By Garin Turner
#2 UConn Huskies, 33-5, will face #3 Illinois, 28-8 in the first of two games Saturday April 4, at 6:09 PM EST on TBS, HBO Max, and truTV to determine who will play in the National Championship game on Monday against either Michigan or Arizona.
UConn’s road to the Final Four
The Huskies started with an 82-71 win over 15 th seed Furman in the first round in the East Region. UConn held a four-point lead at the half and never could pull away from Furman. Tarris Reed Jr had a monster game with 31 points on 12/15 shooting, 7/9 from the free throw line, and 27 rebounds. 11 of those, were offensive rebounds.
In the second round, it was smoother sailing for UConn, defeating 7th seed UCLA 73-57. Alex Karaban had 27 points on 9/16 shooting and made all five of his free throws to lead the Huskies. He also made four three pointers. Reed Jr. had 13 rebounds.
In the Sweet 16 game, UConn beat 3rd seeded Michigan State 67-63. The Huskies held a 35-27 lead at the half and managed to hold of the Spartans comeback bid. Reed Jr. had 20 points and Karaban added 17. The Huskies held the Spartans to 25% from three.
UConn used a comeback of its own to defeat number one seed Duke 73-72 in the Elite Eight. UConn trailed 44-29 at the half before outscoring the Blue Devils 44-28. After a Duke turnover, Braylon Mullins shot near midcourt and hit a three with 0.4 seconds left to complete the comeback and send UConn to the Final Four. Reed Jr. led the way again with 26 points and nine rebounds. Mullins finished with 10 points, the three to win the game was his only three of the game.
Illinois’ road to the Final Four
The Illini took care of the South Region, first defeating the 14th seed Pennsylvania 105-70 in round one. David Mirkovic had 29 points and 17 rebounds. After a 40-30 halftime lead, Illinois broke the game open outscoring the Quakers 60-45.
The second round saw Illinois defeat 11 seed VCU 76-55. Andrej Stojakovic scored 21 points for the Illini off the bench. Tomislav Ivisic had a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. The Illini shot 48% from the field while holding VCU to 35% and 22% from three.
The Illini won its Sweet 16 game, defeating 2 nd seed Houston 65-55. Illinois held an 24-22 lead at the half but pulled away. It was a balanced attack from the Illini. Mirkovic had 14, Keaton Wagler had 13, and Stojakovic added 13. All eight players who played scored for the Illini. Wagler also had 12 assists.
For the Elite 8 game, the Fighting Illini won 71-59 over the 9th seed Iowa in a game that guaranteed at least one team from the Big Ten Conference in the Final Four. Iowa led 32-28 at the end of the first half. Illinois dominated in the second, outscoring the Hawkeyes 43-27. The Illini didn’t shoot well from three, going 3/17 but shot 47% overall. Wagler led the way with 25 points.
The Matchup
It’s Illinois height vs. UConn’s speed. Illinois is the tallest team in the tournament and has used that to its advantage all tournament long. Likely lottery pick Wagler will be a problem for UConn. He leads the team in scoring, assists and steals. Illinois is excellent at offensive rebounds.
UConn will look to force turnovers; they average 6.9 steals on the season. Reed Jr and Karaban will look to counter the Illini’s bigs. Both teams have five players averaging double figures in points. The Huskies average more blocks and assists a game than the Illini. However, the Illini score more and rebound better.
Verdict
This is going to be a back-and-forth game with a lot of ties and lead changes. Neither team leads by more than six. UConn wins 70-67.
