GREENVILLE, S.C. — Andrej Stojakovic delivered an impressive 21-point performance as the Illinois Fighting Illini, seeded third, triumphed over 11th-seeded VCU with a commanding 76-55 win on Saturday. This victory propels Illinois into the Sweet 16 for the second time in three seasons under the guidance of coach Brad Underwood.

Key contributions came from Tomislav Ivisic, who notched a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Keaton Wagler, who also added 14 points. The Illini, now boasting a 26-8 record, are set to face off against the South Region’s second seed, Houston, following their decisive 88-57 victory over Texas A&M.

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Coach Underwood expressed his joy post-game by enthusiastically waving to the Illinois supporters, celebrating their team’s advancement.

Exploiting their significant height advantage, Illinois restricted VCU to just 35% shooting and dominated the boards with a 45-29 rebounding edge. The Illini’s defense was further solidified by five blocked shots.

For VCU, Terrence Hill Jr. led with 17 points in the effort, but the Rams, who concluded their season with a 28-8 record, struggled following Nyk Lewis’s early exit. Lewis suffered a sprained right ankle in the game’s opening minute, which allowed Illinois to seize an early 20-8 lead.

VCU’s Nyk Lewis went down for the game with a sprained right ankle in the opening minute and Illinois bolted to 20-8 lead.

But just as they did on Thursday night against No. 6 seed North Carolina, when they came storming back from a 19-point, second-half deficit to win 82-78 in overtime, the Rams got back in it with a series of 3-pointers to take a 28-26 lead behind 12 first-half points from Hill.

But VCU couldn’t sustain the momentum.

Illinois took control late in the first half with Stojakovic scoring all nine points during a 9-0 stretch to close the half.

The second half was all Illinois.

The Illini pushed their lead to 17 early in the second half after VCU turnovers led to a high-flying transition dunk from Zvonimir Ivisic and Kylan Boswell’s 3 from the top of the key to beat the shot clock.

The lead got to 23 with 4 minutes remaining, setting off a celebration among Illinois fans.

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Illinois is 3-2 all-time against Houston, but the Cougars won the most recent meeting 68-53 victory in the second round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament.

ABC7 Chicago contributed to this report.