Illinois heads to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2005
Illinois’ offense carried it through the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
The Illini’s defense helped put them one victory away from the Final Four.
Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 29 points and Illinois reached the Elite Eight for the first time since 2005, beating Iowa State 72-69 in an East Region semifinal on Thursday night.
Shannon had 20 points in the first half for the third-seeded Illini (29-8), who never trailed. He also had a steal and breakaway dunk in the closing seconds and later hit two free throws to help Illinois finally put away the second-seeded Cyclones (29-8).
“When you face the No. 1 defense, you know they’re not No. 1 because they’re soft or they lack effort,” Illini coach Brad Underwood said. “I also knew they’d come out and punch or counterpunch, and they did that.”
The Illini shot only 42% from the field, but they held Iowa State to 39% shooting and forced nine turnovers.
Illinois made a regional final for the fourth time in the past 40 years and will meet defending champion UConn on Saturday for a trip to the Final Four. The top-seeded Huskies defeated San Diego State 82-52 in the earlier East semifinal.
Shannon was limited to 29 minutes because of foul trouble but remained the the Illini’s workhorse. He hasn’t spoken to the media since he was charged in December with rape or an alternative count of sexual battery for an incident that occurred in Kansas in September.
The charge led to him being suspended for six games before a federal judge reversed the ban, ruling that Shannon’s civil rights had been violated. Shannon’s attorneys have said he is innocent of the charges.
Underwood said Shannon has been a steadying presence all season.
“People who know Terrence know what a great competitor he is,” Underwood said. “He was dialed in mentally.”
UConn 82, San Diego State 52:
The rematch turned into another UConn mismatch.
Stephon Castle had 16 points and 11 rebounds for the defending NCAA champions, and the top-seeded Huskies advanced to the Elite Eight with another double-digit victory, beating San Diego State 82-52 on Thursday night in a rematch of last year’s title game.
Cam Spencer scored 18 points and Tristen Newton added 17 points and seven rebounds for UConn (34-3). The Huskies will play third-seeded Illinois, which beat Iowa State 72-69 later Thursday in the other East Region semifinal, on Saturday night for a spot in the Final Four in Glendale, Arizona.
A year after cruising to their fifth national championship — winning their six NCAA Tournament games by an average of almost 20 points — the Huskies followed up blowouts last weekend with their ninth straight double-digit March Madness victory.
They have won by 39, 17 and 30 points in this tournament.
“We suck at winning close games,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said. “You’ve got to go with the alternative.”
Backed by a virtual home crowd at TD Garden — Boston is about 90 miles from their Storrs, Connecticut, campus — the Huskies made it a double-digit lead early in the second half, 20 with about seven minutes left and 30 in the final minutes, after the teams sent in their benches. Hurley’s son Andrew even got into the game with 1:44 left, drawing a celebratory cheer.
“It means a lot just to be able to travel with our fans . ... I feel like it gives us kind of a boost, a little bit of an advantage,” Castle said. “We tried to make it like ‘Storrs North.’ They showed out for us, and it was definitely electric in there tonight.”