MILWAUKEE —
Tomislav Ivišić has never played for, or against,
Kentucky basketball . But he has a connection to UK. One that runs blood deep. His twin brother,
Zvonimir Ivišić , played for the
Wildcats last season. Today, Tomislav, who stars for
Illinois , aims to end the season of his brother's former school, facing Kentucky in a second-round matchup in the Midwest Region of the
NCAA Tournament . "We talk every day. I wouldn't say his reaction was anything special," Tomislav said. "He wished me luck, and (hoped) that we can play good against them — that we can win that game. "It's just, how would I say? Business. No emotions." It's a different story for
Orlando Antigua , the Fighting Illini's associate head coach.
He spent eight seasons as an assistant in Lexington during
John Calipari 's tenure. While he admitted there will be emotions going up against UK — it's the most time he's spent anywhere in his two-decade career in the coaching profession — he said they have "nothing to do" with the game's outcome. "Just trying to get our kids prepared and try to get them ready going up against, obviously, a really great program (and a) great coaching staff that's going to have their kids really prepared,"
Antigua told Kentucky Sports Radio in an interview after Illinois' first-round
win over Xavier at
Fiserv Forum . "So I think it'll be fun and exciting." Can UK and coach
Mark Pope come away with a win and move the program into the second weekend of
March Madness for the first time in six years? Or will the Fighting Illini advance to the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive season?
UK leads the Illini 37-32 at halftime, despite leading scorer Otega Oweh being on the bench with two fouls the last 12 minutes of the half. The Wildcats were led by 10 points from guard Lamont Butler, who has shown no signs of being affected by the shoulder injury that has kept him out of seven games this season. Kentucky's defense has also turned it up, forcing eight turnovers in the first half and leading directly to 14 points.
With exactly eight minutes remaining in the first half, Kentucky leads Illinois, 25-15. UK is 11 for 22 (50%) from the field; Illinois is 5 of 14 (36%). Kentucky is 3 for 8 (38%) beyond the 3-point line. Illinois is 2 of 7 (29%).
With the NCAA Tournament game between Baylor and Duke running into the Kentucky/Illinois broadcast window on CBS, the start time for the contest between the Wildcats and Fighting Illini has been pushed back. It initially was slated to begin at 5:15 p.m. ET. It now will tentatively tip off at 5:30 p.m.
Kentucky will tip off vs. Illinois on CBS. Streaming options include the NCAA March Madness Live app and Fubo, which offers a free trial. Announcers for the game are Kevin Harlan (play-by-play), Dan Bonner (analyst), Stan Van Gundy (analyst) and Lauren Shehadi (sideline).
Tom Leach (play-by-play) and Jack Givens (analyst) will have the UK radio network call on 840 AM in Louisville and both 630 AM and 98.1 FM in Lexington. You can also listen online via
UKAthletics.com .
Illinois enters today's game with
a 22-12 record on the season. The Illini finished in
a tie for seventh in the Big Ten during the regular season , going 12-8. Illinois went 1-1 during the league tournament in Indianapolis, topping Iowa in its opener but falling to Maryland in the quarterfinals. In 15 prior meetings between UK and Illinois,
the Wildcats own an 11-4 advantage .
Click here to see the Fighting Illini's full 2024-25 schedule. Want to learn the Fighting Illini's roster?
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