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INDIANAPOLIS — An oh-so magical year came to a crashing halt in Indianapolis for the Illinois Fighting Illini, 69-62.
With another magical flick of the wrist, UConn’s Brayden Mullins seemed to have sealed it. The Illini looked dead. That was until Keaton Wagler responded in the second with a flick of the wrist of his own.
It gave Illini fans the false illusion that Illinois could be on the verge of continuing its magical run.
Ben Humrichous dove for rebounds and had a critical shot inside the final three minutes of the game. His heroics led to that preminition as well.
Even with the Illini dazzling on a lifted stage, with the Orange Krush ablaze with spirit, and the rare opportunity to advance to a National championship, Illinois couldn’t overcome a three-point barrage against UConn.
The entire week brought joy, pomp, and circumstance for all Illini, including ninth-year head coach Brad Underwood.
But the Illini only held a lead once in the entire game.
In the waning moments of the second half, the Illini defense held the Huskies to a three-minute scoring drought. But after a huge three by Ivisic, the Huskies swung back.
The score looked somewhat crooked in the end, but the final three minutes of this game were not for the faint of heart.
Illinois ultimately loses again in the Final Four, with only one win ever in that stage. UConn is now 13-1 in the Final Four, and UConn’s Dan Hurley finishes the season 8-0 against Big Ten opponents.
Illinois held tight all night long
While Illinois made its fair share of mistakes, including missing critical shots and missing out on offensive boards, UConn’s game plan alone wasn’t enough to carry the Huskies to the finish line — at least not quickly.
All night, Illinois stayed within 10 points of the Huskies. UConn shot an exhilarating three, emotions for Illini fans could swibble, but no, Illinois responded each time. Tomislav had two threes in the first half that reflected it exactly.
The Illini faithful in Indianapolis never frayed. And it felt like all Illinois needed was one swell of momentum to lift them into a tied game against UConn.
Ivisic finished the night with 16 points and seven rebounds in 33 minutes. Ivisic remained a steady help throughout even the most desperate and frustrating moments Illinois found itself in.
Though David Mirkovic had a quiet statistical night, he covered every inch of the floor.
First half troubles
In the first half, Illinois held a minuscule one-point lead for all but a brief second, 22-21. Illinois shot 10-for-29 (34%) from the field. Mirkovic had two awe-inspiring blocks on back-to-back possessions to give the Illini some much-needed stops on defense.
It was clear early on that UConn wanted to beat Illinois at its own game; it wanted to challenge the best offense in KemPom history by besting it in basketball’s most lethal weapon: the three-point shot.
In the first half, the Huskies shot 7-for-18 from three. All while the Illini were only able to muster a 3-for-14 half in the three-point shot. Couple that with a dominant performance in the paint by Husky bigs Taris Reed and Underwood’s team found itself on shaky ground.
Illinois guard Andrej Stojakovic felt poised to offer a different look to what Illinois’ offensive attack is typically made of, driving into the paint. It had been something that had been working all tournament long. But the Huskies held inside the paint — at least in the first half.
Throughout the first 35 minutes of the game, Stojakovic was held to seven points. and forced Underwood to take him off the floor.
And whether or not it was intentional, Huskies evenly distributed its fouls, causing chaos and enough to put Illinois’ offense in disarray at times.
After missing all of its first 10-plus minutes of three-point shots, Illinois made its first three. Who else but Keaton Wager?
All while the Orange Krush accompanied the Illinois cavalry. The entire Northside of Lucas Oil Stadium was flooded by orange.
In the second half, not much changed. UConn kept shooting the three-ball. And more often than not, it felt like they all went in. They finished shooting 12-for-33 from three.
The end of the road
It leads to the offseason. Illinois achieved what no other Illini team could achieve in 21 years. But they ultimately fell short.
Illinois heads to the offseason with its head held high.
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