Illinois knocked out of Final Four by UConn
UConn knocked out Illinois, 71-62, in the Final Four at Lucas Oil Stadium.
The Illinois Fighting Illini stumbled in the first half Saturday and came up a step short of the NCAA title game. UConn knocked out Illinois , 71-62, in the Final Four at Lucas Oil Stadium. Tarris Reed Jr.
had 17 points and 11 rebounds and dominated in the first half, while teammate Braylon Mullins had a big opening half to give UConn the high ground, and a clutch 3-pointer in the game's final minute to hold off Illinois. "The start to the game and then the finish to the game …" UConn head coach Dan Hurley said. "He (Mullins) got us here and then he got us off to a great start.
"There's nothing like the bus ride on Monday night over to the stadium, and you're one of the last two teams stannnnding . " Jaylin Stewart gave UConn its biggest lead at 57-43 with 9:44 left in the second half on a 26-foot 3-pointer. That gave the Huskies 11 made 3s in the game's first 30 minutes.
UConn committed its first turnover of the game on its 40th possession with 14 minutes left. The Huskies went cold, missing seven straight shots over nearly five minutes late in the second half. Illinois capitalized, and got the game down to 57-53 with 5:01 left when Andrej Stojakovic cleaned up a second-chance layup.