Riley scores 22 as No. 6 seed Illinois defeats Xavier 86-73 in NCAA Tournament

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Will Riley couldn’t connect on any of the first three shots he attempted.

He wouldn’t miss again until the final minute of a game that was already decided.

Riley scored 22 points while shooting 8 of 12 from the floor in Illinois’ 86-73 NCAA Tournament triumph over Xavier on Friday night. The extent of Riley’s shooting prowess became apparent with under two minutes left when he made a shot from the final “s” of the “March Madness” logo just before the shot clock expired.

“I just knew whatever I was putting up was going in, honestly,” Riley said.

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.

Riley led a balanced attack that delighted a pro-Illinois crowd at Fiserv Forum.

Kasparas Jakucionis finished with 16 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds. The Lithuanian guard said he didn’t realize how close he was to a triple-double until after the game had ended.

“That’s not the thing I’m trying to focus on,” Jakucionis said. “I’m just trying to do everything the team needs to win.”

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Tomislav Ivisic added 20 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 4 of 9 from 3-point range. The 7-foot-1 center from Croatia’s four 3-pointers were the most by a 7-footer in an NCAA Tournament game.

Kylan Boswell added 15 points for Illinois, which 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.

“If that wasn’t their best, then they’re real, real good,” Xavier coach Sean Miller said.

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.

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.

“That’s the amazing nature of this tournament,” Miller said. “You win, there’s no better feeling. When you lose, it’s terrible.”

Takeaways

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.

Up next

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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