Two Final Four berths were sealed Saturday in Indianapolis as Arizona and Illinois rallied in the second half to win their Elite Eight games.
Arizona 79, Purdue 64
Arizona advanced to its first Final Four since 2001 behind a mix of freshman scoring and veteran leadership. Freshmen Brayden Burries (14), Ivan Kharchenkov (18) and Koa Peat (20) combined for 52 points, while senior guard Jaden Bradley added 14. Arizona opened the game with a 19-12 advantage before Purdue briefly swung momentum by inserting 7-foot-4 sophomore Daniel Jacobsen — whose minutes had been minimal earlier in the tournament — late in the first half. Arizona, though, reasserted control early in the second half and pulled away.
The Wildcats set a school record with 36 wins this season, a mark that surpassed a long-standing record from 1988. Under fifth-year coach Tommy Lloyd, Arizona has blended efficient interior scoring, offensive rebounding and tough paint defense with aggressive guard penetration to dominate late in games.
Paint scoring has been central to Arizona’s identity all season. The Wildcats finished among the national leaders in paint points, averaged roughly 20 free throw attempts per game and have repeatedly leaned on interior work in March — including a 60-paint-point, 30-free-throw night in the Sweet 16. Against Purdue they amplified that approach in the second half, finishing with about 40 points in the paint and 20 from the foul line, outscoring Purdue by a wide margin in those areas.
Arizona will face the winner of Michigan vs. Tennessee in the Final Four.
Illinois 71, Iowa 59
Illinois reached its first Final Four in 21 years as freshman Keaton Wagler erupted for 25 points after the Illini struggled early. Illinois fell into a 12-2 hole and didn’t score until the 16:17 mark of the first half while trying to contain Iowa’s Bennett Stritz, who finished the first half with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Illinois tightened its defense after halftime — holding Stritz to 2-for-6 in the second half — and produced 43 of its 71 points in the final 20 minutes.
Defense fueled Illinois’ run through the tournament. The Illini held VCU to 55 points (0.83 points per possession) in the second round, limited Houston to 55 (0.94 ppp) in the Sweet 16 and held Iowa to 59 (1.08 ppp) in the Elite Eight. They protected the rim and the paint effectively, keeping opponents under 48% on interior attempts; Iowa managed only seven two-point field goals Saturday. That defensive resurgence follows a rough late regular season stretch, when Illinois allowed several opponents to score at high efficiencies and dropped five of eight games. The renewed defensive discipline, paired with an already potent offense, propelled the Illini to Indianapolis.
Illinois will meet the winner of Duke vs. UConn in the Final Four.
Both teams delivered second-half surges and defining moments that propelled them into the Final Four, setting up two intriguing semifinal matchups this weekend.
