Illinois faces tall task in matchup with No. 1 Texas and towering forwards Jones and Oldacre

1 of 3 |

Illinois forward Kendall Bostic (44) grabs a rebound over Creighton guard Jayme Horan (12) during the first half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament in Austin, Texas, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

2 of 3 |

Texas forward Taylor Jones (44) is fouled by William & Mary center Jana Sallman (12) during the second half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament in Austin, Texas, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

3 of 3 |

William & Mary center Jana Sallman, center, battles Texas guard Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda, left, and forward Kyla Oldacre, right, for a rebound during the first half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament in Austin, Texas, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

By JIM VERTUNO

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Illinois earned its first NCAA Tournament win in 25 years with a huge dose of muscle and finesse from rugged senior forward Kendall Bostic.

A matchup Monday with No. 1 Texas and its frontcourt rotation of 6-foot-4 Taylor Jones and 6-6 Kyla Oldacre is a much taller and even more physical challenge. The winner advances to the Sweet 16.

“I expect to be very sore and very tired afterward,” Bostic said Sunday.

She also is used to that, coming from the Big Ten Conference, where she routinely posts up against bigger opponents who bang around under the boards. She is far from intimidated by Texas.

“I’m undersized in the Big Ten, which is full of big players,” said Bostic, who is 6-1. “It’s not something I’ve not seen before.”

Bostic averaged nearly 16 points and 11 rebounds during the season. She had 12 points and 17 rebounds in the Illini’s 66-57 first-round win over Creighton.

But few opponents have a one-two power punch rotation like Texas has in Jones and Oldacre. Jones scored 19 points and Oldacre had 15 points and 15 rebounds in the Longhorns’ 105-61 first-round victory over William & Mary.

Not PARSE.LY: Texas Longhorns

Xavier head coach Sean Miller looks to the court during the first half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament against Illinois, Friday, March 21, 2025, in Milwaukee, Wis. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)

Texas hires Xavier’s Sean Miller, the coach who beat the Longhorns in the NCAA Tournament

Maryland guard Sarah Te-Biasu powers into the paint past Alabama guard/forward Aaliyah Nye to score a layup in front of forward Christabel Ezumah in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Monday, March 24, 2025, in College Park, Md. (Karl Merton Ferron/The Baltimore Sun via AP)

Maryland beats Crimson Tide in 2 OTs

Texas forward Madison Booker (35) scores against Illinois during the second half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament in Austin, Texas, Monday, March 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Booker and No. 1 Texas dispatch No. 8 Illinois 65-48 to send the Longhorns back to the Sweet 16

Jones starts, and both players average about 20 minutes per game.

“Taylor initiates it and I’m the cleanup finisher type,” Oldacre said.

“We both do a good job and can run in transition,” Jones said. “That’s hard to guard. And if you have post players like us who are pretty physical, you can wear someone out ... You’re playing the long game. Make them tired and by the fourth quarter you’ve got them where you want them.”

Yet Texas is wary of Bostic’s versatility as a shooter. She has made 13 3-pointers on the season.

“You can see how strong the kid is,” Texas coach Vic Schaefer said. “(But) she’s not only a power player, she can pick and pop.”

Keeping Jones and Oldacre off balance may be key for Bostic just being able to weather 40 minutes of physical play. She played 35 minutes against Creighton and has played the entire game nine times this season.

“I’ll have to manage my load a little bit. I do get more tired banging around with bigger bigs than running up and down the court,” Bostic said.

The winner advances to the Sweet 16 in Birmingham, Alabama, against the winner of Sunday night’s matchup between No. 4 Ohio State and No. 5 Tennessee.

Texas (32-3) has been to the Elite Eight in three of the past four years but failed to get out of its home gym in 2023 when the Longhorns lost in the second round as a No. 4 seed.

Depth issues

Illinois (22-9) used only six players against Creighton. Guard Genesis Bryant played all 40 minutes. Guard Jasmine Brown-Hager was the only player off the bench and logged 28 minutes. Texas, meanwhile, got 35 points from its bench in its first-round victory.

“Certainly our depth I’m hoping will play a factor,” Schaefer said. “We do have some, so we need to make sure that we use it. But our depth has to play well.”

Long range

Illinois led the Big Ten in 3-point shooting defense and the Illini shut down Creighton shooters. Texas won’t be bothered much by that because the Longhorns rarely even think about the 3-point line. Texas averages only three 3-pointers per game and didn’t make one until the third quarter against William & Mary.

Tough losses but tested

Illinois has the difficult task of playing a No. 1 seed on its home court. The Illini already have been tested in that area. A late-season road trip to Los Angeles included back-to-back losses to UCLA and USC, two of the other No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament.

Illinois coach Shauna Green said her team is ready for the road-game environment.

“We had opportunities in those games,” Green said. “I think we can learn a lot from that. Texas is going to be similar in terms of physical (play), length, athleticism, so I think that’s a real good prep for us.”

___

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.