Freshmen take center stage when Illinois meets Houston in Sweet 16

HOUSTON -- Both Illinois and Houston have been forged by tradition and buoyed by veterans. Yet the Illini and Cougars owe a noteworthy measure of their success this season to freshmen.

Guards Keaton Wagler of Illinois and Kingston Flemings of Houston will serve as the showcase young stars for the third-seeded Illini (26-8) and second-seeded Cougars (30-6), respectively, when they face off on Thursday in the second South Region semifinal of the NCAA Tournament.

Wagler and Flemings have emerged this season as impactful freshmen on teams laden with experienced hands, and both have seamlessly blended into the respective cultures of Illinois and Houston with adaptive skills that often eluded heralded prospects thrust into the spotlight.

"When you're a freshman coming into a program that has had our sustained level of success over many, many years, you better come in with the right attitude and the right common sense," Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said. "And Kingston's been blessed with both.

"He knew how to defer, he knew how to be respectful, until he got on the court. And when you're on the court, he wasn't very respectful. He's the best player from day one. That's not an opinion, that's a fact."

Flemings paces the Cougars in scoring at 16.2 points per game while also leading the team in assists (5.2) and steals (1.6) in 36 games. He joined a backcourt that features respected seniors Emanuel Sharp and Milos Uzan, and asserted himself without pushing those revered veterans aside.

Like Flemings, Wagler leads the Illini in scoring (17.8), assists (4.4) and steals (0.9) in 34 games. And like Sampson with Flemings, Illini coach Brad Underwood had zero regret handing the keys to Wagler, even with Illinois' outsized expectations entering this season.

"I think (Sampson's) approach to it has been very similar to what ours is," Underwood said. "He's turned the ball over, he's turned the reins over, and rightfully so. He's earned that respect. (Flemings is) a tremendous athlete. He's been a big shot maker for them. He competes at a very high level. As does Keaton. It took us a little bit throughout the season, especially early, to get Keaton in that role.

"But they're both, I would say, mature beyond their years in terms of poise and, obviously, the successes both those young men have had this season are pretty paralleled in terms of their growth and what their impact's been on their team."

While Flemings and Wagler were both honored as NABC second-team All-Americans in part for their offensive exploits, the Illinois-Houston showdown will likely hinge on which team can best play to its strength.

The Cougars rank fourth in defensive efficiency according to KenPom rankings, a slight regression from recent vintages when the Cougars typically topped those ratings. Illinois, conversely, boasts the second-rated offense in the nation, a figure boosted by its ability to crash the offensive boards.

Under Sampson, the Cougars have long thrived as bullies on the boards, particularly on the offensive glass. Rarely has Houston met its match in that regard, and with the Illini posing a threat to the Cougars' defense and rebounding reputation, their challenge is clear.

"Yeah, they're a consensus top-two offense this year, and they play super hard," Flemings said. "They hunt matchups a lot. Keaton Wagler, one of the best freshmen out, so he's the engine to their team, but they also have (freshman forward David) Mirkovic, who is great post, great passer. I think the best thing they do is offensive rebounding. When the ball goes up, that's when the game really starts. They go and they crash the rebounding; they are No. 3 in the country.

"So when you rebound that much, you're getting rebounds off your misses, you have more chances to score. Just knowing how hard it is to get offensive rebounds and knowing how good they are, it's just great watching them play like that, so it's going to be a tall task for us, for sure."