I have been watching Illinois basketball my entire life. I watched the 2005 team. I remember every near miss, every early exit, every season that ended too soon. And today — Saturday, March 28, 2026 — the Illinois Fighting Illini beat Iowa 71-59 to advance to the Final Four for the first time since 2005. Twenty-one years. A generation of Illini fans has waited for this moment. It is here.
This wasn't just a win. This was a statement. Down four at halftime. Down to a Big Ten opponent that knew everything about them. And Illinois came out in the second half and outscored Iowa 43-27 — one of the most dominant second halves this program has ever played on this stage. Wagler. Stojakovic. Mirkovic. Tomislav Ivisic. This team is built different and they proved it today.
Down Four at Halftime. Didn't Matter.
Illinois trailed 32-28 at halftime. Iowa's Bennett Stirtz was cooking. Iowa's threes were dropping. The narrative was writing itself — Iowa's offense too much, Iowa's guards too hot, Illinois's three-point shooting (3-of-17 on the night, 17.6%) too cold. Anybody who turned it off at halftime missed one of the great 20-minute stretches in Illinois basketball history.
The second half was Illinois at its absolute best. They attacked the paint relentlessly — 40 points in the paint for the game, compared to Iowa's 12. They crashed the glass on both ends. They got to the free throw line 21 times and made 18 of them at 85.7%. They held Iowa to just 1 fast break point the entire game — a number that tells you everything about how suffocating Illinois's defense was over those final 20 minutes. Iowa finished at 38.3% from the field. Stirtz scored 24 — he was the only Iowa player who truly hurt Illinois — but nobody else could find daylight consistently enough to make a run.
Keaton Wagler: 25 Points. Perfect from the Line. The Freshman Showed Up.
Keaton Wagler — Game High 25 Points
The freshman was the best player on the floor in an Elite Eight game today. 25 points on 8-of-17 shooting, going 7-of-7 from the free throw line — perfect. He scored 12 of his points in the paint, attacking Iowa's defense downhill in the second half with the poise of a player who has been on this stage his entire life. He drew fouls when threes weren't falling. He made Iowa pay every time they fouled him. His 62.3% true shooting percentage led all players. He is a 19-year-old freshman who just had the best game of any Illini player in an Elite Eight since 2005.
What made Wagler's performance exceptional wasn't just the point total — it was the adaptability. Illinois shot 3-of-17 from three as a team (17.6%). When the threes weren't falling, Wagler didn't keep forcing them. He drove. He attacked the rim. He drew contact. He went to the line seven times and made all seven. That kind of in-game adjustment — reading what the defense is giving you and pivoting — is what separates good players from great players. Wagler is a great player.
Andrej Stojakovic: 77.8% Shooting. Zero Three-Point Attempts. Pure Attack.
Andrej Stojakovic
Here is the most remarkable individual stat line of the entire tournament for Illinois: Stojakovic went 7-of-9 from the field — 77.8% — and attempted zero three-pointers. Every single shot was a two-point attempt. He attacked the rim, attacked mid-range, attacked the paint — 12 of his 17 points came in the paint on 6-of-8 attempts. His true shooting percentage was 79.0%. He grabbed 5 rebounds including 3 offensive boards. He had a steal. Against Iowa's defense — which entered this game ranked among the best in the Big Ten at perimeter containment — Stojakovic made the choice to attack inside and he was virtually unstoppable doing it.
The defensive side is equally important. Stojakovic was matched up against Iowa's best perimeter scorers for stretches of the second half — and Iowa's wing scoring dried up completely after halftime. Illinois held Iowa to 27 second-half points. Stojakovic's ability to lock down on the perimeter while also being a scoring threat inside is what makes him a legitimate NBA prospect. Tonight he looked the part on the biggest stage of his college career.
David Mirkovic: 12 Rebounds. The Backbone of Everything.
David Mirkovic
Mirkovic didn't lead the team in scoring tonight. He didn't need to. He did something more important — he dominated the glass at both ends and gave Illinois possession after possession that Iowa simply could not generate on their own. 12 total rebounds including 5 on the offensive end. His 5 offensive rebounds led to 13 second-chance points for Illinois as a team — more than Iowa scored in the paint in the entire second half. His 2 steals in the second half created transition opportunities that broke Iowa's momentum at critical moments.
This is what Mirkovic does when the scoring isn't there — he finds other ways to dominate a game. His rebounding against Iowa was the unsung reason Illinois won this game. Iowa's best rebounder had 5 boards. Mirkovic had 12 by himself. That is a beating on the glass that cannot be overcome.
Tomislav Ivisic: 13 Points, 2 Blocks, and Everything in Between.
Tomislav Ivisic
Tomislav Ivisic was the engine in the middle that made Illinois's paint dominance possible. 13 points on 6-of-11 shooting, going 5-of-7 on two-point attempts (71.4%). Two blocks. He was a physical presence from the opening tip — posting up, catching lobs, setting screens that freed Wagler and Stojakovic to operate on the perimeter. He fouled out late in the second half, but by the time he did the game was already decided. The effort he gave while on the floor — 13 points and 2 blocks in 40 points-in-the-paint territory — was exactly what this team needed from their center.
Ivisic doesn't get the headlines that Wagler and Stojakovic get. He doesn't have the Draft hype that Mirkovic carries. But ask anyone who watched Illinois this tournament and they will tell you: when Tomislav Ivisic is playing well, Illinois is nearly impossible to stop in the paint. Today he played very well.
The Full Tournament Run — Four Games. Four Wins.
Let's step back and look at what this Illinois team has done over the last two weeks. They have beaten four teams — Penn, VCU, Houston, and Iowa — by a combined margin of 67 points. They have done it with different heroes every game. They have done it coming back from halftime deficits. They have done it with their three-point shooting ice cold and found other ways to score. This is a complete team that wins games multiple ways. That is the sign of a Final Four program.
What This Team Has Done — In Context
Illinois beat the #14, #11, #2, and #9 seeds to reach the Final Four. They beat the second-best defense in the country (Houston). They beat a Big Ten opponent they already knew on the road (Iowa). They had four different leading scorers across four games. They played from behind in three of the four and won every one. They are 32-7 on the season and have won four straight by a combined 67 points in the NCAA Tournament. The last time Illinois was in the Final Four was 2005 — the legendary Dee Brown, Deron Williams, Luther Head, Roger Powell team that went to the National Championship game. This 2026 team is writing its own chapter. It just turned the page to the Final Four.
Keaton Wagler is a freshman who nobody fully expected to be here — and he just scored 25 points and went 7-for-7 from the free throw line in an Elite Eight game to send Illinois to the Final Four. If that doesn't give you chills, check your pulse.
Andrej Stojakovic went 7-for-9 with zero three-point attempts — just attacking, driving, scoring inside against the best defenders Iowa has. His father Peja was one of the greatest shooters in NBA history. His son just won an Elite Eight game with his mid-range and his defense.
David Mirkovic had 12 rebounds and changed the game without being the leading scorer. Tomislav Ivisic gave everything he had and fouled out fighting. Kylan Boswell drew 6 fouls and did the dirty work all night. This is a team. Not stars and role players — a team.
The Final Four. Illinois Fighting Illini. 2026. I never thought I'd type those words. I am so glad I was wrong.
Let's go Illini. 🔶🔵 I-L-L!