ELITE ILLINI: Takeaways as Illinois basketball beats Houston to advance to the Elite Eight

Illinois’ basketball is Elite.

The Illini saved one of their best games of the season for the Houston Cougars and Kelvin Sampson, a lengthy and talented team that was one of the best teams in the nation this year.

Up 60-53 with 1:12 left in the game, Kylan Boswell went to the free-throw line six times. He hit just two of those six free throws. Drama was still there as the Illini led by eight with under a minute.

But the rest of the roster was there to pick Boswell up until he made the free throws to close out the Cougars.

It made the Illini elite. They beat Houston 65-55 to clinch their second Elite Eight berth in three years.

Here’s what we saw as the Illini downed Houston to advance to the Elite Eight, where a Big Ten foe awaits.

17-0

In the second half, Houston tied the game with a layup. It was 24-24.

Then, Illinois went on its best run of the entire season and perhaps its entire decade.

Against the Houston team that was the national runner-up last season and one of the tournament title favorites, the Illini went on a 17-0 run to gain a vice grip on the game.

That run spanned over 6:08. That means it wasn’t just the Illinois offense that was making shots and putting pressure on the Houston defense. The Illini defense was shutting down the Cougars’ offense for one quarter of the second half.

It was an impressive showing for a team that went out of the Big Ten Tournament with a whimper and got beaten thoroughly by Michigan on its home court.

That team was no longer playing.

This Illini team, with its imperfections still apparent, is no longer reacting to its opponent. It’s begun to put pressure on its opponents.

That’s why the Illini are Elite Eight bound.

Another tourney game, more improvement

Houston was a little lucky early on. 

Jojo Tugler was whistled for a foul in the first two minutes. He should have been whistled for a second shortly after when he made incidental contact with David Mirkovic’s face.

That would’ve given one of Houston’s best players two fouls, with a trip to the bench most likely following suit. Instead, he got in a defensive rhythm and had a key chase-down block on Keaton Wagler. 

After that, Illinois stayed ahead for most of the first half. The Illini even pulled ahead by eight at one point. Houston clawed back to make it a two-point game at halftime, with Illinois leading 24-22.

Close games are more of Houston’s specialty. The Cougars stay poised in the tight contests because they’ve been in plenty of those this season.

For the third-straight game, however, Illinois kept its opponent off the free-throw line in the first half. The Illini did that against Penn and VCU in the first two rounds. They did so against Houston in the Sweet Sixteen.

This led to the lowest-scoring first half of any game in the NCAA Tournament until this point. Houston adjusts as well as any team in the nation.

That’s why it was so impressive to see how far Illinois’ individual defense has come. It was a reason Houston wasn’t able to go on a massive run in the first half. It was also how Illinois was able to go on an 11-0 run, even when Kylan Boswell left the game with three fouls early in the second half.

The player of the game…

Was the entire Illini roster.

The team just made plays.

When Boswell left the game with foul trouble, Stojakovic came in and did more than hold the fort. He provided an offensive spark.

Wagler and Mirkovic were stars in previous NCAA Tournament games. On Thursday, the offense ran through Tomislav Ivisc and the offense started that way. Then, the offense ran through Stojakovic. Then, the offense started moving. The passing and ball movement was pristine. 

Jake Davis and Ben Humrichous got into the action with defense and 3-point shooting, too. Mirkovic, Tomislav and Zvonimir Ivisic owned the glass. Rebounds were going to Illinois. The Illini bench was outscoring Houston’s bench by a large margin.

The difference between this Illinois team and the one that blew a lead to Wisconsin was poise and playmaking. The entire Illini roster made plays and it helped sink one of the NCAA Tournament title favorites.

Houston cut the Illinois lead to single digits. Tomislav Ivisic and Wagler nailed 3-pointers. Stojakovic nailed a runner in the lane. That put the Illini back up 17 heading into the final media timeout of the game.

It was an impressive outing.

Next up: The Iowa Hawkeyes it the Elite Eight.