stojakovic powered Illinois into the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 on March 21, 2026, in Greenville, S. C., as the No. 3-seeded Illini controlled No. 11-seeded VCU 76-55 at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Illinois advanced for the second time in three seasons and will meet No. 2-seeded Houston on Thursday in Houston. The decisive swing came before halftime, when Illinois erased VCU’s brief lead and never let the game loosen again.
Illinois’ formula: shoot clean, own the glass, defend without fouling
Illinois (26-8) trailed for only 24 seconds in what became a dominant second-round win. The Illini outshot VCU 48% to 35% and controlled the glass 45-29, creating extra possessions and shutting down second chances at the other end. Illinois also leaned into aggressive defense while avoiding fouls, finishing with a nine-point edge from the free-throw line.
The performance extended Illinois’ momentum from Thursday’s first-round rout of Penn, a 105-70 win that set the tone for a comfortable path through the opening weekend. Against VCU, Illinois combined early steadiness with a second-half burst that turned a competitive game into a cruise.
Stojakovic swings the half, Illinois pulls away with threes and a fastbreak punch
Four Illini scored in double figures, led by Andrej Stojakovic with 21 points off the bench, including 16 in the first half. Keaton Wagler and Tomislav Ivisic added 14 points each, and Kylan Boswell finished with 12. Ivisic delivered a double-double, grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds as Illinois consistently won the physical battle.
VCU (28-8) found its only lead at 28-26 with 3: 09 left in the first half, but Illinois immediately answered. stojakovic scored the final nine points of the half as part of a personal run of 11 straight Illinois points, pushing the Illini in front 35-28 at the break and shifting the game’s feel in a hurry.
Illinois then opened the second half with back-to-back threes from Wagler and David Mirkovic, stretching the lead to 13 with 18: 47 remaining. The margin ballooned again when Zvonimir Ivisic hammered a fastbreak dunk and Boswell followed with a three, making it a 17-point game with 14: 10 left. From there, Illinois stayed composed, defended, and managed the clock to the finish.
Underwood hits milestone as Illinois sets up Sweet 16 showdown with Houston
The win was Illinois’ 26th of the season, tied for the fifth-most wins in program history, and it delivered career victory No. 300 for head coach Brad Underwood. Illinois advanced to the Sweet 16 for the second time under Underwood, and for the 10th time since the tournament field expanded to 32 teams in 1975.
Next up is Houston (30-6, 14-4 Big 12) in the South Regional Semifinal on Thursday at the Toyota Center in Houston. Houston opened the tournament with a 78-47 win over Idaho and followed with an 88-57 Round 2 victory over Texas A& M.
What’s next is simple and immediate: Illinois has a quick turnaround to prepare for a higher-seeded opponent, and the Illini’s path forward will demand the same blueprint that broke VCU—efficient offense, control of the glass, and the kind of game-changing scoring burst stojakovic delivered when the moment tightened.
