Illinois was no match for UConn in November. Can a 'different' Illini team fare better in Final Four rematch?

When Illinois coach Brad Underwood looks back on his team’s game against Connecticut on Black Friday, he almost doesn’t recognize the Illini.

UConn’s 74-61 win over Illinois on Nov. 28 was a reality check for Underwood’s team. The Illini entered the season with big goals and split games with ranked Texas Tech and Alabama teams in the first couple of weeks of the season.

Then the Huskies, ranked No. 5 at the time, jumped to a double-digit first-half lead and led by as many as 21 points in a game that was never really close at Madison Square Garden.

Now UConn (33-5) is the team standing in the way of Illinois’ first national championship appearance since 2005. The teams meet Saturday in the first national semifinal at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis at 5:09 p.m. (TBS).

“Both teams are dramatically different, and there will be some things we take from the tape, but not a lot,” Underwood told reporters from the Ubben Basketball Complex in Champaign before practice Tuesday.

The loss actually was a turning point of the Illini season because of one specific development.

Illinois freshman Keaton Wagler scored three points in 14 minutes, both season lows. He took just three shots in the game. Illini coaches looked at that game and knew they had to do something to spark his involvement in the offense.

“Keaton touched the ball maybe four times in that game,” Underwood said.

They began to put Wagler on the ball more, allowing him to use his high basketball IQ to facilitate the offense. The guard’s season took off. He has scored in double digits in every game since, including 70 total in the NCAA Tournament, on his way to being named a second-team All-American and Big Ten Freshman of the Year.

Underwood also noted that the Illini were still figuring some things out after Andrej Stojaković (knee) and Tomislav Ivišić (tonsils) missed significant time in the preseason.

Stojaković scored three points, and David Mirković had eight points and eight rebounds in 18 minutes. Along with Wagler, they are now the top three scorers for Illinois (28-8).

The Illinois defense also has found a different level of late, particularly in its last two tournament games against Houston and Iowa.

However, UConn is also a different team. Tarris Reed Jr., a 6-foot-11 senior center, was coming off an ankle injury in the teams’ first meeting, got into foul trouble and had two points and five rebounds in 15 minutes.

Underwood said Reed has been playing like “a man possessed” recently. In four tournament games, he has had 87 points and 54 rebounds, including an astounding 31-point, 27-rebound performance in the first round against Furman.

For an Illinois team that prides itself on rebounding, Reed will be a huge test for the Illini big men.

So will be killing the momentum that UConn has after its stunning 19-point comeback to knock off top-seeded Duke in the Elite Eight. Braylon Mullins hit the winning 3-pointer — “the shot that was heard around college basketball,” Underwood said — with 0.4 seconds to play. Mullins, a freshman who was Mr. Basketball of Indiana last year, had two points in 10 minutes in the last meeting with Illinois after also coming back from an ankle injury.

UConn also has one of Underwood’s favorite current players, 6-8 forward Alex Karaban

“Winner,” Underwood told reporters. “Dives on the floor for loose balls. Goes 0-for-the-day and hits the biggest shot of the game. Never comes off the floor. Guards. Fights. Competes. All of the intangible things that it takes to win games, I think he has been instilled with all of those. I enjoy watching him play.”

This will be only the sixth time the teams have met, with UConn leading the series 4-1. The Huskies’ previous win before this season was a blowout. In the Elite Eight in 2024, UConn used a 30-0 run to cruise to a 77-52 victory on the way to its second straight national championship under coach Dan Hurley. This Illinois team is almost entirely different than that one, though the head coaches remain the same.

Underwood took some time after Illinois’ Elite Eight win over Iowa making the media rounds and fielding congratulations. He said friends from all of his former coaching stops over a 39-year career reached out. So did former players from Illinois’ 1989 and 2005 Final Four teams.

The staff let the players take time for celebration, too, but shut it down Monday to get into preparation mode, reminding everyone that they’re not done yet. Illinois practiced Tuesday and Wednesday in Champaign before heading to Indianapolis.

Underwood reached out to coaches who have been to the Final Four — Matt Painter, Tom Izzo, Dana Altman and Bill Self — to get advice on how to handle different issues that could pop up as the Illini prepare.

“They’ve all been phenomenal in what their experiences have been,” he said. “You take a little bit and try to figure out if it works for our team or not.”

He said the veteran coaches also advised him to enjoy the craziness that comes with making it to the final weekend. While his players face more obligations than usual for as they get ready for the game, Underwood also wants them to stay loose and enjoy the moment.

“It’s not just an ordinary road trip,” Underwood said. “There are going to be a lot of people, and we want to have fun. I’m going to be loose. I’m going to have fun with it. I want this group to go out and as we’ve said all year to this point, ‘Let it rip.’ ”