NCAA Tournament: Illinois routs Penn 105-70 behind David Mirković's big night to advance to 2nd round

Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune on Mar 20, 2026

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GREENVILLE, S.C. – Illinois needed a get-right game. The fans at Bon Secours Wellness Arena probably needed a rest from the nail-biters.

The third-seeded Illini delivered both late Thursday night with a good old-fashioned blowout of No. 14 seed Penn in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Illinois turned a 10-point halftime lead into a 105-70 rout, wearing Penn down with its powerful, deep offense to advance to Saturday’s second round against No. 11 seed VCU.

The first three games Thursday in Greenville were riveting. No. 9 seed TCU knocked off No. 8 Ohio State 66-64, and No. 16 Siena gave top-seeded Duke a serious scare in the East Region games. VCU then topped No. 6 North Carolina in overtime in the first of the South Region games.

The Illinois-Penn matchup was not supposed to be one of those March Madness beauties, and it wasn’t, though Penn kept it close in the first half.

Illinois freshmen David Mirković and Keaton Wagler led the way in their first NCAA Tournament appearance. Mirković had 29 points and 17 rebounds, getting a standing ovation from the Illini fans who made the trip when coach Brad Underwood took him out with 5 minutes to play.

Wagler had 18 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Kylan Boswell added 13 points, and Tomislav Ivišić had 12 points and seven rebounds, scoring seven points early in the second half to help spark the surge.

It was a needed performance for the Illini, who six days earlier lost their first game in the Big Ten Tournament to Wisconsin. The No. 5 seed Badgers went home on their first day of the NCAA Tournament, losing a shocker to No. 12 seed High Point.

This looked more like the Illini team that won 24 games in the regular season, sporting a dominant offense in which any number of talented players can make massive contributions.

On defense, the Illini shut down Penn forward TJ Power, who scored 44 points in the Ivy League Tournament championship game Sunday. He missed Wednesday’s practice with an illness but started Thursday. Power, defended by Boswell and Andrej Stojaković early, had just six first-half points on two 3-pointers, one at the halftime buzzer. That was all he scored.

Illinois pulled to a 13-point first-half lead after back-to-back Mirković baskets inside. But Penn went on a 9-0 run, including three jumpers from senior guard Michael Zanoni.

The Illini survived a stretch of 7:19 when they made only one field goal and two free throws as Penn drew within five points. But a Mirković 3-pointer, followed by another 3 from Ben Humrichous, broke through the drought.

Zanoni finished with 20 points for Penn.

VCU stormed back from a 19-point deficit to beat North Carolina 82-78 in overtime. The Rams trailed by 14 with 7:11 to play but went on a 12-0 run to cut it to two points with 3:56 to play.

Sophomore guard Terrence Hill Jr. made the tying layup in regulation and then the go-ahead 3-pointer in overtime for VCU. He finished with 34 points, five rebounds and five assists.

North Carolina committed seven of its eight turnovers in the second half, including a five-second call on an inbounds play and a Henri Veesaar lost-ball turnover, both in the final 28 seconds.