@FlameRaptorRaven

Item: Fighting Illini vs Cougars
Rating: 7.3
Author: FlameRaptorRaven

Watched

5mo

7.3

65 : 55

CBB • S1603/27/2026

You know what they say? Defense wins championships. Except, just like the last year’s National Championship, it was Houston’s opponent who stole the show with their defense. Houston’s defense was on their A-game in the first half, unfortunately for Houston, so was Illinois’s. Both teams finished the first half with their season-low for points in a half with 24 for Illinois and 22 for Houston. Illinois could’ve been up by more if not for a brief 5-0 run to end the half. It would come down whichever team got off to the best start in the 2nd half. Cenac started the 2nd half with a dunk on Illinois defenders, with an s. However, after a couple minutes where Illinois already went on a 9-2 run, they proceeded to go on a 17-0 over the next 6 minutes and put Houston’s hopes of redemption for last season 6 feet under. Houston made a few runs in the last 10 minutes, only for Illinois to shut them down with a couple buckets. Stojakovic, Mirkovic and Wagler were often responsible for those runs.

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Was a super ugly first half for both teams, but Illinois shot better, and that was the game. I honestly did not expect Houston to play as poorly as this in what seemed like a pseudo-home game in Houston, only 2 miles away from campus. I really don’t think the Cougars could have played much worse, and I’m starting to wonder if a Kelvin Sampson team can win the title in the next couple of years. Feels like they’ve been due for years. Give Illinois credit, their frontline is huge and their guardplay is a perfect mix of seasoned veteran with Kylan Boswell, and talented freshman with Keaton Wagler ( who I have been more impressed by than any other player in this tournament so far ).