NCAA Sweet 16 Scores: Illinois dominates Houston; Arizona, Iowa, Purdue advance to Elite Eight

DAZN Media

Three of the four games came down to the final minutes, highlighted by No. 2 seed Purdue (30-8) beating No. 11 Texas 79-77 because of a tip-in by Trey Kaufman-Renn with 0.7 seconds remaining to send the Boilermakers back to the Elite Eight in the West Regional Final.

Texas (21-15) had tied the game with 11.9 seconds to go when Dailyn Swain made a layup for a three-point play, which then set up the final play by Kaufman-Renn.

"It's not like it's a shot to practice every single day," Kaufman-Renn said after the game. "I'm glad I went in."

Purdue will square off on Saturday against top-ranked Arizona, which thrashed Arkansas 109-88. Arizona made NCAA Tournament history by having six players score at least 14 points, led by 21 points from Brandon Burries.

Arizona shot 64 percent from the field. It is the highest field goal percentage by any team in the Sweet 16 or later since Villanova in the 2016 Final Four, when they shot 71 percent against Oklahoma. The Wildcats return to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2015.

In the South Region, Illinois prevented Houston from returning to the Final Four with suffocating defense and offensive pressure, winning 65-55 and advancing to the Final 8 for the second time in three seasons. 

David Mirkovic led the way for Illinois (27-8)  with 14 points and 10 rebounds. The Fighting Illini held star freshman guard and likely NBA lottery pick Kingston Flemings in check by holding him to just 11 points. 

Illinois will have a chance to return to the Final Four for the first time since 2005 on Saturday when they battle fellow Big Ten school Iowa, which came back to defeat another Big 10 school, Nebraska, 77-71. 

No. 9-seeded Iowa will return to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1987.