Riley scores 22 as No. 6 seed Illinois defeats Xavier 86-73 in NCAA Tournament
Will Riley had 22 points, Kasparas Jakucionis finished one rebound shy of a triple-double and Illinois was perfect from the foul line in an 86-73 NCAA Tournament victory over Xavier on Friday night.
Illinois (22-12), the No. 6 seed in the Midwest Region, advanced to a round of 32 matchup Sunday with No. 3 seed Kentucky (23-11). The Wildcats beat Troy 76-57 earlier Friday night.
Jakucionis had 16 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds. Tomislav Ivisic added 20 points and 10 rebounds. Kylan Boswell scored 15 points.
Illinois led throughout the last 33 ½ minutes and went 18 of 18 from the free throw line and 12 of 30 from 3-point range. The Illini also outrebounded Xavier 45-25.
Ivisic, a 7-foot-1 center from Croatia, went 4 of 9 from 3-point range. His four 3-pointers were the most by a 7-footer in an NCAA Tournament game.
Dailyn Swain had a career-high 27 points to go along with eight rebounds for Xavier (22-12). Ryan Conwell and Dayvion McKnight added 12 points apiece.
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Xavier trailed 40-37 in the opening minute of the second half when Riley blocked Conwell's driving layup attempt. Tre White sank a 3-pointer on lllinois' ensuing possession to start an 8-0 run. Jakucionis capped the spurt by converting a three-point play with 18:16 left to give the Illini the first double-digit lead.
Two nights after rallying from 13 points down to beat Texas in the First Four, Xavier couldn't come all the way back from a double-digit deficit this time.
Xavier did get the margin down to six on a couple of occasions with about 15 minutes left, but Illinois surged again and eventually led by as many as 17. Xavier got the lead down to 76-68 with 4:04 left, but Riley answered with a 3-pointer.
Xavier: Zach Freemantle, Xavier's leading scorer, struggled against Illinois' size. Freemantle entered the night averaging 17.2 points and 7 rebounds. The sixth-year senior shot 2 of 9 and had five points and three rebounds.
Illinois: If Jakucionis had pulled down one rebound, Illinois would have produced a triple-double in the NCAA Tournament for a second straight year. Marcus Domask had the 10th triple-double in NCAA Tournament history last season with 12 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in a first-round victory over Morehead State.
Illinois will seek to advance beyond the first weekend of March Madness for a second straight year. The Illini reached a regional final last season before losing 77-52 to eventual national champion UConn.
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