Illinois Reaches Elite Eight with Win vs. Iowa State, Impresses March Madness Fans
Timothy Rapp@@TRappaRTFeatured Columnist IVMarch 29, 2024
Michael Reaves/Getty Images
It wasn’t always pretty, but Illinois is moving on to the Elite Eight.
The Fighting Illini beat Iowa State in the Sweet 16 on Thursday night, 72-69, behind Terrance Shannon Jr.’s 29 points.
NCAA March Madness @MarchMadnessMBBILLINOIS SLAMS THE DOOR SHUT šŖ#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/sOS6k1JfuH
NCAA March Madness @MarchMadnessMBBGOODE RESPONDS š„#MarchMadness @illiniMBB pic.twitter.com/9iU2NwpPF3
NCAA March Madness @MarchMadnessMBBBeautiful ball movement from @IlliniMBB š#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/OIMm2OnuzX
Illinois advanced despite struggling from both three (9-of-29) and the free-throw line (15-of-29), allowing Iowa State to hang around in game that saw the Cyclones get off to an incredibly slow start on the offensive end.
Awaiting Illinois is the defending champion UConn Huskies, a brutal matchup for any team, but the Fighting Illini received their flowers on social media after a hard-fought win:
Dan Wolken @DanWolkenUConn vs Illinois has game of the tournament potential.
Dick Weiss @HoopsWeissUConn vs. Illinois in East Region finals at Boston two best offensive teams in the country although Bama might dispute that.
Ralph D. Russo @ralphDrussoAPThink Illinois will be up for the fight against UConn.
L.C. Norton @ByLCNortonIllinois just doesn’t play like a Big Ten team. Underwood pivoted away from the style he had with Kofi to win games in March.
And, well!
Torus Washington @TorusWI didn’t realize Illinois was that good this year. This is a rock solid team with guys that can really play 1 through 5.
NANCE @LOVNLA#Illinois is scrappy & hungry #NCAAMarchMadness #IowaStatevsIllinois
It’s RBover @RyB_311Illinois got some really good passers on their team
Saw a player hit a cross court skip the corner, really nice wrap around to a big in a PnR, nice swing sequences for 3s
24/2 @RichiePorterJrIllinois was hoopin tonight š¤
Sam Olbur @SamOlburIllinois is the better team. Didn’t even play well. ELITE 8
Both teams will probably feel as though they didn’t offer their best basketball on the evening. While Illinois struggled massively from the free-throw line, costing themselves easy points, Iowa State snuffed multiple easy looks at the rim and became careless with the ball late in the second half with the game on the line.
Tom Fornelli @TomFornelliA lot of focus on Illinois at the FT line but this has been just as big if not bigger. https://t.co/CpjmaznILq
Kyle Tucker @KyleTucker_ATHThe reel of missed gimmes will haunt everyone on that Iowa State team for the rest of their lives if Illinois holds on. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anything quite like it. https://t.co/1fvxTX5Dvv
Brad Townsend @townbradIowa State went full panic.
Nick Juskewycz (Sked) @NickJuskewyczAnother pick 6 thrown by an Iowa State passer
Not the prettiest performance from these Cyclones, though they deserve credit for fighting through their early struggles. Illinois jumped out to an early 11-2 lead, led by as many as 13 points in the first half and took a 10-point advantage into the intermission.
Iowa State continued to claw back but never completely erased the deficit, as the Fighting Illini led wire-to-wire.
UConn will present far more issues for Illinois. The Huskies have now won their last nine NCAA tournament games over the past two seasons by an average margin of 22.9 points, a remarkable stretch of dominance.
Illinois can score with the best of them. But if they don’t clean up some of their execution, namely at the free-throw line, UConn won’t let them hang around.
