of the season. Wagler scored 13 of his 14 points after halftime while Kylan Boswell finished with 12 points.

Mirkovic followed up his record-setting opener when he set Illini freshman NCAA records with 29 points and 17 rebounds with seven points, five rebounds, and four assists.

The Illini struggled with their three-point shooting at season's end, hitting 33 percent of their long-distance shots only once in the final seven games. But they connected on 9-of-24 against the Rams, giving them a two-game total of 24-of-60 (40 percent) in Greenville.

VCU (28-8) was led by Terrence Hill Jr.'s 17 points. The Rams lost starting guard Nyk Hill to a lower leg injury in the opening minute. He did not return to the game.

The win is the 300th in Brad Underwood's career as the Illini reach the second weekend of the NCAA tourney for the second time in three years. They defeated Iowa State in the regional semifinals in 2024 before losing to eventual national champion UConn in the Elite Eight. It was the Illini's first Sweet 16 berth since the national title game season of 2005.

Illinois will now face Houston in the NCAA South Region semifinal in Houston next Thursday night in a rematch of 2022 NCAA second round game won by the Cougars. Houston, the 2-seed in the region, had no trouble with Texas A&M 88-57 earlier in the day.

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