Illinois guard Kasparas Jakucionis (32) drives to the basket against Xavier forward Jerome Hunter (2) in an NCAA Tournament game at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Friday, March 21, 2025. MILWAUKEE — Will Riley scored 22 points and Tomislav Ivisic added 20 points and 10 rebounds to pace sixth-seeded Illinois to an 86-73 victory over 11th-seeded Xavier in the first round of the NCAA Tournament’s Midwest Region on Friday.
Illinois (22-12) advances to a Sunday second-round game against third-seeded Kentucky, which pulled away in the second half for a 76-57 victory over 14th-seeded Troy.
Kasparis Jakucionis added 16 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds and Kylan Boswell put up 15 points for the Illini, who had a 45-25 edge on the boards.
Illinois opened the second half with an 8-2 run, going in front 48-37 on a three-point play by Jakucionis.
The Illini hit six consecutive shots over a four-minute span, pushing the lead to 62-48 on Riley’s 3-pointer from the top. They extended the lead to 69-52 on a dunk by Morez Johnson Jr. with just under 10 minutes left.
Xavier pulled within 76-68 on a three-point play from Dailyn Swain, but Riley countered with a 3-pointer and Jakucionis converted a steal into a breakaway lay-in to make it 81-68 with 3:01 remaining.
Illinois hit 12 of 30 (40 percent) from beyond the arc and was 18-for-18 from the free-throw line.
Swain had 27 points and eight rebounds while Ryan Conwell and Dayvion McKnight had 12 points apiece for the Musketeers (22-12).
Xavier forced 14 turnovers, including 11 steals, for a 13-6 advantage in points off miscues.
Illinois took its largest lead of the tightly contested first half at 35-27 on Riley’s layup with five minutes remaining.
Conwell’s jumper brought Xavier within 37-35, but Boswell’s step-back 3-pointer just ahead of the buzzer put the Illini up 40-35 at the break.
–Jim Hoehn, Field Level Media
