The Illinois Fighting Illini dominated the second half Saturday to win the Elite Eight battle over Iowa in the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
That put No. 3 seed Illinois in the Final Four for the first time since 2005. Both the Illini and No. 9 seed Iowa had plenty to say after the game. The Illini will face either Duke or UConn in the Final Four.
What Illinois head coach Brad Underwood said
- Underwood: “They threw the first punch. They bloodied us. Their physicality was very well-noted. I thought after the first five minutes, we settled in, even though we missed some shots. And then I thought our physicality and our purpose in the start of the second half was really, really good. Then we kind of do what we’ve done, just find an offensive spurt or two, and Tommy (Tomislav Ivisic) got a couple of back-to-back post-ups that gave us a more-than-a-one-possession lead, and then we got stops. They came out blazing, 57 percent the first half, and then I think they made six field goals the second half, and only one 2.”
- Underwood, on freshman Keaton Wagler: “Yeah, we knew Keaton was going to be good early. We had a scrimmage with Florida that was very physical, very competitive, and at times he was the best player on the court. That was shocking to me. Then how you handle a little adversity, then how you handle crowds … nothing fazed him. And then once we got kind of past the UConn game, we put him on the ball a lot, and we said ‘We’re going to rock with this kid, and we’re going to live and die.’ “
- Underwood, on his basketball journey: “One of the most fulfilling moments personally that I just had was standing on the ladder with the net, and then seeing our fans and being able to just – that wasn’t about me. That was about our fans, and that was about what’s probably going on in Champaign right now, because that’s what you believe this to be, and you know it is.”
- Underwood, on reaching the Final Four: “I’m going to get emotional, but I’ve been doing this 39 years, and you dream about this as a kid, and I dreamt about doing it at Illinois. Back in the day when my wife bought Tyler, who was maybe 2, a Brian Cook jersey, and you knew what a special place this was. And it always has been, and there’s been no other thing for me. This is my dream job, and it’s very fulfilling to get where we’re going.”
- Underwood, on his early takes on freshman Keaton Wagler: “Did I know a 178-pound kid coming in was going to be this? I didn’t. To be the South Region MVP and an All-American is, you know, I would be lying. I’m proud as heck of him …”
- Underwood, on celebrating and when his team gets back to work: “Tomorrow. Tomorrow. And I think the one thing that – you can never not celebrate winning. We work our asses off. And these guys work all year long – and it doesn’t matter, regular season games, you can ask any of ’em, we’re going to have some sort of celebration after a win. We understand that we’ve got to win one more game twice to get where we want to go. That’s all we talk about is winning a National Championship.”
- Underwood, reflecting on his path: “Here I am, an old JUCO ball coach from Kansas going to the Final Four with a group of guys that I love. Couldn’t be more proud. You’re only as good as the people around you. I’m blessed at home, I’ve been fortunate to be around great mentors, great coaches … I just bided my time, found a group that’s magical, we’re living the dream.”
What Iowa head coach Ben McCollum said
- McCollum, on the outcome: “If you ask these guys I think they’d probably like a second chance at this to able to win this game because they probably still feel like they could have. But they did set a foundation for the University of Iowa and hopefully for the future.”
What the Iowa and Illinois players said
- Big man Tomislav Ivisic on Illinois’ size edge: “I think we were dominant on the glass from the first minute, even in the beginning of the game. I would say they started the game better, but rebounding kept us in the game. We scored 40 points in the paint compared to their 12.”
- Andrej Stojakovic on reaching Final Four: “I mean it feels great. From the moment we stepped on campus we kind of got a sense of how talented we were, but it feels surreal actually being in this moment. I wouldn’t want it any other way with these guys right next to me. I think last thing I’ll say is I don’t want anybody to think that this is it. Like, we’re not – we didn’t get to the Final Four just to get there. We’re coming to win two more games and we’ll take it one game at a time so, yeah.”
- Keaton Wagler, on reaching the Final Four: “This is what kids dream of. I know I dreamed of this when I was growing up, playing in the Final Four, competing for a national championship. To be able to do it with the people around me, you know, teammates, coaches, fans, managers, everyone, it means a lot. We got here, but we’re not done yet.”
- Stojakovic, on coming off the bench: “I’ve said this to the media constantly. Like, to me, whether it’s 35 minutes, 20 minutes, like, I’m expected to go play those minutes as hard as I can, and my teammates expect the same from me and vice versa. So I’m just glad we’ve kind of found a certain momentum moving forward and we’re just going to keep it going.”
- Iowa star Bennett Stirtz: “I gave it my all in this Hawkeyes uniform. I hope they have continued success, that’s what I want for them. I gave it my all, we all gave it our all and it was a fun run.”
Dave Eminian is the senior writer and Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men’s basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Illinois basketball coach gets emotional after reaching Final Four