Illinois opened its NCAA Tournament run with an 86-73 win over No. 11-seeded Xavier at Fiserv Forum on Friday night.

Advancing to the second round for the second straight season, the Fighting Illini had four scorers finish in double figures en route to the 13-point victory.

After starting 0-for-3 from the field, Will Riley closed the game by making eight of his final nine shots. Registering a team-high 22 points, his sixth 20-point performance of the season, Riley also collected four rebounds and two blocks while going 3-for-4 from beyond the arc.

Tomislav Ivisic tallied his team-leading 11th double-double, finishing the night with 20 points and 10 rebounds. With his fifth outing with 20+ points, Ivisic also poured in four 3-pointers, along with two blocks and an assist.

Kasparas Jakucionis filled the stat sheet with 16 points, nine rebounds, and 10 assists for his sixth double-double of the season. Going 9-for-9 from free-throw line, Jakucionis also grabbed one steal while amassing double-digit assists for the second time in his collegiate career.

Kylan Boswell went 5-for-8 from the field and 3-for-4 from 3-point range, recording 15 points, five rebounds, two assists, and a steal. 

After the Musketeers took an early 6-2 edge, the Illini claimed their first lead of the night with a 5-0 run, with all five points coming via second-chance opportunities. Ivisic accounted for the Orange and Blue's next seven points, though five lead changes through the opening six minutes highlighted the back-and-forth nature of the early stages of the contest.

With the game knotted at 14, Illinois extended its advantage to seven points with a 7-0 run via points from three different scorers. Xavier reduced its deficit to one before Ivisic connected on his second 3-pointer of the night to move into double figures with just under nine minutes left in the first half. 

The Musketeers battled back to cut the Illini's lead down to one once again, but the Illini found another answer in the form of another 7-0 run. That two-minute stretch gave the Orange and Blue a 35-27 edge, their largest lead of the half, with five minutes remaining in the frame.

An 8-2 Xavier run cut the Musketeers' deficit to two, but Boswell's deep three right before the game clock expired sent the sides into halftime with the Illini holding a 40-35 lead. Ivisic led all scorers with 13 points and three 3-pointers, while Boswell tacked on 10 points on 3-for-4 shooting across the opening 20 minutes of play.

Xavier scored the first two points of the second half and looked to score again on the fast break, but a block from Riley led to a Tre White triple in transition. Riley's jumper followed by a Jakucionis and-1 bucket pushed the Illini edge into double digits for the first time, 48-37, and capped off an 8-0 run with 18:16 to go in the game.

Five straight points from Boswell maintained the Illini's momentum before a 7-0 Illinois run, with all seven points coming from Riley, added onto the Orange and Blue's advantage, 62-48, with 12:17 left in the contest. 

A 7-2 run lengthened the Illini's lead up to 17 points just over halfway through the final frame. After Xavier pieced together a brief 5-2 scoring stretch, Ivisic knocked down his fourth trey to re-establish that 17-point advantage with 7:35 left on the clock.

The Musketeers used an 11-2 run to cut their deficit down to eight, but a second-chance 3-pointer from Riley followed by a fast-break Jakucionis layup halted Xavier's late comeback attempt and swung the momentum back into the Illini's favor with three minutes left. Leading by as many as 17, the Orange and Blue closed out the win to book their spot in the next round.

Illinois advances to the NCAA Tournament Second Round, with the Illini set to take on No. 3-seeded and No. 18-ranked Kentucky on Sunday in Milwaukee.