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CHAMPAIGN — The Final Four is set.
Illinois will face Connecticut the first national semifinal game with a 5:09 p.m. Saturday tip at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis after the Huskies upset Duke in the Elite Eight on Sunday in Washington, D.C. Arizona and Michigan will be the nightcap in Indianapolis in the opposite side of the bracket.
The Illini are listed as a slight favorite.
The Illini (28-8) clinched their spot in the national semifinals with a 71-59 victory against Iowa on Saturday night in Houston, securing the first Final Four appearance for the program in 21 years.
UConn (33-5) trailed by as many as 19 points in the first half and faced a 15-point deficit at halftime before flipping the switch on Duke in the second half. Braylon Mullins’ logo three-pointer with 0.4 seconds remaining in the game sent the Huskies back to the Final Four for the third time in four years with a wild, come-from-behind 73-72 victory.
Illinois and UConn met on Black Friday in New York, a 74-61 victory for the Huskies. That marked the Illini’s fourth straight loss in the series to UConn, which included an Elite Eight loss in 2024 when the Huskies won their second straight NCAA championship.
UConn holds a 4-1 advantage in the series history. Illinois’ only win was a 49-23 victory on Dec. 21, 1938, at Huff Gym.