We are less than 48 hours until the Illinois basketball program tips off the Sweet 16 against Houston.
The run for the Illini this season has been pretty amazing. We weren’t expected to be in this position with so much offseason turnover. Brad Underwood managed to piece together this group with overseas players, recruits, and a few returning upperclassmen.
Illinois has played some great basketball at times throughout the 2025-26 campaign. We seem to be hitting our stride once again. Houston is standing in the way of another Elite 8, though.
Here are three keys for Illinois basketball to beat Houston and clinch a spot in the Elite 8
1. Illinois has to win the 3-point arc
I think the winner of this game will be the winner of who makes the most three-pointers. I know that sounds like an obvious thing to say, but both Illinois and Houston are three-point-happy programs.
Houston enters the game shooting 25.1 three-point attempts per game and hits them at a clip of 34.9%, which ranks No. 111 and No. 125, respectively.
Meanwhile, the Illini shoot 31.4 three-pointers per game and hit them at a clip of 35%. These two numbers rank No. 8 and No. 115 in the nation, respectively.
I think Houston can keep up with Illinois as far as attempts go. They put up 31 three-pointers in their last game of the NCAA tournament against Texas A&M. There will be no shortage of three-pointers in this game.
When push comes to shove, it is about who can make the most. You are about to see 60 or more three-pointers attempted in this game, but can Illinois win the three-point arc?
A lot of this hinges on guard defense and switching. There are going to be a ton of screens, and can the Illinois guards show on the switches and not just let Houston’s guard camp out behind the screener for an open look? That will be huge in this game. We have to play tight defense on the perimeter and then let the chips fall where they may.
2. Tomislav Ivisic needs to use his size in the paint
Illinois has a weapon that we haven’t used a lot this season inside the paint. Tomislav Ivisic is someone who started the season as a Swiss Army Knife, but he has started to fall into a more traditional role as of late.
I think Brad Underwood could throw Houston a curveball on Thursday night. While Ivisic is good at stretching the floor, his three-point shooting has struggled this season. He isn’t going to pull the opposing big man out a lot if he can’t hit three-pointers.
Dumping the ball down to the 7-foot-1 big man would be a great way to get the Cougars on their heels. They are expecting the Illini to come out and jack up a bunch of three-pointers, so why not play a little old school basketball?
Ivisic has all of the tools to be a traditional big man. He is someone who can bang around in the paint, and this is not what Houston is expecting.
I love Ivisic’s touch around the hoop. He is a great solution if Illinois isn’t hitting from three-point range, or if the offense gets stagnant due to zone defense. Let’s use our size and control this game from the inside out.
3. The battle of the benches will be key
The last note on the game between Houston and Illinois is who will win the bench battle. This game doesn’t have a lot of complicated pieces to put together. I think if the Illini can win the battle of the benches, we can come away with the win over the Cougars.
Houston is very similar to Illinois. They can go eight deep and not miss a beat. Their bench really helps their backcourt the most, though.
Chase McCarty and Mercy Miller are both very reliable bench players for the Houston backcourt. They are going to be able to give Kingston Fleming and the rest of the Cougars’ guards some rest when needed.
The thing I am going to be watching is what happens with the Houston frontcourt. There isn’t a ton of help when it comes to options.
When someone like Chris Cenac Jr. gets in foul trouble or needs to rest, the main option is Kalifa Sakho off the bench. He is averaging just 2.5 points and 2.7 rebounds per contest. This is where Illinois can feast.
Tomislav Ivisic is going to get to the start at center against Houston. His brother, Zvonimir Ivisic, will come off the bench. That is a 7-foot-2 big man replacing a 7-foot-1 big man. Illinois needs to use this bench advantage.
Having a 6-foot-9 wing in Ben Humrichous coming off the Illinois bench is also extremely valuable. He is bigger than most of the Houston players.
If the Illini can win the bench battle, then this game is going to be extremely interesting. We have the horses to knock off the Cougars, now let’s go out there and actually do it.