Illinois powers its way to its first Final Four in 21 years, beating Iowa 71-59

HOUSTON (AP) — Freshman Keaton Wagler scored 25 points and Illinois ended Iowa’s underdog March Madness run by dominating in the frontcourt, beating the Hawkeyes 71-59 on Saturday to advance to the Final Four for the first time since 2005.

This will be the sixth trip to the Final Four for Illinois, which has never won a national title. The Fighting Illini will face either Duke or UConn next weekend in Indianapolis.

The much taller Illini (28-8) outrebounded Iowa 38-21 in the South Region final. David Mirkovic led the way with 12 rebounds.

Coach Brad Underwood’s emphasis on recruiting in Eastern Europe has paid off in this tournament. Tomislav Ivisic of Croatia, who stands 7-foot-1, and his 7-2 twin brother Zvonimir have shined in March.

Andrej Stojakovic, who was born in Greece but whose father is Serbian three-time NBA All-Star Peja Stojakovic, scored 17 points for third-seeded Illinois. His famous father watched proudly as his son punched his ticket to the Final Four, and Wagler’s parents — who met when they played basketball at a junior college in Kansas — cheered wildly throughout for their son, who was named MVP of the region.

Bennett Stirtz scored 24 points for the ninth-seeded Hawkeyes (24-13), who knocked off top-seeded Florida in the second round as part of an impressive run under first-year coach Ben McCollum, a four-time Division II national champion at Northwest Missouri State. Stirtz played for McCollum there, then followed him to Drake and finally Iowa.

The Illini went on an 8-0 run, with four points from Tomislav Ivisic, to take a 58-51 lead with less than five minutes remaining.

Isaia Howard made one of two free throws for Iowa after that, but an alley-oop dunk by Zvonimir Ivisic pushed the lead to 60-52 with about four minutes to go.

Sage Tate hit four consecutive free throws for Iowa to get the Hawkeyes within four with two minutes to go. But Stojakovic added a layup for Illinois before Wagler made two free throws to make it 67-59.

It was the second meeting this season for these Big Ten rivals. Illinois won 75-69 on Jan. 11.

Illinois never led in the first half but took its first lead just after halftime. There were a dozen lead changes before the Illini pulled away.

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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness