Here are our takeaways as the Illini are one of the Final Four teams remaining the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 21 years.
With two minutes left, Illinois basketball could taste the Final Four.The Illini were up 63-59. A few stops and baskets would win the game. It would take coach Brad Underwood to where he promised years ago.
Iowa just sank two free throws to cut the Illinois lead. Illini All-American Keaton Wagler dribbled the ball up. He drove, and found the closer.Andrej Stojakovic grabbed the pass from Wagler and scored. He grabbed the defensive rebound on the other end.One minute left. The closer was going to work. His free throw shooting and defense clicked. It sent Illinois to the Final Four.Here are our takeaways as the Illini are one of the Final Four teams remaining the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 21 years.Iowa swung first, leading 12-2 after the first media timeout. That set the tone for the game and made the Illini play catch-up for the first time in the NCAA Tournament.Bennett Stirtz and Cooper Koch continued their streak of red-hot offense that carried them past Nebraska and into the Elite Eight. Illinois has a response for that, though.A 9-0 Illini run put Illinois down just one. Andrej Stojakovic came in with immediate offense, Zvonimir Ivisic defended the rim and David Mirkovic helped Illinois have an edge with the rebounding battle. As quickly as Iowa built that lead, it was gone. Credit the Illinois’ roster Stirtz ended that run with a long-range 3-pointer, but Illinois got into its groove and kept up with the Hawkeyes’ offense.Being in that position early on is key. It puts Illinois in a position to seize control of the game with a lengthy offensive run.In a tournament where Illinois hasn’t gotten punched in the mouth, the Illini found a way to weather the storm.Two of the best players in the nation were going at it.Stirtz started it. He was a part of the first swing Iowa had to take the early lead for the Hawkeyes. His length and shooting ability caused problems for the Illini.Wagler was answering everything Stirtz threw at Illinois. His quick acceleration was only matched by his ability to finish tough at the basket. The two were captivating the nation. In a game where the leads were changing consistently, and the game was up for grabs, the two point guards traded blows like a heavyweight boxing match.The stakes couldn’t be much higher, either.The Final Four was up for grabs. America got treated to two of the best in the country fighting in the world’s best basketball tournament.Wagler got the last laugh. His 27 points lifted the Illini to the Final Four.Illinois was down 51-50. Stirtz just made two free throws to go back up after the under-eight timeout.The Illini seized control.Illinois started to do what it did against Houston. It denied good looks from 3-point range and forced Iowa to start driving. The Hawkeyes would be driving at the Illinois’ of Tomislav Ivisic, Mirkovic, Davis and Ben Humrichous.Illinois’ defense held the Iowa offense without a point for three and half minutes. In that same vein, the offense passed into the low post and used Tomislav Ivisc’s height to just shoot over the Hawkeyes’ post players.A 6-0 run gave way to another turnover and a lay-in by Wagler. Then, it was a four-minute offensive drought for Iowa. Brad Underwood subbed out Tomislav Ivisic for Zvonimir Ivisic. Then, it became a 10-1 Illinois when Mirkovic’s lob to Zvonimir turned into a high-flying slam. The Illini had all the momentum and could close out the game with a handful of buckets and stops.
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