The Iowa Hawkeyes blew an early lead in their NCAA Tournament defeat.
For the first time since 2000, a pair of B1G schools battled it out in the Elite Eight and the Iowa Hawkeyes came out the unfortunate loser., despite trailing 12-2 in the first few minutes. An early 10-point lead didn't mean much in the second half which was all Fighting Illini.
To no surprise, Bennett Stirtz led the way for Iowa, but now his career, along with many others, has come to an end.No one can ever take away what this 22-year old has done to his career. Stirtz started as a guard who had to fight his way onto a Division II roster but has now cemented himself as a future first round pick in the NBA Draft. Stirtz started this game as hot as it gets, though that quickly faded in the second half. An 11-minute horn delay certainly didn't help, but in the end he still finished with 24 points which was one shy of a game high. Stirtz was 8-for-17 from the field and 4-for-11 from three-point range.Alvaro Folgueiras and Isaia Howard combined for 15 points in 37 minutes off the bench. Keep in mind, other than Stirtz, Iowa only had 20 points from 114 combined minutes between Cam Manyawu, Cooper Koch, Tavion Banks, and Kael Combs. Each player had their moments in the game, but ultimately it was a quiet night for basically everyone. All year long Hawkeyes fans have been asking for' supporting cast to step up, and they certainly didn't do so in this one as 59 points was never going to be enough to advance to the Final Four.Iowa lives and dies by the three which sometimes is a great benefit. They heaved 30 three-pointers in this one as they made 37% from distance. Ultimately, Illinois scored 40 of their 71 points in the paint which is a number that shows how dominant they were down low. The Hawkeyes defense looked lost at times and they certainly didn't help themselves on the glass. Illinois out-rebounded Iowa, 38-21, and finished with 16 offensive boards which was double the number of Iowa's second chance opportunities. Don't forget to bookmark Iowa Hawkeyes on SI for the latest news. exclusive interviews, recruiting coverage and more!Jordon Lawrenz serves as the Eastern United States College Recruiting beat writer On SI. Jordon is an accomplished writer covering the NFL, MLB, and college football/basketball. He has contributed to PFSN’s and Heavy’s NFL coverage. Having graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay with a Sports Communication and Journalism degree, Jordon fully embraced the sports writing lifestyle upon his relocation to Florida.
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