Arizona, Illinois Clinch Final Four Berths
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- Arizona beat Purdue 79-64 to reach its first Final Four since 2001, with freshmen Brayden Burries (14), Ivan Kharchenkov (18) and Koa Peat (20) combining for 52 points and breaking the program's 37-year-old single-season wins record with their 36th victory.
- Arizona's paint dominance flipped the game after a sluggish first half — the Wildcats piled up 40 paint points and 20 free throw points, outscoring Purdue by 28 combined in those two areas as coach Tommy Lloyd's offense imposed its will in the second half.
- Illinois advanced to its first Final Four in 21 years behind freshman Keaton Wagler's 25 points, erasing a 12-2 deficit by scoring 43 of their 71 points in the second half and holding Iowa star Bennett Stirtz to 2-of-6 shooting after the break.
- Illinois' defense was the under-the-radar catalyst for the run, holding three straight tournament opponents — VCU, Houston and Iowa — to under 1.1 points per possession, a stark reversal from a late regular season in which six of nine opponents scored at least 1.17.
- The Final Four in Indianapolis will pair Arizona against the Michigan-Tennessee winner and Illinois against the Duke-UConn winner, with both programs ending multi-decade droughts at the same event.
Why it matters: Tommy Lloyd's fifth year at Arizona peaks with a program-record 36 wins, within reach of surpassing Lute Olson's 1988 squad. Illinois' turnaround is starker — they were allowing 1.17+ points per possession late in the regular season, but their defense has held three straight tourney foes under 1.1.
