Saturday night was sweet for No. 3 Illinois, as it advanced to the Sweet 16 with a 76-55 win over No. 11 VCU in Greenville, South Carolina. The victory not only marked the second time in the last three years that the Illini have made the second weekend of the NCAA tournament, but it was also head coach Brad Underwood’s 300th career win.

Junior wing Andrej Stojaković led the offensive charge for Illinois, putting up 21 points on an efficient 7 for 12 shooting performance. Freshman guard Keaton Wagler, junior center Tomislav Ivišić and senior guard Kylan Boswell all scored in double figures as well. The vibes were high postgame, as the Super Soaker water guns made their return to celebrate the win, appearing in the locker room for the first time since Illinois’ 2024 Elite Eight run.

“If we’re fortunate enough to win (the next game), wait till they see the big one that I’m coming in with next time,” Underwood said.

Sweetness from Stojaković

Stojaković registered his eighth 20-point game of the season Saturday, with much of that effort coming early to help Illinois get past a physical VCU defense. Coming off the bench, Stojaković was an immediate spark plug, aggressively driving and finishing at the rim. He even played some Marcus Domask-esque booty-ball on a possession where he got a midrange turnaround jumper to kiss off the glass and fall through the net.

In the first half alone, Stojaković scored 16 of his 21 points on 5 for 7 shooting, and he was also able to draw contact and get to the line. He knocked down 6 of his 7 free throw attempts. Getting to the charity stripe was a big key for Illinois in separating itself from VCU. The Illini used the Rams’ physicality against them, shooting 17 free throws, and they did a good job of not fouling on the other end, only letting the Rams take six.

“It’s exactly what the game gave us,” Stojaković said about getting to the rim. “We knew we had a size advantage, we know that we got guys that, at all times, can shoot from anywhere and the space that we create allows us to create those double gaps and create advantages to go to the rim. If they throw more players, then we kick out, make threes. And if they don’t, we go to the rim, attack strong and draw fouls and get to the free throw line.”

After spending two seasons at Cal and Stanford, Stojaković had never gotten to experience March Madness firsthand. Now, he’s through to a Sweet 16 in his first ever NCAA tournament, and that’s exactly what he hoped would happen when he chose to transfer to Illinois.

“Telling myself that I’m going to the Sweet 16 is pretty surreal, but it’s why I came here,” Stojaković said. “We came here to get this experience, and in return, we got to help this team get as far as we can take it. I’m just super proud and happy for every single one of these guys.”

The cherry on top for Stojaković, who smiled wide as he said it, was that he got to the Sweet 16 faster than Boswell, who took two NCAA tournaments to make it that far. The two are roommates, and Boswell helped recruit Stojaković to come to Illinois.

“He was talking smack last night,” Boswell said. “It’s so frickin’ annoying, but he had to come to me to come get to this point anyway. So I can work with that.”

Illini sloppy early, but stay the course

Too many turnovers allowed VCU to stick around for most of the first half. The Rams capitalized off eight first-half Illini errors, getting out in transition and scoring 10 points off those turnovers.

When the Rams took a 28-26 lead with just a few minutes remaining in the first half, the Illini were really seeing their mistakes add up. It was a physical battle, with VCU being handsy on the perimeter, leading to steals, and banging bodies down low, making it difficult for Illinois to find anything easy in the paint.

Even with their turnovers and seeing such a tough defensive scheme, the Illini stayed resilient. A single-handed 9-0 run by Stojaković erased VCU’s momentum and slight edge on the scoreboard, securing a 7-point Illinois lead at the break. Illinois’ defense was able to hold VCU scoreless over those last three minutes, which was just foreshadowing for what was to come on that end of the floor after halftime. 

“That was a team that played a lot in streaks, where they can go on runs and give up runs,” said graduate student forward Ben Humrichous. “That was something we knew going into the game, that they went on their run, and we had to continue to stay to our game plan, stay efficient and stay connected.”

Illinois’ leaders, Humrichous and Boswell especially, were visibly vocal at points when things weren’t going well, or even when their teammates seemed frustrated with errors. Staying in the moment, forgetting about mistakes and moving forward focused on the next possession was key. 

“That’s how you’re going to win games, especially with a team like that, knowing that they’re not going to quit,” Boswell said. “If you make a mistake, just move on to the next play. You can’t go get it back.”

Second-half domination on both ends

After halftime, just about everything went right for the Illini, as they expanded their lead from single to double-digits, and eventually 20-plus. It was a combination of continued offensive production with a shutting down of a top-50 VCU offense that allowed Illinois to pull ahead and stay there. The Illini shot 50% overall and from three in the last 20 minutes, while holding the Rams to 37.9% shooting, including just 3 for 14 from three, in that same period. 

“Holding that team to 53 points was remarkable,” Wagler said. “If we do that any game, then we should win because our offense is so great.”

After a slow first half for Wagler, he picked it up in the second, pouring in 13 of his 14 points to lead Illinois on the offensive end. It was his 26th consecutive game in double figures and 31st overall.

“It was just all my teammates telling me, ‘Don’t worry about that – you’ve had first halves like that before where you scored 0 points, 2 points, 5 points,’” Wagler said. “I’ve done that before. They told me just to be confident. Go out there and play how I always play. Go out there, have fun. Don’t think about it. Just shoot the ball and good things will happen.”

Wagler wasn’t the only Illini that put in work in the second half. Tomislav was a standout, tallying his third double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds. For much of the season and in Illinois’ early Big Ten tournament exit, Tomislav did not live up to expectations of him being an active rebounder, even at 7-foot-1. However, he showed Saturday that he is perfectly capable of being aggressive and fighting on the glass. 

Underwood’s wake up call after the conference tournament, saying that he needed to find someone who cares about rebounding, seemed to resonate with Tomislav, who finally looked just like the high-impact player that he was last season.

“Maybe he just needs to play in the NCAA tournament every day,“ Underwood said. “It’s like he gets to a different place.”

For Tomislav, the win or go home scenario of the NCAA tournament has allowed him to find a new level. He experienced the feeling of losing in the second round last season, and it’s not something he wants to feel again.

“I feel like I’m best at those (elimination) games, especially on the road … we lost this game last year, and just excited to win (this year) and go to Houston,” Tomislav said.  “As an older guy I feel like I need to help my team more, step up a little bit more.”

Boswell was also a big piece of Illinois’ production, showing his strength as a two-way player by contributing on both ends. He had 12 points, four rebounds and three assists while also slowing down VCU sophomore guard Terrence Hill Jr. in the second half. Hill, as expected, came out swinging, scoring 12 points on 5 of 10 shooting in the first 20 minutes. However, he only had 5 points in the second leg of the contest, making it hard for the Rams to find as much offensive spark as they had early on.

The real killer of VCU’s hopes, though, came in the form of a 7-foot-2 “alien,” according to Wagler. A massive transition poster by junior center Zvonimir Ivišić was the highlight of the game and epitomized what Illinois did in the second half – turning defense into offense. 

Zvonimir blocked an emphatic dunk attempt by the Rams on one end, sprinted down the court, caught a dime from Boswell in stride, rose up and one-hand slammed the ball over his defender. The entire bench, and Illini fans in the arena, jumped to their feet and roared as Zvonimir screamed in celebration. 

“He learned that from me,” Tomislav said about his twin brother, joking with the media after the game.

Houston, we have a problem

Waiting in the Sweet 16 for Illinois is No. 2 Houston, which reached the second weekend for the seventh-straight year under head coach Kelvin Sampson. It’ll be a home court advantage for the Cougars, with the game taking place at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.

“Oh they won?” Zvonimir said in the locker room when told Houston would be Illinois’ next opponent. “S—, we got to still do business.”

Houston’s front court and rebounding ability is powerful, but its guard play is just as good. Freshman guard Kingston Flemings, a projected top-10 NBA Draft pick, will face off with Wagler, also a likely top-10 pick, in what will likely be Illinois’ toughest test of the season. 

A trip to the Elite Eight is on the line, and with the resurgence of energy the Illini have shown in their first two games of the NCAA tournament, they look like they have the ability to get there. It’s all a matter of staying locked in for one more game at a time. 

“I grew up dreaming of this,” Wagler said. “Excited to get down there and play, compete, against a great Houston team. It’ll be a dogfight against them, so we got to get prepared.”

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