When is Illinois’ Final Four game on Saturday? Time, how to watch and more

Illinois will face UConn in their first Final Four clash in more than two decades on Saturday, with big hopes this time around.

The two teams will meet at 5:09 p.m. at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, with the game airing on TBS, TNT and truTV.

It appears the Illini aren’t done yet, and Andrej Stojakovic made that clear following last week’s win against Iowa in the Elite Eight.

 “We didn’t get to the Final Four just to get there,” he said. “We’re coming to win two more games.”

The win was also a major milestone for Illini coach Brad Underwood. After 39 seasons in the coaching ranks, he has finally made it in March Madness for the first time.

For Illinois, it’s a new experience, too. The Illini last reached the national semifinals during their 2005 runner-up finish. The obstacle again will be getting past UConn (33-5).

But this looks like a very different matchup than this season’s previous meeting with two more physical, more balanced and more experienced teams squaring off.

Huskies coach Dan Hurley has built his reputation on tough players eager to the dirty work and this group is more of the same.

Center Tarris Reed Jr. earned the East Region’s Most Outstanding Player award by scoring 21.7 points and grabbing 13.5 rebounds in tourney wins over Furman, UCLA, Michigan State and Duke— including 31 points and 27 rebounds in Round 1.

Huskies Forward Alex Karaban already holds school records for most games played (149), most wins (125), most starts (148) and most 3-pointers (288) and now needs two more tourney wins to push his March Madness career mark to 19-1.

Illinois is different, too. Guard Keaton Wagler, a second-team All-American, was just starting to emerge as a scoring threat in November. Today, he’s the Illini’s leading scorer (17.9 points) and the South Region MOP.

In November, forward Jake Davis was still coming off the bench and guard Andrej Stojakovic was still trying to find his groove. Davis now starts, Stojakovic’s big plays off the bench have played a key role in fueling Illinois’ tourney run and the 7-foot Ivisic twins, Tomislav and Zvonimir, have provided a needed physical presence.