GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — David Mirkovic had 29 points and 17 rebounds, and No. 3 seed Illinois dominated No. 14 seed Penn 105-70 on Thursday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Keaton Wagler added 18 points, seven assists and seven rebounds for the Fighting Illini (25-8), who moved on to face No. 11 VCU in the second round on Saturday.
Kylan Boswell had 13 points, while Ben Humrichous and Tomislav Ivisic each chipped in with 12 as Illinois shot 50% from the field and made 15 3-pointers while outrebounding the much smaller Quakers 48-25.
Michael Zanoni finished with 20 points on 9-of-18 shooting for Penn (18-12), the Ivy League champion.
TJ Power, who scored 44 points in the Quakers’ overtime win over Yale that got them into the tournament, finished with six points on 2-of-8 shooting in 30 minutes after missing the previous two practices with an illness that left his status for the game uncertain.
Mirkovic set the tone for Illinois with a huge first half, with his 17 points and 10 rebounds helping the Fighting Illini build a 40-30 lead.
Illinois didn’t let off the gas in the second half, stretching the lead to 23 with 10 minutes remaining after Mirkovic came up with a steal and fed Zvonimir Ivisic for a transition alley-oop dunk.
After the game, the Quakers walked in unison over toward their fans and applauded them. The fans applauded and cheered back, with one yelling, “Next year, boys!”
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Illinois beat VCU 62-46 in the only meeting between the schools in 2016.
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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
Steve Reed, The Associated Press
