3 Things to Watch When Illinois Plays VCU in the NCAA Tournament Round of 32

No. 3-seeded Illinois cruised to a 105-70 win over No. 14 seed Penn on Thursday night in the NCAA Tournament. And on paper, the Illini are set up well for a trip to the second weekend.

Elsewhere in the Greenville, South Carolina, portion of the South Region, No. 11 seed VCU upset No. 6 seed North Carolina 82-78 in overtime. That set up a matchup between the Illini and Rams on Saturday at 6:50 p.m. CT at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.

VCU – the Atlantic 10 regular season and tournament champion – was a Cinderella team under Shaka Smart in 2011 as an 11 seed, and it will be aiming to make a similar run this year under first-year coach Phil Martelli Jr.

Here are three things to watch as Illinois seeks to advance to the Sweet 16:

1. Kylan Boswell's defense

Kylan Boswell Illinois Basketball — Illinois Fighting Illini guard Kylan Boswell (4) dribbles against the Penn Quakers during the 2026 NCAA Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Simply from a height standpoint, 6-foot-2 Kylan Boswell may not seem like the obvious matchup for Penn's 6-foot-9 forward TJ Power. But Boswell is Illinois' best on-ball defender, so it made sense for him to hound the Quakers' leading scorer, who was coming off a 44-point game in the Ivy League Championship.

The Illini completely shut down Power, who tied his season low with six points on 2-for-8 shooting. Underwood said he wanted the Illini to make Power's touches hard and to be physical, and Boswell was "phenomenal" in executing that.

"Kylan just seems to have that ability to rise to the level," Underwood said postgame. "He had great hands. He poked the ball away a few times, and that's all disruptive."

Boswell's defense will be especially important again on Saturday, when Illinois faces a pair of dynamic VCU guards. In the Rams' win over North Carolina, Terrence Hill Jr. scored 34 points on 7-for-10 three-point shooting off the bench, and Nyk Lewis finished with 16 points.

Boswell obviously can't guard both at once, so it will be a team effort to keep the VCU guards in check. But if Boswell can deny passes to one of them, contest three-point shots and set the tone physically, it could spark the kind of defensive performance Illinois needs to advance to the Sweet 16.

2. Can Illinois hold a late lead?

Brad Underwood Kentucky — Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood against the Penn Quakers during the 2026 NCAA Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

VCU set an NCAA Tournament first-round record for its 19-point comeback victory over North Carolina. The Rams even trailed by 11 points at the five-minute mark, but Lewis and Hilll sunk clutch bucket after clutch bucket to force overtime. It helped that North Carolina went 12-for-20 at the free throw line, too.

This isn't only relevant because Illinois' next opponent is VCU. Underwood was asked prior to the Penn game about his team giving up second-half leads in four losses over the last month.

Although there were isolated concerns in each game, he doesn't see a common thread across the four losses.

"It's something that I haven't made too much of a deal of," Underwood said. "I think we're aware of it. I think we're trying to figure out maybe if there's a ... what's caused it. It's been literally something different in almost every game. I'm glad we've had leads in those games. But we've had some unfortunate turnovers, we've missed some free throws, missed a couple wide-open shots."

"In our last game against Wisconsin, really out of character – I think we're No. 1 in the country in fewest fouls – we committed four fouls in a run that put them on the foul line, and that's something we normally don't ever do. So it's been a little bit of something different every time. I'm not trying to focus too much on that."

Regardless of the cause and whether the Illini can fix it, they can't get comfortable in the second half if they build a lead like North Carolina did. VCU has proven to be a relentless team, so Illinois must maintain its focus and discipline throughout.

3. Can VCU get to the free-throw line?

VCU Rams forward Lazar Djokovic (17) answers question ahead of the first round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

As Underwood mentioned above, Illinois' defense has been foul-averse all season. The Illini average just 13.3 fouls per game, good for second fewest in the country.

That has resulted in Illinois opponents attempting just 12.7 free throws per game and making 9.3, both of which are fewest in the country. It's an underrated aspect of this Illinois team, as it doesn't hand opponents free points too often, and its best players rarely get in foul trouble.

That will be put to the test against VCU, which ranks top 25 nationally in free-throw attempts and free throws made per game. The Rams' percentage isn't outstanding – 73.8 percent ranks 132nd overall – but that's less of an issue because of the volume.

The main player to watch in this regard is 6-foot-10 forward Lazar Djokovic, who led the Atlantic 10 in total free throws made and attempted. He'll put pressure on Illinois' frontcourt to defend without fouling. Three other Rams average at least three attempts per game, so it will be a team effort to keep them off the line.