Illinois and Arizona punch their tickets to the men’s Final Four. Two more teams will join them on Sunday

By Wayne Sterling, Jacob Lev, Kevin Dotson, CNN

(CNN) — Two spots remain in the men’s Final Four after dominant wins on Saturday by Illinois and Arizona, who are heading to the NCAA tournament’s final weekend for the first time since the early part of this century.

The Illini and Wildcats both faced tough challenges but eventually pulled away easily in their Elite Eight games on Saturday night.

Meanwhile, the women’s NCAA tournament wrapped up the Sweet 16 round on Saturday and tickets will be punched to the women’s Final Four in Phoenix on Sunday.

Here’s what you need to know from Saturday, and what to watch on Sunday.

Illinois pulls away from Iowa late in rivalry showdown

Saturday’s doubleheader started with an all-Big Ten showdown between South Region No. 9 seed Iowa and No. 3 seed Illinois in Houston.

The Hawkeyes, who went just 10-10 in Big Ten conference play during the season, have looked like a totally different team in March Madness. That trend continued in the early minutes of their game against Illinois as Iowa got off to an early 9-0 lead.

Illinois guard Andrej Stojakovic, son of longtime NBA player Peja Stojakovic, brought a spark coming off the bench as the Illini battled back to cut the deficit down to one point. But a hot hand from Iowa guard Bennett Stirtz, who scored 15 points in the first half, kept the Hawkeyes in front with a 32-28 lead at halftime.

There was a delay of 11 minutes in the middle stages of the first half when the horn in the Toyota Center wouldn’t stop blaring. Eventually officials had to unplug the entire overhead scoreboard to stop the noise and the game continued with a handheld airhorn.

Illinois took its first lead of the game in the early minutes of the second half on an and-one play from David Mirkovic.

From there, the border war matchup turned into a seesaw affair with the Hawkeyes and Illini trading the lead back and forth an astounding 13 times in the second half.

As the minutes ticked down and the tension ratcheted up, Illinois showed the quality that helped the Illini beat the Hawkeyes during their regular season matchup. An 8-0 Illinois run gave the Illini some breathing room.

Iowa could not find much offense outside of Stirtz, who scored a team-high 24, and Illinois powered its way to a 71-59 win to reach their first Final Four since 2005.

Freshman guard Keaton Wagler set the tempo for Illinois, scoring 25 points to lead all scorers. Stojakovic finished with 17 points coming off the bench.

The Illini will face the winner of the East Region final between No. 1 seed Duke and No. 2 seed UConn in the Final Four in Indianapolis.

Arizona looks like a title favorite in romp over Purude

The Arizona Wildcats are going to the Final Four for the first time in 25 years after rolling through the Purdue Boilermakers by a final score of 79-64.

The West Region No. 1 seed Wildcats entered March Madness as a trendy pick to win the championship, but the Big 12 conference champs ran into a stiff challenge Saturday night in the form of the Big Ten tournament champion.

Early on, it looked like Arizona was on its way to another comfortable victory against the Purdue squad as the Wildcats built a 19-12 lead over the smaller Boilermakers team.

But Arizona’s offense went stagnant and Purdue began to impose its will on the Wildcats as the first half went on. The newly minted NCAA assist king Braden Smith was everywhere for Purdue. He led the way in the first half with 11 points to go along with four rebounds and four assists, propelling Purdue to a 38-31 halftime lead.

After the intemission, the Wilcats emerged from the locker room looking like themselves, outworking the Boilermakers on the offensive and defensive end of the court. And after a 7-0 run in the early minutes of the second half, the WIldcats tied the game at 42-42.

The Wildcats kept their foot on the gas in a prolonged assault that saw Arizona create a little breathing room, and then build that breathing room into a double-digit lead.

As the half rolled on, save for one last Boilermaker rally, Arizona was a force of nature. Purdue had no answers for the Wildcats’ all-out attack, and the outcome of the game began to feel as inevitable as gravity.

The lead built to 13 with three minutes to go and went to 15 as the clock ticked down. Purdue called off the dogs and allowed Arizona to dribble out the clock as the Wildcats booked their first trip to the Final Four since 2001 – an almost unfathomable length of time for such a prominent program.

Full men’s results for Saturday:

• Illinois 71, Iowa 59
• Arizona 79, Purdue 64

Four marquee games in women’s bracket

The women’s Sweet 16 closed out on Saturday with four games featuring two No. 1 seeds in action.

South Carolina, led by head coach Dawn Staley, looked like a contender for the championship as the Gamecocks dismantled No. 4 Oklahoma by a score of 94-68.

The No. 1 seed Texas Longhorns made light work of SEC foe No. 5 Kentucky, winning by a score of 56-44 to set a date with the Michigan Wolverines in the Elite Eight.

No. 2 seed Michigan cruised past No. 3 seed Louisville 71-52 in the first women’s Sweet 16 game of Saturday.

No. 3 seed TCU ended the Cinderella ambitions of No. 10 seed Virginia, which was seeking to become only the second-ever 10 seed to make the Elite Eight. The Horned Frogs dispatched the Cavaliers 79-69 and advance to face the Gamecocks.

Here is the full women’s schedule on Saturday:

• Michigan 71, Louisville 52
• Texas 76, Kentucky 54
• South Carolina 94, Oklahoma 68
• TCU 79, Virginia 69

What’s coming up on Sunday

(6) Tennessee vs. (1) Michigan

Sunday’s first men’s game pits No. 6 Tennessee from the SEC and the fourth team representing the Big Ten, No. 1 Michigan.

Dusty May has the Wolverines on the brink of the Final Four, but Michigan will have to get past a physical Volunteers squad seeking the school’s first-ever Final Four.

The Volunteers and Wolverines face off at 2:15 p.m. ET from the United Center in Chicago.

(2) UConn vs. (1) Duke

The weekend closes with a heavyweight “blue blood” matchup. The overall No. 1 seed Duke, winners of five national championships take on UConn, winners of six titles.

The Blue Devils are seeking to advance to their second consecutive Final Four and 19th overall while the Huskies are aiming for the school’s eighth appearance.

The two teams square off at 5:05 p.m. ET from the Capital One Arena in Washington, DC.

The Final Four is set for next Saturday, April 4 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis with two semifinals games.

Two days later, a new national champion will be crowned.

Full men’s schedule for Sunday:

• Midwest Region: No. 6 Tennessee vs. No. 1 Michigan, 2:15 p.m. ET, CBS
• East Region: No. 2 UConn vs. No. 1 Duke, 5:05 p.m. ET, CBS

Women’s Elite Eight tips off

The women’s Elite Eight will officially get underway on Sunday with two games:

• No. 1 UConn vs. No. 6 Notre Dame, 1 p.m. ET, ABC
• No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 3 Duke, 3 p.m. ET, ABC

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