BOSTON — Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 29 points, guiding Illinois to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2005 with a 72-69 win over Iowa State in an East Region semifinal on Thursday evening.
Shannon contributed 20 points in the opening half for the third-seeded Illini (29-8), who held the lead throughout. He finished off with a dunk in the final moments and later sank two free throws, helping Illinois secure the win over the second-seeded Cyclones (29-8).
Illinois achieved a spot in the NCAA Tournament regional final for the fourth time in the last 40 years and will face defending champion UConn on Saturday for an opportunity to reach the Final Four. The top-seeded Huskies cruised past San Diego State, 82-52, in the earlier East semifinal.
Curtis Jones notched 26 points and Keshon Gilbert contributed 14 for Iowa State, which had previously dominated Houston to claim the Big 12 Tournament title.
Under seventh-year coach Brad Underwood, the Illini have made appearances in the past four NCAA Tournaments but had not progressed beyond the first weekend until this year. Coleman Hawkins added 12 points as the only other Illinois player to reach double figures.
With less than a minute remaining, the Illini's lead was reduced to 68-64 before a turnover by Milan Momcilovic led to Shannon's two-handed dunk with 24 seconds left.
Jones was fouled on a 3-point attempt and made all three free throws to bring the score to 70-67, but Shannon calmly landed two foul shots with 6 seconds left.
Struggling offensively in the first half and trailing 36-26 at halftime, the Cyclones found their rhythm after the break. A floater by Gilbert brought Iowa State within 51-49 with 9:46 remaining.
Following a steal by Gilbert, one of Iowa State’s 11 steals, he sprinted in for a potential game-tying layup, but it rolled off the rim.
Iowa State missed an opportunity to even the score later, resulting in a driving layup by Illinois’ Marcus Domask. He completed a three-point play to make it 56-51.
When Iowa State closed the gap to three a few possessions later, Domask stepped up again, hitting a 3-pointer to extend the Illini’s lead to 62-56.
Illinois came into the night with the highest offensive efficiency rating in the tournament, but it was their defense that shined in the early stages.
The Illini’s strategy was to pressure the Cyclones off the 3-point line and force them to take contested shots inside the arc. This approach worked well for most of the first half, with Iowa State’s shooting percentage dropping to under 20% midway through. The Cyclones also experienced a scoring drought of over five minutes.
Iowa State entered the game touting the most efficient defense in the tournament and began with a steal by Gilbert. However, the Cyclones had few standout moments beyond that in the first 20 minutes.
Illinois gained a quick 11-2 lead while Iowa State remained scoreless for nearly four minutes.
