It has been less than two weeks since the 2026 men’s NCAA tournament field was set — and the first Final Four ticket has already been punched.
Illinois staged a second-half comeback against Iowa to advance. Now Arizona and Purdue face-off with a chance to join the Fighting Illini in Indianapolis.
ESPN’s crew of reporters and editors are tracking all the action as it happens.
Jump to: How Illinois won
Elite Eight live tracker
How Illinois won: Brad Underwood believes that a team’s best player should have the green light. His star freshman Keaton Wagler certainly had it on Saturday, scoring 25 points to send the program to its first Final Four in 21 years, ending Iowa’s Cinderella-like run in the process.
Wagler was the captain of the ship, but the Fighting Illini’s victory looked far from a guarantee early on. Down 12-2 to start, they struggled to find a solution for Hawkeyes star Bennett Stirtz. The second-team All-Big Ten selection had 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting by halftime. They also didn’t score until the 16:17 mark of the first half — their second-longest stretch without a point to open a game this season, per ESPN research. But they were able to contain Stritz after the break, limiting him to a 2-for-6 clip from the field in the second half while also heating up to score 43 of their 71 total points in the final 20 minutes. — Myron Medcalf
The Fighting Illini’s Final Four opponent: Winner of Duke vs. UConn (Sunday)
No. 1 factor that helped Illinois reach the Final Four: The Illini’s offense is one of the most efficient in KenPom history, but it was their defense that sparked this run to Indianapolis. They held VCU to 55 points and 0.83 points per possession in the Round of 32, Houston to 55 points and 0.94 points per possession in the Sweet 16, and then Iowa to 59 points and 1.08 points per possession in the Elite Eight. They have protected the rim and the paint at an incredibly high level, limiting all three of the aforementioned opponents to below 48% inside the arc. Iowa had just seven 2-pointers on Saturday.
It’s a dramatic improvement from their defensive performance late in the regular season, when the Illini allowed six of their last nine opponents to score at least 1.17 points per possession, suffering five of their eight losses over that stretch. Their offense hasn’t missed a beat, but their defense suddenly looking like a top-10 unit has been a season-changing development for Brad Underwood’s team. — Jeff Borzello
