By Brad Sturdy - IlliniGuys Insider/Analyst & Co-Host, IlliniGuys Sports Spectacular
March 27, 2026
The Illini are Elite once again. Behind a masterful defensive gameplan and an offense that got rolling after halftime, Illinois rolled to a 65-55 win over Houston that saw Illinois lead for the final 30 minutes and by as many as 18 points in the second half as they moved on to the Elite 8 to face conference rival Iowa on Saturday.
Keaton Wagler and David Mirkovic had some rough spots early on, but both came on in the second half to lead 17-0 run, the largest run against Houston in the past 8 years, and break a tight game open. They became the first pair of freshmen to post a double-double in the same game in the NCAA tourney since freshmen became eligible. Mirkovic would have 14 and 10, Wagler would have 13 and 12 with 3 assists and just one turnover against the Cougar pressure.
As the Illini struggled early there was also a strong performance and a lift provided by Andrej Stojakovic, who added 13 points on an array of difficult drives and finishes.
Now, it is on to Iowa on Saturday at 5:09 PM.
These 3 Things
- Defensive Gameplan - Illinois took advantage of the fact that Houston had bigs that were not adept at scoring and took the ball out of the hands of the Houston guards. Illinois could live with Houston’s bigs beating them. They limited shots at the rim as well, allowing Houston just 7 shots at the rim. They were 0-1 in the first half. Illinois made Houston take tough 2’s and contested 3’s, and the result was the worst offensive performance of the season for Houston.
- Offensive Adjustments - The first half was some ugly basketball on both sides. Neither team could get anything going which led to a 24-22 halftime score. In the second half, Illinois took off for 1.41 PPP, and it would have been 1.5 had they made free throws against a Houston defense. That’s wild, really. We saw Wagler playing off of 2 feet in the second half and Illinois using more cutting and providing a release against the ball screen trap. Illinois dissected the Houston defense for good looks the entire half.
- Tough Enough - This was supposed to be a battle in the Pizza Hut parking lot, and it lived up to that billing. Everyone questioned the Houston game as they were too tough for the Illini and too physical, but Illinois won that battle. In post game conversations with the players, they had all heard the narrative, and they did something about it, dominating the glass and showing the ability to battle with anyone in the paint. I didn’t understand the narrative honestly, the Illini have shown toughness all season, and the narrative was more about the Houston mystique than the current team.
- Winning Plays - Whether it is rebounds, steals, assists, tips, contesting shots, executing a game plan or just handling the physicality, the little things matter and are winning plays. The Illini hit some huge shots, Davis, Humrichous, Wagler, Stojakovic, Ivisic, and Mirkovic all hit big ones, but the little things keep you in it until you can finally get something to drop.
Notable
- Illinois improves to 27-8, tied for the fourth-most wins in program history.
- Illinois picks up its third win over an AP top-5 ranked opponent this season, tying the program record set in 1951-52. This season, the Illini have wins at No. 4 Purdue (88-82) on Jan. 24, at No. 5 Nebraska (78-69) on Feb. 1, and tonight vs. No. 5 Houston (65-55).
- Illinois earned its third win all-time over the No. 2 seeds in the NCAA Tournament. Two of those have come in the last three years in the Brad Underwood era:
- 2026 Regional Semifinal (Houston, Texas) – #3 Illinois 65, #2 Houston 55
- 2024 Regional Semifinal (Boston, Mass) – #3 Illinois 72, #2 Iowa State 69
- 1989 Regional Final (Minneapolis, Minn.) – #1 Illinois 89, #2 Syracuse 77
- Brad Underwood is the first head coach in Illinois program history to win 27+ games in multiple seasons.
- 2005 - Bruce Weber, 37-2 – National Runner-Up
- 1989 - Lou Henson, 31-5 – Final Four
- 2024 - Brad Underwood, 29-9 – Elite Eight
- 2025 - Brad Underwood, 27-8 – Elite Eight
- 2001 - Bill Self, 27-8 – Elite Eight
- Illinois advances to the Elite Eight for the second time in three seasons under Brad Underwood, and for the sixth time since the tournament field was expanded to 32 in 1975.
- The Fighting Illini own 11 all-time Elite Eight appearances.
- 2026 Elite Eight - Brad Underwood
- 2024 Elite Eight - Brad Underwood
- 2005 Runner-Up - Bruce Weber
- 2001 Elite Eight - Bill Self
- 1989 Final Four - Lou Henson
- 1984 Elite Eight - Lou Henson
- 1963 Elite Eight - Harry Combes
- 1952 Third Place - Harry Combes
- 1951 Third Place - Harry Combes
- 1949 Third Place - Harry Combes
- 1942 Elite Eight - Doug Mills
- Illinois advances to the Elite Eight twice in a three-year span, following the team's 2024 Elite Eight appearance, for the first time since a run of three national third-place finishes in a four-year span under head coach Harry Combes in 1949, 1951, and 1952.
- Brad Underwood joins Lou Henson as the only Illinois head coaches to lead the Fighting Illini to multiple Elite Eight appearances since the tournament expanded to 32 teams in 1975:
- Brad Underwood (2) – 2026 Elite Eight & 2024 Elite Eight
- Lou Henson (2) - 1984 Elite Eight & 1989 Final Four
- Brad Underwood has led the Illini to NCAA Tournament wins in five of the last six years.
- Underwood is now 9-5 in the NCAA Tournament at Illinois, and 11-9 for his career.
- Underwood's nine NCAA Tournament wins at Illinois are tied with Bruce Weber and Harry Combes for second-most, and three behind the program record held by Lou Henson (12).
- The Illini are now 9-4 all-time as the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
- Illinois is 9-4 all-time in the NCAA Round of 16 since the field was expanded to 16 teams in 1951.
- The Illini are 4-13 (.235) as a lower (worse) seed in the NCAA Tournament.
- Brad Underwood owns two of Illinois' four all-time victories as the worse-seeded team in an NCAA Tournament matchup, leading the 3-seeded Illini to Elite Eight berths with victories over 2-seeded Iowa State in 2024, and 2-seeded Houston this season.
- Illinois led, 24-22, at halftime and improved to 23-5 this season when leading at the break.
- Eighth game of the season in which the Illini allowed 25 or fewer points in the first half (8-0)
- Illinois' 24 points at halftime were the team's fewest in a first half (31 vs. Michigan, Feb. 27) and fewest in any half (29 vs. UConn, Nov. 28) this season.
- The Illini held Houston to its season low for points in a half (22).
- The two teams' combined 46 points at half were the lowest in any NCAA Tournament game this season.
- Illinois broke the game open with a 17-0 run, spanning 6:46 in the second half, the longest scoring run allowed by Houston in any game over the last eight seasons.
- Illinois has outrebounded its opponent in 29 of 35 games this season, with a 25-4 record when it wins the battle on the glass.
- The 55 points scored by Houston are the ninth-fewest allowed in a winning NCAA Tournament effort in Illinois program history.
- David Mirkovic and Keaton Wagler are the first freshman teammates ever to record a double-double in the same NCAA Tournament game.
- David Mirkovic led the team in scoring with 14 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, dished out two assists, and blocked a shot.
- Broke the Illinois freshman record for total rebounds with 280 boards this season, surpassing the mark of 272 set by Kofi Cockburn in 2019-20.
- Played in his 27th Illini victory of the season, joining classmate Keaton Wagler in breaking the Illinois freshman wins record previously held at 26 by Brian Randle (2003-04), Luther Head (2001-02), and Tom Schafer (1983-84).
- 27th game of the season in double-figures scoring.
- 18th game of the season with multiple 3-pointers.
- 10th game of the season with 10+ rebounds
- Team-most ninth double-double of the season, and second of the postseason following his 29-point, 17-rebound game in Round 1 vs. Penn.
- Sixth player in Illinois history with multiple double-doubles in the NCAA Tournament, joining James Augustine (3), Tomislav Ivisic (2), Deron Williams (2), Brian Cook (2), and Nick Anderson (2).
- Keaton Wagler tallied 13 points, secured a team high 12 rebounds, recorded three assists and tied his career high with two blocked shots.
- Played in his 27th Illini victory of the season, joining classmate David Mirkovic in breaking the Illinois freshman wins record previously held at 26 by Brian Randle (2003-04), Luther Head (2001-02), and Tom Schafer (1983-84).
- 27th consecutive game with 10+ points, and his team-leading 32nd double-figure scoring game, overall.
- 18.9 points per game since Dec. 6.
- Career-high 12 rebounds.
- 21st game with multiple 3-pointers, third consecutive.
- 14th game with 3+ 3-pointers.
- 10th game with at least one block, fourth in his last five.
- Posted his third double-double of the season, becoming third freshman in Illinois program history to record a double-double in the NCAA Tournament:
- Keaton Wagler (13 points, 12 rebounds – 2026 Sweet 16 vs. Houston
- David Mirkovic (29 points, 17 rebounds) – 2026 Round 1 vs. Penn
- Kasparas Jakucionis (16 points, 10 assist) – 2025 Round 1 vs. Xavier
- Andrej Stojakovic added 13 points on an efficient 5-for-8 from the floor with two assists and a steal.
- 18th double-digit scoring game of the season, second consecutive in the NCAA Tournament.
- Tomislav Ivisic scored nine points, secured three rebounds, and dished out three assists.
- 102 3-pointers are the most in the nation among 7-footers over the last two seasons.
- David Mirkovic and Keaton Wagler are the first freshman teammates ever to record a double-double in the same NCAA Tournament game.
- David Mirkovic led the team in scoring with 14 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, dished out two assists, and blocked a shot.
- Broke the Illinois freshman record for total rebounds with 280 boards this season, surpassing the mark of 272 set by Kofi Cockburn in 2019-20.
- Played in his 27th Illini victory of the season, joining classmate Keaton Wagler in breaking the Illinois freshman wins record previously held at 26 by Brian Randle (2003-04), Luther Head (2001-02), and Tom Schafer (1983-84).
- 27th game of the season in double-figures scoring.
- 18th game of the season with multiple 3-pointers.
- 10th game of the season with 10+ rebounds
- Team-most ninth double-double of the season, and second of the postseason following his 29-point, 17-rebound game in Round 1 vs. Penn.
- Sixth player in Illinois history with multiple double-doubles in the NCAA Tournament, joining James Augustine (3), Tomislav Ivisic (2), Deron Williams (2), Brian Cook (2), and Nick Anderson (2).
- Keaton Wagler tallied 13 points, secured a team high 12 rebounds, recorded three assists and tied his career high with two blocked shots.
- Played in his 27th Illini victory of the season, joining classmate David Mirkovic in breaking the Illinois freshman wins record previously held at 26 by Brian Randle (2003-04), Luther Head (2001-02), and Tom Schafer (1983-84).
- 27th consecutive game with 10+ points, and his team-leading 32nd double-figure scoring game, overall.
- 18.9 points per game since Dec. 6.
- Career-high 12 rebounds.
- 21st game with multiple 3-pointers, third consecutive.
- 14th game with 3+ 3-pointers.
- 10th game with at least one block, fourth in his last five.
- Posted his third double-double of the season, becoming third freshman in Illinois program history to record a double-double in the NCAA Tournament:
- Keaton Wagler (13 points, 12 rebounds – 2026 Sweet 16 vs. Houston
- David Mirkovic (29 points, 17 rebounds) – 2026 Round 1 vs. Penn
- Kasparas Jakucionis (16 points, 10 assist) – 2025 Round 1 vs. Xavier
- Andrej Stojakovic added 13 points on an efficient 5-for-8 from the floor with two assists and a steal.
- 18th double-digit scoring game of the season, second consecutive in the NCAA Tournament.
- Tomislav Ivisic scored nine points, secured three rebounds, and dished out three assists.
- 102 3-pointers are the most in the nation among 7-footers over the last two seasons.
