Illinois never trails in getting past Iowa State

BOSTON — Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 29 points and Illinois reached the Elite Eight for the first time since 2005, beating Iowa State 7269 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 broke away for a dunk in the closing seconds and later hit two free throws to help Illinois finally put away the second-seeded Cyclones (29-8).

Illinois made an NCAA Tournament 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.

Curtis Jones scored 26 points and Keshon Gilbert had 14 for Iowa State, which came into March Madness having blown out Houston for the Big 12 Tournament title.

The Illini have made the past four NCAA Tournaments under seventh-year coach Brad Underwood, who had never taken them past the first weekend until this year. Coleman Hawkins added 12 points and was the only other Illinois player in double figures.

The Illini’s lead was down to 68-64 with under a minute to play before a turnover by Milan Momcilovic found its way to Shannon, who drove in a for a two-handed dunk with 24 seconds left.

Jones was fouled on a 3-point attempt and dropped in all three free throws to make it 70-67, but Shannon calmly made two foul shots with 6 seconds left.

The Cyclones struggled offensively in the first half, trailing 36-26 at the break, but found their touch after halftime.

Illinois entered the night with the top offensive efficiency rating in the tournament, but it was its defense that stood out at the outset.