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  "path": "/college-sports/2026/03/25/illinois-sweet-16-houston-illini-cougars-ncaa-tournament-march-madness",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-25T22:26:56.889Z",
  "site": "https://chicago.suntimes.com",
  "textContent": "<p>It’s the time of year in <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/college-sports\" target=\"_blank\" >college basketball</a> when everything gets kicked up a notch or five, including fans’ complaints.</p><p>The refs are against us. The gods are against us. Even the announcers are against us.</p><p>And if you’re rooting for Illinois, there’s a pretty good chance the location for its NCAA Tournament <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/college-sports/2026/03/22/illinois-ncaa-houston-cougars-illini-sweet-16-march-madness\" target=\"_blank\" >Sweet 16 game against Houston</a> (9:05 p.m. Thursday, TBS, truTV) is on your list of beefs before the first dribble. As if the Cougars (30-6), the South Region’s No. 2 seed, wouldn’t be enough of a challenge for the No. 3-seeded Illini (26-8) in any old gym, this one is at the Toyota Center in Houston.</p><p>Whoa, that’s rough. But “woe is me,” it better not be.</p><p>That message is clear from the Illini going in.</p><p>“We play Houston,” center Zvonimir Ivisic said. “We don’t play the fans.”</p><p>“They’re the higher seed,” forward Jake Davis said, “so it is what it is.”</p><p>It’s all about perspective, according to their coach.</p><p>“I’ll be honest, I couldn’t care less,” Brad Underwood said.</p><p>“I’m an old juco ball coach. I drove 16-passenger vans. I drove from Dodge City, Kansas, to Mesa, Arizona, for a basketball game, for a tournament, in a bus. If you had told me back then that I’m getting to coach basketball in the Sweet 16 and play Houston, I would sign up for it. I would crawl to get there.”</p><p>Sweet 16 matchups don’t get much more worth the time than this one.</p><div class=\"RelatedList Enhancement\" data-module data-align-center> <div class=\"RelatedList-title\">Related</div> <ul class=\"RelatedList-items\"> <li class=\"RelatedList-items-item\"> <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/college-sports/2026/03/22/illinois-ncaa-houston-cougars-illini-sweet-16-march-madness\" >Illinois’ NCAA path blocked by Houston, a powerhouse that will be hard to handle in Sweet 16</a> </li> <li class=\"RelatedList-items-item\"> <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/college-sports/2026/03/22/big-ten-packed-sweet-16-the-dream-scenario-for-championship-starved-conference\" >Is Big Ten-packed Sweet 16 the dream scenario for championship-starved conference?</a> </li> <li class=\"RelatedList-items-item\"> <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/college-sports/2026/03/15/my-ncaa-tournament-pick-arizona-wildcats-big-12-final-four-march-madness\" target=\"_blank\" >My NCAA Tournament pick: Arizona will win it all in a Big 12-heavy Final Four</a> </li> </ul> </div> <p>Underwood has been boasting all season about having the best offense in the country, and the metrics have backed up his claim, though Purdue has edged a whisker in front of the Illini into the No. 1 spot in the KenPom efficiency rankings. Houston is fourth in defensive efficiency and second in scoring defense, allowing a mere 62.2 points per game.</p><p>Each team is led in scoring, assists and steals by a freshman point guard bound for the NBA draft lottery. Illinois’ 6-6 Keaton Wagler takes his time creating space for threes and drives and loads up on free throws. Houston’s 6-4 Kingston Flemings is much quicker getting to his spot and expert in the pull-up game.</p><p>Speaking of beefs, Illini fans still have an old one with Cougars coach Kelvin Sampson, infamous for flipping Illini commit Eric Gordon in 2006, when Sampson was at Indiana.</p><p>“I would expect there to be a lot of Illinois fans here,” Sampson said. “They have a tremendous program, terrific fan base.”</p><p>A year ago in Indianapolis, Houston overcame partisan Purdue and Tennessee crowds in the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight, respectively, en route a national-runner-up finish. Sampson’s team knows it can win anywhere, against anybody, period.</p><p>Underwood's ought to be able to say the same by now.</p><p>“If we want to beat them, no matter where we play them, we would have to play great,” Underwood said. “Guess what? We’re going to have to do that [Thursday]. And I think they’re going to have to play well if they want a chance to beat us.”</p><div class=\"Enhancement\" data-align-center><div class=\"Enhancement-item\"> <div class=\"ExternalContent-wrapper\" data-embed> <iframe width=\"200\" height=\"113\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/hmeG3uVuB4s?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen title=\"Houston pregame NCAA Tournament press conference: Brad Underwood and Illini players\"></iframe> </div> </div></div><p></p>",
  "title": "Illinois' Sweet 16 date with Houston — the team and the city — is cause for some perspective",
  "updatedAt": "2026-03-25T22:26:56.889Z"
}