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Sports Editor Matt Daniels with a look at what’s going on around the area:
Illinois guard Keaton Wagler blocks a shot by Houston guard Milos Uzan in the first half of Thursday’s Sweet 16 NCAA tournament game at the Toyota Center in Houston.
Three reasons we love sports today
➜ 1. After a riveting second-half performance that propelled the Illinois men’s basketball team to a 65-55 win against Houston late Thursday night, the Illini are just a win away from reaching its first Final Four since 2005.
➜ 2. All it will take for the third-seeded Illini (27-8) to reach Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis is to beat ninth-seeded Iowa (24-12) when the two Big Ten teams meet for a 5:09 p.m. tip on Saturday at the Toyota Center in Houston.
➜ 3. Since the NCAA tournament field expanded to 64 teams in 1985, this marks the third all-Big Ten matchup in the Elite Eight. Wisconsin beat Purdue 64-60 in 2000 and Michigan defeated Ohio State 75-71 in 1992 in the other two instances.
Luther Head reacts during the closing minutes of the Illinois men’s basketball team’s 2005 win against Arizona in the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament at Allstate Arena in Rosemont.
Numbers game: 618
points by Keaton Wagler this season. The Illinois freshman ranks eighth for most points in a single season in program history. Luther Head (622 in 2004-05) and Kiwane Garris (622 in 1996-97) are next for Wagler to chase down. Ken Norman (641 in 1986-87) and Nick Anderson (647 in 1988-89) are also within range if Wagler goes off for a big game against Iowa.
Illinois head coach Brad Underwood, left, reacts during Thursday’s Sweet 16 game against Houston.
Crowd control
Two events I’m paying attention to
➜ 1. Illinois vs. Iowa men’s basketball. Will Brad Underwood join Bruce Weber (2005), Lou Henson (1989) and Harry Combes (1949, 1951 and 1952) as the only Illini coaches to take the program to a Final Four? Beat the Hawkeyes on Saturday night in Houston and he does.
➜ 2. Arizona vs. Purdue men’s basketball. The Big Ten will already have one team in the Final Four — either Illinois or Iowa — when this Elite Eight game tips at 7:49 p.m. from the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. Can Braden Smith get the Boilermakers (30-8) into their second Final Four in the last three years? Or will Arizona (35-2) and its high-octane offense reach the Final Four for the first time since 2001?
Rantoul senior Spencer Stockwill is a three-sport athlete for the Eagles.
Ask an athlete
Three questions with Rantoul senior Spencer Stockwill, who plays golf, basketball and baseball for the Eagles:
➜ 1. Three athletes I’d like to have dinner with are … Stephen Curry, Bryson DeChambeau and Keaton Wagler.
➜ 2. The TV show I most like to binge-watch is … “Invincible.”
➜ 3. My biggest pet peeve is … pencil tapping.
