I am still in shock, but the Illinois basketball team is heading to the Final 4.
The Illini came into the game and looked terrible early on. We got into a double-digit hole. Slowly but surely, we started to dig out. We chipped away at Iowa’s lead, and we were only down four at halftime.
Illinois kept the game close for the first 10 minutes of the second half. At that point, a switch was flipped. The Illini went into a different mode and took over. Iowa couldn’t handle Illinois’ relentless pressure, and they folded without many scoring options. This enabled the Illini to beat Iowa, 71-59.
Here are five incredible observations from the Illinois basketball win over Iowa
1. Andrej Stojakovic set the tone for Illinois
Just when you think Andrej Stojakovic couldn’t play defense, he has one of the best defensive performances I can remember an Illinois player having in a long time.
Stojakovic was amazing off the bench for the Illini. We started so slowly, letting Iowa get out to a 12-2 lead, but Stojakovic was the one who set the tone.
Offensively, he was so aggressive against Iowa. Stojakovic was taking it to the rim on nearly every drive. He didn’t settle for three-point attempts. His ability to get Iowa on their heels was huge for Illinois’ confidence.
I was amazed by Stojakovic’s defense, too. He has been so bad all season long, and even Stan Van Gundy mentioned that on the broadcast. Instead of folding like a cheap lawn chair, Stojakovic came up huge.
Stojakovic had a big steal, and he was able to lock down other Iowa shooters to put them in a drought late in the contest. He was the MVP of this game, and Illinois had to have him come up big.
2. What a spot for Keaton Wagler
It is amazing that a true freshman can come into the Illinois program, light the world on fire, and now lead us to the Final 4.
I didn’t think a Final 4 was going to happen coming into the season, but Wagler has been the backbone of this program. He went into an Elite 8 and gave all Illinois fans a night to remember.
Wagler finished the contest with 25 points, three assists, two rebounds, and one steal on 8-of-17 shooting from the field and 2-of-7 from three-point range. He was also a perfect 7-of-7 from the free throw line.
When Illinois needed a bucket, or we had to get some momentum going, Wagler was always there. All the Illini needed was Wagler to be the Wagler he has been all season long.
A true freshman just led the Orange and Blue to the Final 4. This has been the most incredible season in program history.
3. Illinois was dominant in the rebounding department
All season long, I have been harping on Illinois for not realizing how big we were and how we didn’t use our size to our advantage.
On Saturday night, Iowa felt the wrath of the Illini size. We threw every inch of size at them, and it culminated in a massive rebounding margin.
Illinois ended the game pulling down 38 rebounds to just 21 rebounds for the Hawkeyes. For those counting at him, that is a 17-rebound margin in favor of the Illini.
What is even more astonishing is the fact that Illinois pulled down 16 offensive rebounds. Let that soak in for a second. If we only counted offensive rebounds, Illinois would have only lost the rebounding battle 21-16. That is a wild stat.
This was one of the best rebounding performances I have seen from Illinois all season. We couldn’t let Iowa have any extra possessions, and our size really hindered them greatly.
4. It is insane Illinois can shoot that badly from 3-point range and advance
Coming into the game against Iowa, I would have figured Illinois needed to shoot at least 30% from three-point range to have a chance. The Hawkeyes can light up the scoreboard, and we shoot a lot of three-pointers.
Well, Illinois came in and laid an egg in the three-point department. We shot 3-of-17 from deep against Iowa. The 17.6% from three-point range was the lowest of the season for the program. The second-lowest shooting percentage was against UConn, which we could face in the Final 4.
What is crazy about Illinois’ poor three-point shooting is that we didn’t focus on shooting from deep. We only took 17 three-point attempts, which is the second-lowest of the season, tallying one more than in the game against Long Island.
Iowa clearly had a game plan to take away the three-point arc. While that worked, they also forgot that Illinois has some monsters who can play back-to-the-basket.
There were multiple times that Tomislav Ivisic impressed me with his big man skills. He was great in the paint. Mirkovic and Stojakovic also attacked the interior of the Iowa defense. This was a great adjustment by Brad Underwood and the Illini.
5. David Mirkovic was a monster all game long
I ended the last section mentioning Mirkovic. He has been Illinois’ rock the last few games in the NCAA tournament, and he continued to be huge for the program on Saturday night.
Mirkovic didn’t have his best scoring night, going for nine points, 12 rebounds, two assists, two steals, and one block on 3-of-9 shooting from the field. But his kid is way more important than making buckets.
I was amazed by Mirkovic’s ability to get into the lane and cause chaos. He is such a good passer when the defense breaks down. His ability to plow into a crowd for a rebound is phenomenal, too.
Illinois doesn’t go without Mirkovic. He has been such an important piece to the run we are on. Mirkovic is going to end up going down as one of the best players in program history. He has been amazing, and the ride continues.