HOUSTON — Freshman Keaton Wagler scored a game-high 25 points, Andrej Stojakovic added 17 off the bench, and third-seeded Illinois secured its first Final Four berth in 21 years with a 71-59 victory over Big Ten rival Iowa on Saturday in the South Region final of the NCAA Tournament.

Illinois (28-8) seized control of a back-and-forth second half with a 10-1 run that yielded a 60-52 lead with 4:06 left. The ninth-seeded Hawkeyes (24-13) and Illinois combined for 13 lead changes and seven ties in the second half until the Fighting Illini took control, first with consecutive post baskets from Tomislav Ivisic. Then, Wagler and Stojakovic finished the job.

Stojakovic completed a three-point play with 3:16 left to answer a 3-pointer from Isaia Howard and extend the Illinois lead to 63-55. After Stojakovic added a baseline layup, Wagler converted a pair of free throws with 1:12 remaining to build the lead to 67-59. Stojakovic added five rebounds to his ledger while Wagler finished 7 of 7 from the line and added three assists.

David Mirkovic posted nine points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Illinois finished with a 38-21 rebounding advantage and turned 16 offensive rebounds into 13 second-chance points.

Bennett Stirtz paced the Hawkeyes with 24 points while Sage chipped in 10. Iowa shot just 23.1% in the second half after making 12 of 21 shots before the intermission.

Stojakovic and Wagler helped the Illini overcome a ragged start that resulted in an early double-digit deficit. While Illinois missed its first four shots, Iowa started 5 of 6 and seized a 12-2 lead by the 15:56 mark of the first half, with Combs and Stirtz scoring five points apiece.

But Stojakovic got the Illini going with a second-chance basket, a steal and transition layup through a foul that sliced the deficit to 12-11. Stirtz stalled Illinois’ 9-0 spurt with a pull-up jumper and, after a lengthy delay when the horn stuck with 7:43 left in the half, Stirtz pushed Iowa to a 27-20 lead with consecutive baskets.

When Illinois clawed back to within 27-26, Sage drilled a 3-pointer that extended the Iowa lead to four, an advantage the Hawkeyes held at the intermission. The Illini shot just 37% in the first half but turned 10 offensive rebounds into 11 second-chance points to offset the Hawkeyes’ 57.1% shooting, including 6 of 12 from behind the arc.

–MK Bower, Field Level Media

MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin claimed the 49th Busch Light Pole Award of his career Saturday afternoon, claiming the number one starting spot for Sunday’s Cook Out 400 (3:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Martinsville Speedway, a track where he has long established himself as one of the best.

Hamlin’s JGR No. 11 Toyota turned a lap of 98.241 mph around the half-mile Martinsville oval — .056-second faster than another one of the track’s recent best performers, William Byron in the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. They will lead the field to green on Sunday, with Hamlin racing for his second victory of the season and Byron hoping to put a Chevrolet in victory lane for the first time in 2026.

“I knew it was possible simply from where my car was in practice,” said Hamlin who now has five career Martinsville pole awards. “Any time you’ve got fast lap speed in practice here that’s in the top 12, you’re close enough there that qualifying trim doesn’t change your car that much.”

“You’ve got enough speed to where you nail it and do a good enough job as a driver you’ve got a chance at the pole, so I knew it was very possible but truthfully, I approached the lap to get in the top eight. I think I’d go faster if I went and did it again right now, but I think I’ll go on and stand on my time,” he added with a smile.

Hamlin now ties Bobby Issac for the 10th most pole awards in cup series history, a mark that genuinely seemed to surprise Hamlin, who answered questions about it with an immediate and competitive response, “Who has the next most on the list?” Ryan Newman is next with 51.

“I never really go into any weekend thinking about qualifying on pole, it’s really kind of a sidebar to how my Saturday goes,” Hamlin said. “It’s pretty awesome, and really, with age, the hardest part is actually still having a fast time. It’s one thing to be able to manage races and use your experience to your advantage. But usually, the first thing to go is your raw speed and we’re still knocking off poles, which is really good.”

Wood Brothers Racing’s Josh Berry was third quickest in the No. 21 Ford and will share the second row with Hamlin’s JGR teammate Ty Gibbs in the No. 54 Toyota.

Trackhouse Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen turned an impressive oval qualifying effort with a fifth-place showing in the No. 97 Chevrolet.

Austin Cindric, Carson Hocevar, championship leader Tyler Reddick, Joey Logano and Chase Elliott round out the top 10 in the starting grid.

–Field Level Media

Joel Embiid had 29 points and made a big block in the final seconds as the Philadelphia Sixers rallied from 15 points down to edge the host Charlotte Hornets 118-114 on Saturday night.

Philadelphia (41-33) stopped Charlotte’s five-game winning streak and won the season series 2-1 giving them the tiebreaker in the Eastern Conference playoff chase. Charlotte fell to 39-35.

Paul George, in his second game back from a 25-game suspension for violating the terms of the league’s anti-drug program, finished with 26 points. Tyrese Maxey also had 26 in making his return to the Sixers lineup after missing 10 games with a finger injury.

Brandon Miller scored 29 for Charlotte.

The Hornets didn’t trail in building an 88-73 lead midway through the third quarter, but then they went over 12 minutes with only one field goal.

Philadelphia rallied. Maxey tied the game at 97 with a ferocious left-hand slam over Miles Bridges at the 10:03 mark of the fourth quarter, and then he gave the Sixers the lead with a drive to the basket.

The lead changed hands nine times in the fourth quarter. LaMelo Ball gave Charlotte a 114-112 lead with 1:24 left. Embiid sank a free throw and missed the second, but the ball went out of bounds off of the Hornets. On the ensuing inbounds pass, George made a three from the corner to put Philly ahead 116-114 with 1:04 left.

Charlotte turned the ball over on its next possession, and Maxey made one free throw with 31 seconds left. Ball saw a three rattle in and out, but Charlotte kept the ball. Embiid then ranged over and blocked a potential game-tying three by Miller in front of the Sixers bench with 7.4 seconds to go. Ball had one last chance, faking out George and getting a little room for a clean look at a corner three, but it was short. George made one free throw for the final margin.

Miller had 16 first-quarter points as Charlotte led 36-25, and the Hornets were up 69-64 at halftime.

With Milwaukee’s loss earlier on Saturday, Charlotte clinched at least a spot in the play-in tournament for the first time since 2022.

–Field Level Media