MILWAUKEE – Illinois opened its NCAA Tournament run with an 86-73 win over No. 11-seeded Xavier at Fiserv Forum on Friday night. Advancing to the second round for the second straight season, the Fighting Illini had four scorers finish in double figures en route to the 13-point victory.
After starting 0-for-3 from the field, Will Riley closed the game by making eight of his final nine shots. Registering a team-high 22 points, his sixth 20-point performance of the season, Riley also collected four rebounds and two blocks while going 3-for-4 from beyond the arc.
Tomislav Ivisic tallied his team-leading 11th double-double, finishing the night with 20 points and 10 rebounds. With his fifth outing with 20+ points, Ivisic also poured in four 3-pointers, along with two blocks and an assist.
Kasparas Jakucionis filled the stat sheet with 16 points, nine rebounds, and 10 assists for his sixth double-double of the season. Going 9-for-9 from free-throw line, Jakucionis also grabbed one steal while amassing double-digit assists for the second time in his collegiate career.
Kylan Boswell went 5-for-8 from the field and 3-for-4 from 3-point range, recording 15 points, five rebounds, two assists, and a steal.
After the Musketeers took an early 6-2 edge, the Illini claimed their first lead of the night with a 5-0 run, with all five points coming via second-chance opportunities. Ivisic accounted for the Orange and Blue's next seven points, though five lead changes through the opening six minutes highlighted the back-and-forth nature of the early stages of the contest.
With the game knotted at 14, Illinois extended its advantage to seven points with a 7-0 run via points from three different scorers. Xavier reduced its deficit to one before Ivisic connected on his second 3-pointer of the night to move into double figures with just under nine minutes left in the first half.
The Musketeers battled back to cut the Illini's lead down to one once again, but the Illini found another answer in the form of another 7-0 run. That two-minute stretch gave the Orange and Blue a 35-27 edge, their largest lead of the half, with five minutes remaining in the frame.
An 8-2 Xavier run cut the Musketeers' deficit to two, but Boswell's deep three right before the game clock expired sent the sides into halftime with the Illini holding a 40-35 lead. Ivisic led all scorers with 13 points and three 3-pointers, while Boswell tacked on 10 points on 3-for-4 shooting across the opening 20 minutes of play.
Xavier scored the first two points of the second half and looked to score again on the fast break, but a block from Riley led to a Tre White triple in transition. Riley's jumper followed by a Jakucionis and-1 bucket pushed the Illini edge into double digits for the first time, 48-37, and capped off an 8-0 run with 18:16 to go in the game.
Five straight points from Boswell maintained the Illini's momentum before a 7-0 Illinois run, with all seven points coming from Riley, added onto the Orange and Blue's advantage, 62-48, with 12:17 left in the contest.
A 7-2 run lengthened the Illini's lead up to 17 points just over halfway through the final frame. After Xavier pieced together a brief 5-2 scoring stretch, Ivisic knocked down his fourth trey to re-establish that 17-point advantage with 7:35 left on the clock.
The Musketeers used an 11-2 run to cut their deficit down to eight, but a second-chance 3-pointer from Riley followed by a fast-break Jakucionis layup halted Xavier's late comeback attempt and swung the momentum back into the Illini's favor with three minutes left.
Leading by as many as 17, the Orange and Blue closed out the win to book their spot in the next round. Illinois advances to the NCAA Tournament Second Round, with the Illini set to take on No. 3-seeded and No. 18-ranked Kentucky on Sunday in Milwaukee.
Press Conference Postgame Notes Player Notes - Will Riley paced the Illini in scoring with 22 points, and added four rebounds and two blocks. - Set the Fighting Illini freshman scoring record for an NCAA Tournament game, eclipsing the 21-point effort posted by Frank Williams in the first round vs. Penn (3/17/2000) - Tallied his sixth 20-point scoring effort of the season - 22nd game in double-figures scoring - Has 10+ points in six straight games and in 13 of the last 14. - Made eight consecutive field goal attempts after starting the game 0-for-3, and finished 8-for-12 overall, including 3-for-4 from 3-point range - Made 3+ 3-pointers for the seventh time - Tomislav Ivisic registered a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds, and added two blocks and an assist. - Secured his team-leading 11th double-double of the season - Second 20-point double-double - Posted his fifth outing with 20+ points - 20th game in double-figures scoring - Third game of the season with 4+ 3-pointers - Set the NCAA Tournament record for 3-pointers by a player 7-0 or taller. - 26th game with at least one 3-pointer, tied with Stanford's Maxime Raynaud for the most games in the nation with a triple among 7-footers - Kasparas Jakucionis totaled 16 points, 10 assists, nine rebounds, and a steal - Sixth double-double of the season (second consecutive) - Fifth consecutive and team-leading 25th game, overall, in double-figures scoring - Broke the Illinois freshman record for assists in an NCAA Tournament game, surpassing the eight posted by Dee Brown in the first round of the 2003 tourney vs. Western Kentucky (3/20/23) - His 10 assists are his second-most in a game this season - Also tied for the fourth-most in an NCAA Tournament game in program history - Went perfect from the free-throw line for the 14th time this season - Went 9-for-9 from the stripe, his most makes without a miss as an Illini - His nine free throws tied for the fourth-most in an NCAA Tournament game in program history - Kylan Boswell recorded 15 points, five rebounds, two assists, and a steal - 23rd game in double-figures scoring and the seventh consecutive - Made multiple 3-pointers for the eighth time this season - Went 3-for-4 from beyond the arc, knocking down at least three triples for the third time this season Team Notes - Starting lineup: Kylan Boswell, Tomislav Ivisic, Kasparas Jakucionis, Will Riley, Tre White - Fifth consecutive game with this starting lineup (5-1) - Illinois moved to 46-35 all-time in NCAA Tournament games - The Illini hold an all-time record of 3-2 as a No. 6 seed - Illinois is 4-0 all-time against the No. 11 seed in the NCAA Tournament - UI is 3-0 against 11 seeds as a No. 6 seed - The Illini are 34-16 as a higher (better) seed in the NCAA Tournament - Illinois is 26-9 all-time when playing its opening game of the NCAA Tournament - The Illini have won their first game in six of its last seven Tournament appearances. (2011, 2013, 2021, 2022, 2024, 2025) - The Fighting Illini are 21-1 this season when scoring 80+ points, which included a 12-0 mark during Big Ten play - Illinois made 12 3-pointers, tied for their seventh-most in a game this season - The Illini shot 40% (12-for-30) from beyond the arc, their sixth-best percentage in a game this season - Illinois' 30 3-point attempts are tied for its fourth-most in an NCAA Tournament game in program history - Illinois' 12 3-pointers are tied for its third-most in an NCAA Tournament game in program history - The Illini went a perfect 18-for-18 from the free-throw line - Ties the program record for single-game free-throw percentage, with the second-most makes in school history while shooting 100% - Illinois' 18 makes are its most without a miss since 1993 (24-for-24, 1/21/1993 vs. Penn State) - The Illini shot 100% with at least 10 attempts in an NCAA Tournament game for the first time in program history - Illinois out-rebounded Xavier at a 45-25 clip - The Illini scored 10 second-chance points on 10 offensive rebounds - Illinois' 45 rebounds are tied for fourth-most in an NCAA Tournament game in program history - The Illini led for a total of 34:28 in the contest.
