University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
Illinois
Huskies To Face Illinois On Saturday in Final Four
4/2/2026 9:49:00 PM | Men's Basketball
INDIANAPOLIS – The East Regional Champion and two-seed UConn men's basketball team (33-5) returns to the biggest stage in college basketball on Saturday night when it faces three-seed Illinois (28-8), champions of the South Regional, in the National Semifinals at the Final Four. Tip-off from Lucas Oil Stadium is set for 6:09 p.m. and will air on TBS with Ian Eagle, Grant Hill, Bill Raftery, Tracy Wolfson and Gene Steratore on the call.
The Huskies are playing in the Final Four for the eighth time in program history and third time in the last four season. It is the first three-in-four span all-time at UConn and one of four for any program since 2000, joining Kentucky (2011-15), UCLA (2006-08) and Michigan State (1999-2001). UConn is 6-1 all-time playing in the National Semifinals and a perfect 6-0 in National Championship games.
UConn is 4-1 all-time against Illinois and 1-0 in the postseason. In the lone NCAA Tournament meeting the Huskies routed the Illini, 77-52, in the 2024 East Regional Final in Boston behind a historic 30-0 run. They last met earlier this season in the SentinelOne Showdown at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 28, a 74-61 victory for Connecticut.
Connecticut earned its trip to Indianapolis going through Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. to win the East Regional, facing the highest possible seed in each round and securing wins over 15-seed Furman, 7-seed UCL and 3-seed Michigan State before a dramatic 73-72 victory in the Elite Eight over top overall seed Duke. Illinois garnered its first trip to the Final Four since 2005 by rolling through Greenville, S.C. and Houston to take the South Regional with victories over 14-seed Penn, 11-seed VCU, 2-seed Houston and 10-seed Iowa.
UConn's victory over Duke came in one of the great finishes in the history of the Elite Eight and the NCAA Tournament as a whole. The Huskies trailed by as many as 19 in the first half and was down 15 at the break. UConn chipped away 'war by war' and got back within single-digits midway through the second half, but Duke still led by 10, 65-55, with 6:37 to play before UConn made its final surge. Back-to-back threes from Silas Demary Jr. cut the edge to seven, and a Solo Ball three-point play wrapped around the final media timeout had UConn within a possession for the first time since the opening minutes. Down four inside of the final minute, Alex Karaban hit his first 3-pointer of the night and cut the lead to 70-69. Duke scored on the next trip to go up three before a UConn timeout to draw up a set that led to Demary Jr. drawing contact and getting to the line, where he hit one of two with 10.0 seconds on the clock. On the ensuing inbound, Demary Jr. forced a steal that ended in the hands of Braylon Mullins with under five seconds to play. Mullins threw ahead to Karaban, who faced a double-team and pitched it back to Mullins. Both feet squarely in line with the March Madness halfcourt logo, Mullins stepped up in rhythm and launched the shot that will be replayed for generations, a game-winning 37-foot 3-pointer to secure the 73-72 victory and the East Regional.
Tarris Reed Jr. fueled UConn's huge comeback and was the best player on a floor that included the presumptive National Player of the Year and a slew of potential NBA lottery picks. The big man finished with 26 points, nine rebounds, three assists and four blocks to help cement East Regional Most Outstanding Player. Overall in the regional he averaged 21.8 points, 13.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.3 blocks. He was the first player in the history of the NCAA Tournament to average at least 20 points, 13 rebounds and three assists in a four-game regional.
Through four games in the tournament Karaban is second on the Huskies in scoring with 17.8 points per game in the Regional along with 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game on 48.1 shooting from the field and 38.7 percent from three. The Husky captain is now 17-1 in his NCAA Tournament career, the only player in the modern tournament era (post 1979 seeding and 1985 expansion) to win 17 games in an 18-game March Madness span. He is third all-time in NCAA wins as a starter, his 17 trailing only Duke's Bobby Hurley (18) and Christian Laettner (21).
Mullins is the third Husky averaging double-figures this tournament with 11.8 points per game, nearly on line with his 11.9 ppg season averaged that helped him earn BIG EAST All-Freshman and USBWA Second Team All-District honors. Malachi Smith has seen his role increased in the Big Dance with Demary Jr. working back from injury and averaged a team-best 5.5 assists per game in the Regional, recording a 22:4 assist/turnover ratio.
Demary Jr. was a BIG EAST First Team All-Conference and All-Defensive Team pick, acting as the 'head of the snake' on UConn's top-10 defense. He averages 10.9 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game while slashing a 45.5/40.5/80.5 shooting line. Ball was a Second Team All-Conference selection averaging 12.9 points and 3.2 rebounds per game, connecting on 71 threes.
Illinois enters the Final Four with the No. 1 offensive efficiency in the country per Kenpom and out-scoring opponents by 19.5 per game in the NCAA Tournament. Keaton Wagler leads the Illini with 17.9 points per game and is scoring 17.5 per during the tournament, shooting 40.7 percent from three on the year and 44.0 percent in the dance. Andrej Stojakovic (15.0 ppg), David Mirkovic (14.8 ppg) and Tomislav Ivisic (12.0) are all averaging double-figures during the NCAA Tournament as well. Illinois has dominated the glass during the NCAA Tournament with a +16.3 rebounding margin. On the season, it ranks third in the nation with a 39.5 offensive rebound rate.
The winner on Saturday will take on the winner of the second semifinal in Indianapolis, where a pair of one seeds will square off in Midwest Regional champion Michigan and West Regional winner Arizona.
