Keaton Wagler leads Illinois to first Final Four in 21 years

Houston– Illinois Coach Brad Underwood has always believed that the best player of the team should get the green signal. On Saturday, the Illinois Star Keaton Wagler Surely it was in their team 71-59 victory over iowa In the Elite Eight, earned 25 points and sent the program to the Final Four for the first time in 21 years.

The Hawkeyes’ Cinderella run in the tournament ended. They were the lowest seed in Big Ten history to reach the Elite Eight, and they had not gotten that far in 39 years.

This isn’t the first time Underwood has let his best players take the spotlight.

When Underwood was an assistant at Kansas State during the 2007–08 season, Michael Beasley led the nation in scoring. Stephen F. During his tenure in Austin, Thomas Walkup was a two-time conference player of the year, averaging 18.1 points per game in his final season (2015–16). At Illinois, four players have been first-round picks in Underwood’s system, including Kasparus Jakusionis last season.

Near the 12-minute mark on Saturday, Wagler dribbled and turned. Defending Iowa’s projected lottery pick isiah howard Stumbled and almost fell. He could only watch as Wagler drained the 3-pointer.

Later in the game, Wagler made a clutch floater with 4:51 left to increase Illinois’ lead to seven points. He also made key free throws late.

Along with those plays, Tomislav Ivicic Made back-to-back shots in the paint to give Illinois some relief late in the game. With four minutes to play, Illinois had scored at a clip of 168 points per 100 possessions in the second half. For perspective, the Golden State Warriors, led by Kevin Durant and Steph Curry during the 2016-17 season, had an offensive rating of 114.8 points per 100 possessions. That’s how good Illinois was on Saturday night, and really, all year.

Wagler was the captain of the ship.

But there were no guarantees at the beginning of the game.

For the second time in 72 hours, Illinois had no answer at first.

On Thursday, they could not make a strong comeback in the first half houston And they needed a run in the second half to change their fortunes and win. In the Elite Eight on Saturday against Iowa, Illinois trailed by double digits early in the game and could not get into a rhythm.

Illinois did not score until the 16:17 mark of the first half, the second-longest score of the season, according to ESPN research. They were down by four points at halftime. However, with 18:36 left, David Mirkovic Made the free throw to give Illinois its first lead of the game.

Once again, he switched gears early in the second half to ensure the team’s first trip to the Final Four since 2005, when it lost North Carolina In the national title match.

Trailing 12-2 at halftime, Illinois couldn’t find a solution Bennett SturtzAll-Big Ten second team selection. In the first meeting between the two teams – Illinois’ 75–69 win in January – Sturtz finished 5 of 17 with 12 points. In the rematch on Saturday, despite the higher stakes, Sturtz had 15 points at halftime and made six of his nine field goal attempts before the break.

Iowa coach Ben McCollum took things slow and played at a methodical pace, which favored Iowa and limited one of the most productive offensive units in America. For most of the season, Illinois ranked first in adjusted offensive efficiency.

However, it was Wagler who helped his team stage a comeback in the second half and a defense held Sturtz to a 2-for-6 clip after halftime.

At the end, Illinois was all smiles as the players hugged each other.

They are still alive after another strong performance in the second half.