Iowa's Alvaro Folgueiras celebrates after the Hawkeyes downed Nebraska in the Sweet 16 in Houston on Thursday nigh. (AP photo)

HOUSTON (AP) — Alvaro Folgueiras converted a critical three-point play when Nebraska only had four defenders on the floor, and ninth-seeded Iowa continued its unpredictable NCAA Tournament run under first-year coach Ben McCollum, beating Nebraska 77-71 in a South Region semifinal on Thursday night.

Bennett Stirtz scored 20 points and Folgueiras had 16 for the Hawkeyes (24-12), who knocked off top-seeded Florida in the second round on Folgueiras’ 3-pointer in the closing seconds.

Iowa will face Illinois on Saturday for a spot in the Final Four. McCollum, who won four Division II national titles at Northwest Missouri State, has now led Iowa to its fifth Elite Eight and first since 1987.

Iowa became the lowest-seeded team from the Big Ten to reach a regional final since seeding began in 1979.

“Cinderella, whatever they want to call us, just we’re in the Elite Eight,” McCollum said. “That’s what they need to call us.”

Fourth-seeded Nebraska (28-7) took an early 10-point lead against its conference rival, and Iowa tied it four times but never led until Stirtz buried a 3-pointer to make it 68-65 with 2:10 to go. Sage Tate hit another 3 to cap a 9-0 run and put Iowa ahead 71-65.

The Cornhuskers got within three on a second-chance 3 by Braden Frager, but they were disorganized on the inbound play, leaving Folgueiras unguarded near the rim. He slammed it home — popping up screaming after he finished through contact as Iowa fans roared — and converted the free throw for a six-point lead.

Another dunk by Folgueiras with 34 seconds left made it 76-68.

For Stirtz and McCollum, this March Madness run continues a journey that began at Northwest Missouri State and continued last season at Drake before the pair both moved on to Iowa.

“It’s been a hell of a ride,” McCollum said. “But it’s far from over.”

Stirtz credited McCollum for turning him into a “great person off the court and a great player on the court,” but he had trouble sharing too much more about his coach.

“I don’t want to talk about it that much. I get emotional,” he said. “That’s just another topic for after the season that we can look at. Right now, just focus on the next game.”

Iowa transfer Pryce Sandfort made six 3s and scored 25 points for Nebraska, which won the first two March Madness games in program history to get this far. Frager added 16 points for coach Fred Hoiberg’s Cornhuskers, who delighted a traveling contingent of red-clad fans throughout their tournament run.

“These guys will be a part of history of Nebraska basketball forever, for winning the first NCAA tournament game, getting to the Sweet 16, most wins in the history of the program, highest ranking,” Hoiberg said. “They just did so many things to elevate our program. I’m really proud of them.”

Iowa’s second-half rally was fueled by Nebraska’s cold shooting: The Huskers were 9 of 32 (28.1%) after halftime, with most of those attempts coming beyond the arc, where they made just 6 of 24.

“We missed some good looks,” Hoiberg said. “I’ll go back and watch it at some point and see what we could have done better, but (it) seemed like they made all the open shots at the end, we didn’t. Again, that happens in this game. Unfortunately, that was the result tonight.”

The teams split their previous meetings this season, but it will be the Hawkeyes who move on and try to represent the Big Ten in the Final Four — with possibly another conference rival standing in their way.

ILLINOIS 65, HOUSTON 55

David Mirkovic had 14 points and 10 rebounds, and third-seeded Illinois flexed its defensive muscles to eliminate last year’s national runner-up from the NCAA Tournament in the other South Region semifinal.

Next up is a meeting Saturday with ninth-seeded Iowa to see which Big Ten team will advance to the Final Four. It will be the 11th Elite Eight appearance for Illinois (27-8) and its second in three seasons under Brad Underwood.

In the Sweet 16 for a seventh consecutive time, the second-seeded Cougars (30-7) were thrilled to be playing a game just over two miles from their campus. But their poor shooting gave Houston fans little to cheer about and delighted the orange-clad Illini faithful who made the long trip to Texas.

Star freshman point guard Kingston Flemings, who expected to be an NBA lottery pick, had 11 points on 4-of-10 shooting and Milos Uzan made just 2 of 11 shots.

But they were far from the only Cougars who struggled offensively. The team shot just 34% in its lowest-scoring game of the season.

Illinois finished well under the 84.7 points a game it averaged entering Thursday. But its offense was still plenty powerful enough to send Houston back to its nearby campus. Keaton Wagler had 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Illini, and Andrej Stojakovic — with his dad, three-time NBA All-Star Peja Stojakovic, in the stands — also scored 13.