(Boston, MA) – Iowa State was able to make it down to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament but didn’t come out of the tournament with a victory after falling 72-69 to Illinois. The Cyclones finish the 2023-24 season with a 29-8 record which marks the second-most wins in NCAA history.
Iowa State went out cold in the game as they were not able to push past the Illinois defense. The Fighting Illini jumped out to a 16-6 lead halfway through the first half and led 36-26 at the half. Iowa State responded in the opening of the second half to push the game to a tighter 51-49 deficit. After the game was close, Illinois continued to make three-pointer after three-pointer to take the 72-69 victory. Head Coach T.J. Otzelberger knew that this was a valiant effort by his successful squad.
Illinois was led on the night by game-leader Terrence Shannon Jr. who knocked down 29 points while hauling in five boards and swiped away three steals. Sitting right behind him was Coleman Hawkins who shot 50% from the field and had 12 total points on the night. Those were Illinois’ only double-digit scorers as Luke Goode knocked down eight points and Mascus Domask had seven points and six boards.
Iowa State was led in the game by Curtis Jones who had a total of 26 points and four rebounds while going 8-8 at the charity stripe. Coming up right behind was Keshon Gilbert who snagged four rebounds and swiped away five steals while also putting down 14 points on the night. The last double-digit scorer on the night was Tre King who shot 5-8 from the field while putting down 12 points and hauled in seven rebounds. While the Cyclones lost in the score column, they matched up in just about every way with Illinois on the stat sheet.
The Cyclones led in points in the paint 32-28 and in bench points 28-15. Illinois led in points off turnovers 14-7, rebounds with a 41-37 advantage, and in fast break points 17-9.
Illinois will take on UConn tomorrow, Saturday, March 30th at 5:00 p.m. in the Elite Eight.
