00:00Yeah, what's fascinating is it is a rematch, but it's completely different teams.
00:05Illinois, after that game, they had Keaton Wagler off the ball.
00:10He was just kind of a shooter in the corner.
00:13David Mirkovic rarely had the ball in his hands.
00:16After that game, they decided, you know what, we need to put Keaton Wagler, the keys, in his hands.
00:23They did, and we've seen what's happened ever since then.
00:26Keaton Wagler is the best NBA prospect that remains in this Final Four.
00:30He's putting together one of the best seasons in Illinois history.
00:34I did not use the qualifier of best season by a freshman.
00:38I'm saying one of the best individual seasons we've ever seen.
00:41He's getting a jersey in the rafters because he's an All-American.
00:43He's the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, All-Big Ten first team, most outstanding player.
00:47He matched Bennett Sturtz shot for shot, had one more point at the end of the game,
00:52was so tough and physical against Houston, did a lot of things defensively,
00:56and on the glass, along with scoring 13 points.
00:59He's the engine now.
01:00And UConn hasn't gone up against a lot of guards like Keaton,
01:04who are NBA-level lottery pick kind of guys.
01:07So the offense has just completely changed since when Illinois last played UConn.
01:12Now, UConn had some struggles at the end of the regular season and in their Big East tournament,
01:16but Dan Hurley's 17-3 in the NCAA tournament, and there's just a culture of toughness, physicality that they bring.
01:23Illinois is actually a bigger team than UConn.
01:26They're a better offensive team than UConn, but Dan Hurley, whether you like him or hate him,
01:32you know how his teams are never going to quit.
01:34We saw that yesterday.
01:36Braylon Mullins was a non-factor in the game before.
01:38We just saw the confidence builder he just hit to make NCAA tournament history yesterday.
01:44So this is going to be a great matchup, but it is a different matchup than we saw.
01:48And, you know, I understand why Illinois is the favorite, because just their roster, I think, is better than UConn.
01:53But big test for Brad Underwood and his staff, because Dan Hurley's staff clearly is the best,
01:59if not one of the tops in the country.
Comments