No. 8 Arkansas tops No. 9 Illinois, gets Kansas next

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Arkansas survived a second-half slump to put away Illinois and advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a 73-63 victory on Thursday.

Ricky Council IV scored 18 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to lead the Razorbacks (21-13), who trailed for only 1 minute, 20 seconds and led by as many as 17 in the second half.

Illinois had 17 turnovers but threatened late in the second half before an