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Sports Friday, March 27, 2026 | | |
| | | | | Good morning, Chicago. Illinois entered the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament with one of the top-rated offenses, but it needed to match Houston’s elite defense to pull out the gritty win. The third-seeded Illini came through with a 65-55 victory over the second-seeded Cougars to advance to the Elite Eight, putting up their lowest scoring output in a win this season. Illinois will play No. 9 seed and Big Ten rival Iowa, which beat No. 4 seed Nebraska 77-71 in the first game in the South Region on Thursday night to advance to its first Elite Eight since 1987. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:09 p.m. Saturday in Houston. Illinois fans cheer during the second half of the Illini’s 65-55 win over Houston in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, March 26, 2026, in Houston. (Kenneth Richmond/Getty) It will be Illinois’ sixth Elite Eight appearance since 1975 and second in three years. Since 2000, the Illini also made it to a regional final in 2001, in 2005 during the run to the national title game and in 2024. Illinois won its only meeting with Iowa during the regular season 75-69 on Jan. 11 in Iowa City behind a balanced performance from its guards. Boswell helped hold Stirtz
to 12 points in the game. “Playing freaking Iowa for a Final Four is crazy, you know?” guard Kylan Boswell said. Today’s eNewspaper edition | Subscribe to more newsletters | Asking Eric | Horoscopes | Puzzles & Games | Today in History | | | | The Washington Nationals tagged Matthew Boyd for five runs in the fourth inning Thursday, and the Chicago Cubs couldn’t recover in a 10-4 loss on opening day. | | | | | Munetaka Murakami made a splash in his Chicago White Sox debut Thursday, hitting a solo home run in the ninth inning of a 14-2 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. | | | | | In Pete Crow-Armstrong, the Chicago Cubs have found a box-office star who should keep Wrigley Field buzzing through 2032. | | | | | Illinois entered the Sweet 16 with one of the top-rated offenses in the country, but it needed to match Houston’s elite defense to pull out a gritty 65-55 win Thursday. | | | | | Ninth-seeded Iowa continued its unpredictable NCAA Tournament run under first-year coach Ben McCollum, beating Nebraska 77-71 in a South Region semifinal Thursday night. | | | | | Trey Kaufman-Renn tipped in a miss with 0.7 seconds left, and No. seed 2 Purdue edged hobbling No.11 seed Texas 79-77 on Thursday night in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. | | | |
