No. 2 Illinois saved a number of Iowa State comeback makes an attempt at bay in a 72-69 win over the No. 2 Cyclones Thursday evening to advance to the Elite Eight.
Illinois had a 10-point halftime lead that Iowa State rapidly minimize into at first of the second half. However Illinois stretched the lead again out to a number of possessions.
That cycle repeated itself for a lot of the second half, whilst Illinois star Terrence Shannon Jr. spent practically 5 minutes on the bench with 4 fouls. Not lengthy after Shannon went to the bench with 11:17 to go after getting his fourth foul, Iowa State twice minimize Illinois’ result in two. However the Cyclones by no means received the sport tied.
Shannon completed the sport with 29 factors and had a game-sealing dunk with 25 seconds left after he intercepted a cross with Illinois main by 4.
Illinois is a win away from the Remaining 4
Illinois will play defending nationwide champion UConn on Saturday for the possibility to advance to the Remaining 4 out of the East area.
Illinois hasn’t been again to the Remaining 4 since 2005 when it misplaced to North Carolina within the nationwide title recreation. Heck, the Illini haven’t even been to the Elite Eight since then. Within the 18 years since that Remaining 4 look, Illinois has misplaced within the second spherical 5 occasions and been eradicated within the first spherical 3 times.
Thursday evening’s Candy 16 look was at risk of being a disappointment due to Illinois’ struggles on the free throw line. The Illini have been simply 15 of 29 on the stripe. That 10-point lead may have been 15 at halftime. Illinois missed 9 free throws within the first half.
However as Illinois struggled on the line, it at all times got here up with the massive play when Iowa State received shut within the second half. Coleman Hawkins had 12 factors and hit a giant 3-pointer early within the second half as Iowa State was threatening.
And with simply over 4 minutes to go, it was Lance Goode’s flip to hit a giant 3-pointer.
However it was Shannon who was as soon as once more the star of the present for the Illini. The nation’s third-leading scorer has scored at the very least 25 factors in every of the final seven video games. All seven of these video games are Illinois wins.
That is no coincidence. Shannon is without doubt one of the greatest gamers within the nation and a giant motive why Illinois has an distinctive offense. But it took a restraining order for him to be on the court docket for the second half of the season.
Shannon was suspended in December after he was charged with rape for an alleged sexual assault in Lawrence, Kansas, in September.
After his suspension, Shannon filed for a brief restraining order to remain on the court docket and power Illinois to reinstate him to the crew. That restraining order was granted after Shannon missed six video games. He returned to the basketball court docket on Jan. 21, two days after he was put again on the crew.
Iowa State’s struggles on the rim
As Illinois had a tough time making free throws, Iowa State performed like there was a lid on the basket within the paint. The Cyclones missed myriad pictures on the rim and have been simply 17 of 45 from contained in the arc.
The Cyclones additionally received off to a tough begin. Illinois rapidly jumped out to the result in begin the sport as Iowa State’s Curtis Jones scored 11 of the crew’s first 12 factors. And he was on the bench to begin the sport. Jones completed with 26 factors to guide the Cyclones, whereas Keshon Gilbert had 14.
Iowa State ends the season at 29-8 as the college remains to be looking for its second Remaining 4 look and first since 1944. The Cyclones have not been to an Elite Eight since 2000 and at the moment are 0-4 within the Candy 16 within the 24 years since.