UConn continues Final Four dominance, advances to NCAA Tournament title game with victory vs. Illinois

Another area in which Illinois excelled this season was limiting turnovers on offense. In that regard, the Illini were solid, if not perfect. They committed eight turnovers, in line with their season average.

The issue came on the other end. Illinois has been one of the worst teams in the country at forcing turnovers, and that weakness showed in the loss to UConn.

The Huskies turned the ball over just four times. While UConn deserves credit for taking care of the ball, Illinois shares the blame for failing to create disruption. On a night when scoring came at a premium, a few extra points off turnovers could have made a significant difference.

Illinois entered the game with one of the most efficient offenses in the country, but March Madness can be unforgiving. One off night is all it takes.

The Illini never found an offensive rhythm, shooting 34% from the field and recording just three assists. The struggles were even more pronounced from 3-point range, where they went 6 of 26.

The lack of ball movement allowed UConn's defense to settle in, and even when Illinois generated open looks, shots didn't fall. Key contributors such as David Mirkovic and Kylan Boswell were largely non-factors for much of the game, limiting the offense's ability to respond.

Braylon Mullins and Keaton Wagler became the first pair of opposing freshmen with 15-plus points in a Final Four contest since Michael Jordan and Patrick Ewing in the 1982 national title game. Mullins led the Huskies with 12 points in the first half and was quiet in the second until drilling an absolutely massive 3-pointer with 52 seconds remaining. The heroism of his NCAA Tournament is carrying on into Monday night. Cool scene for the Indianapolis-area native.

FINAL: (2) UConn 71, (3) Illinois 62

UConn big man Tarris Reed Jr. is putting together a remarkable NCAA Tournament -- a major reason the Huskies are one win away from a third national championship in four seasons.

Reed finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds in the win over Illinois. According to CBS Sports research, he is just the third player in the past 50 years to record at least 100 points and 60 rebounds before the national title game in a single NCAA Tournament.

The others to reach that mark: Zach Edey (Purdue, 2024) and Blake Griffin (Oklahoma, 2009).

Not bad company.

INDIANAPOLIS — UConn is heading back to the national championship game after outlasting Illinois 71-62 inside Lucas Oil Stadium during the first of two national semifinal showdowns on Saturday. The No. 2 seed Huskies will be playing Monday night for their third national title of the past four seasons.

After opening up a 57-43 lead midway through the second half, UConn withstood a rally from the No. 3 seed Illini, who had a decided crowd advantage as they made their first Final Four appearance since 2005 inside a venue just 125 miles from their campus.

Illinois cut UConn's lead to four points on multiple occasions late in the game, but the Huskies responded each time. UConn wing Braylon Mullins drilled a 3-pointer from the left wing with 52 seconds left to put the Huskies ahead 66-59. It put the capper on another strong performance for the freshman, who was the hero of the Huskies' Elite Eight win over Duke. Mullins finished with 15 points.

Amidst the jarring backdrop of a cavernous football stadium, Illinois never found a rhythm from 3-point range or in any facet of its typically elite offense. The Illini scored no fastbreak points, due partially to the fact that UConn committed just four turnovers. With few transition opportunities available, the Illini played in half-court sets with stifled success. Their 33.9% shooting percentage from the floor marked their second-worst of the season, and their three assists marked a season-low.

0:43 2H: UConn 66, Illinois 62

After torching Illinois for most of the first half, Mullins has been relativley quiet in the second half, but that just changed in a big way. With UConn looking to ice a Final Four win, Mullins just knocked down a massive 3-point shot to give the Huskies a seven-point lead.

His clutch basket was immediately answered by a 3-pointer from Illinois freshman Keaton Wagler, so Illinois still has a pulse, faint as it may be.

2:46 2H: UConn 61, Illinois 56

Ben Humrichous waited over 37 minutes to knock down his first basket, but it was a big one. His 3-pointer pulled the Illini to within five with under three minutes remaining. Illinois has done a much better job on the defensive end in the second half, and that has allowed the team to claw back into this game. It will need a couple more big shots from Humrichous or someone else down the stretch to completely close this gap.

2:46: UConn 61, Illinois 56

It is coming down to the wire inside Lucas Oil Stadium. UConn briefly opened the lead back up to eight points, but then Ben Humrichous drilled a massive 3-pointer for Illinois to cut it to 61-56. The Huskies have generally been better in late-game situations this season, and they are entering this one with the advantage.

8:00 2H: UConn 57, Illinois 49

The Illini find themselves on a little 6-0 run at the break, and this feels like the most momentum they've had in quite some time. With several Huskies now in foul trouble, can Illinois finally start to close this gap and put some heat on UConn? Tomislav Ivisic has started to get going, but he'll need some help. It feels like now or never for the Illini.

8:00 2H: UConn 57, Illinois 49

Braylon Mullins and Tarris Reed carried UConn in the first half. They have combined for zero points in the second half. With Illinois starting to make a little bit of a run, will the Huskies try and force it back inside to Reed? He's attempted just one shot in the second half after Illinois indicated it would double-team him. While he may not be the world's best passer, it might be worth feeding Reed just to open some things up for the rest of the offense.

10:59 2H: UConn 54, Illinois 42

Illinois hasn't allowed Tarris Reed or Brayon Mullins to score in the second half ... but it hasn't matter. While those two have gone quiet after blistering the Illini in the first half, different Huskies have been carrying the offensive load in the second half. Solo Ball and Alex Karaban are now giving Illinois all kinds of trouble, and they have helped keep Illinois at arms's length with under 11 minutes remaining.

11:49 2H: UConn 52, Illinois 42

Alex Karaban and Silas Demary are a combined 2 of 10 from 3-point range, which would typically spell trouble for UConn. But with Solo Ball 3 of 7, Jayden Ross 2 of 2 and Braylon Mullins 3 of 6, thee Huskies are cruising. Tarris Reed has only attempted one shot in the second half and has not scored yet, the Huskies remain in command at the u12 timeout. UConn is holding its own on the glass, winning the turnover battle and keeping the Illini at arm's length.

Give Solomon Ball credit for continuing to fire when he's got an opening. It's been a rough season from beyond the arc for the veteran lefty, but he's got the green light and just hit his second triple of the game to put UConn ahead 47-36 entering the u16 timeout. Something to watch on the UConn side is that the Huskies have already been whistled for five fouls in the second half, meaning Illinois is going to end up in the bonus fairly early in this second half. The Illini need all the freebies they can get amid a poor outside shooting night and the absence of transition opportunities.

15:32 2H: UConn 47, Illinois 36

The officials are calling the second half much tigher than the first, and David Mirkovic is in a bit of foul trouble less than three minutes after the action resumed. He was whistled for a foul on a very questionable call as he contested an Alex Karaban layup attempt. Upon review, it appeared as though Karaban simply missed the shot as Mirkovic avoided contact.

Mirkovic will have to be careful the rest of the way, but the good news? Mirkovic answered with his first 3-pointer of the game, so perhaps that will spark his offensive game because this has been an underwhelming performance from him thus far.

One of the stories of the first half was Illinois registering just one assist while shooting 34% from the field. Coming out of halftime, star freshman Keaton Wagler told CBS Sports' Tracy Wolfson that moving the ball will be an emphasis for the Illini in the second half.

"We know we gotta move the ball and get them in rotation better," Wagler said. "Find the open man and just trust each other."

We'll see whether Illinois is able to create easier looks for itself against the UConn defense. Then it just becomes a matter of draining them.

UConn has scored zero fastbreak points, which isn't a big problem for the Huskies since they prefer to play a slow-paced, half-court style game. But the Huskies also have not allowed a transition bucket, thanks largely to the fact that they have not committed a turnover. They are making the Illini work for everything.

From CBS Sports Research:

-- Illinois is 0-10 all-time in the NCAA Tournament when trailing by 8+ at halftime.
-- UConn is 35-1 all-time in the NCAA Tournament when leading by 8+ at halftime.

We did see some history busted in the Elite Eight, as No. 1 seeds were 134-0 all-time when leading by 15+ at halftime until UConn erased a 15-point halftime deficit and roared back to beat Duke.

Halftime: UConn 37, Illinois 29

The Illinois offense that has been so dangerous all season looked pedestrian in the first half. With just one assist in the first 20 minutes, the ball movement was severely lacking, and the shots weren't falling. The Illini shot 34% from the field and just 21% from 3-point range. David Mirkovic has two points n 1-for-5 shooting, and Kylan Boswell is also shooting 20% from the field.

Maybe the law of averages will take effect in the second half, and the Illini will get hot from the field, but they probably can't count on that. Illinois needs to get Mikovic going, and Keaton Wagler has another gear to his game.

The offense is just half the problem as Illinois allowed 37 points, the most of first half in the NCAA Tournament. Tarris Reed is burying Illinois down low, and UConn is getting open far too often from deep. In particular, Braylon Mullins has been a menace from beyond the arc.

Half: UConn 37, Illinois 29

UConn shot a pedestrian 41.2% from the floor in the first half, but it's nearly to its season average for 3-pointers per game after hitting 7 of 18 in the opening stanza. The last one was a banked in 3 from the right wing by Braylon Mullins, who leads all scorers with 12 points. He gave a shrug as he backpedaled down the floor. Alex Karaban also hit a huge 3-pointer at the 2:15 mark to get on the board as the Huskies closed the half on an 11-5 surge.

3:04 1H: UConn 28, Illinois 24

Outside of Tarris Reed And Braylon Mullins, UConn's other starters have a combined two points. Alex Karaban is 0 for 3, and though he just made a great steal that led to a transition bucket for Mullins, he's mostly been a non-factor. UConn did get a couple of 3-pointers from Jayden Ross off the bench. Reed continues to feast inside. Will be interesting to see if the Illini bring double teams more regularly.

6:25 1H: Illinois 22, UConn 21

Illinois has finally managed to take its first lead in this contest, but that's because the team has really tightened up defensively. The offense, especially the 3-point shooting, is still trying to hit its stride. Illinois is 2-for-10 from long range, and Keaton Wagler just threw up an air ball before the latest break. Perhaps this is the simple case of shooters adjusting to playing inside a football stadium, but the sights are clearly off right now.

Dan Hurley is irate, presumably over the 7-4 foul discrepancy against UConn. There were some physical clashes at the basket on the Huskies' last two possessions entering the under-8 timeout that came and went without a whistle. UConn is now in a drought, having hit just 1 of its last 11 shots. The Huskies haven't scored in nearly four minutes as the Illinois defense seems to be settling in following a shaky start.

Illinois just took its first lead of the game (22-21), which got the mostly pro-Illinois crowd fired up. UConn has gotten boo'd throughout this game. It's a sea of orange inside Lucas Oil Stadium.

Ten minutes, zero turnovers. With UConn leading 21-15 at the halfway mark of the first half, neither team has committed a turnover. The problem for Illinois? They've also failed to commit an assist.

But it's also notable that this plays into Illinois' favor in another way. No team in the country (not just the 68-team field) had a lower steal rate than the Illini.

Knock on wood for UConn, but Tarris Reed has not committed a foul yet. By virtue of the way Illinois runs offense, there aren't many moments when he's going to wind up challenging shots at the rim. The Illini seek to pull opposing bigs away from the basket with the pick & pop. But if Illinois can't get Reed in foul trouble, UConn is going to be able to feed him for 30+ minutes.

13:20 1H: UConn 18, Illinois 9

This has been a suboptimal start for the Illini -- to say the very least. Although the Illinois defense has stepped up down the stretch, and especially in the NCAA Tournament, UConn is getting whatever it wants. The Huskies have gotten loose from beyond the arc for three 3-pointers, and Tarris Reed is killing Illinois in the paint. That has led to a 10-2 run in favor of UConn.

The rough defensive start has been exacerbated by the fact that the Illinois offense can't get anything to fall, especially from deep. The Illini are 0-for-4 from the 3-point line, and they haven't been able to get many second chances with just one offensive rebound.

UConn's intricate half court sets are creating situations where center Tarris Reed is matched up against smaller players, and the Huskies are finding him when that happens. He's 3 of 4 from the floor with 7 points and 4 rebounds already. His latest dunk off an assist from Alex Karaban put UConn ahead 18-9 and forced a timeout by Illinois at the 13:20 mark.

15:39 1H: UConn 10, Illinois 7

The hero of UConn's legendary Elite Eight win over Duke is picking up where he left off, as Braylon Mullins is 2 for 2 from beyond the arc. The freshman marksman opened the scoring with a 3-pointer from the left wing at the 18:24 mark. He hit hit another one less than 90 seconds later. In between. UConn center Tarris Reed is also continuing to feast as he enters on a legendary tear through the Big Dance. The imposing center already has four points and three rebounds and has drawn two fouls on the Illini.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Solo Ball saunters into UConn's jam-packed locker room at Lucas Oil Stadium with a grin, but his heavily-taped wrist is impossible to ignore. 

With a Final Four clash against No. 3 seed Illinois looming in less than 48 hours, Ball isn't quite himself -- still dealing with the lingering effects of a mid-December wrist injury that has quietly altered the one thing he's always relied on most.

Unraveling Solo Ball's decline: How under-the-radar wrist injury has led to UConn guard's shooting woes

Isaac Trotter

The Final Four is here in all its glory. No. 1 seed Arizona and No. 1 seed Michigan have been on a collision course since Selection Sunday. It's the Game of the Year, and the numbers back it up. This matchup has the top-rated Thrill Score on KenPom to date this season. Oh, and we get an Illinois vs. UConn rematch from a Black Friday game that is utterly pointless to look at because the rotations have changed so much for both teams. 

Final Four breakdown: Why Illinois has answers for UConn, Michigan holds edge vs. Arizona

Isaac Trotter