Eventually, size won. It took almost 30 minutes but the Illinois size advantage led to too many second chance shots and points in the paint. Almost as crucial was the flip in field goal percentage from the first to the second half as Iowa outshot the Illini in the first half which offset the rebounding advantage for Illinois. But in the second half the Illini didn’t turn the ball over and scored in bunches. At one stretch they scored on seven straight possessions while at the same time contesting the perimeter shots that Iowa nailed easily in the first half.
It felt like we were going to get a classic finish between Illinois and Iowa on Saturday in the Elite Eight, but the tallest team in college basketball figured out how to use its size to its advantage as Illinois (28-8) pulled away for a 71-59 win to advance to its first Final Four since 2005. The third-seeded Illini outscored ninth-seeded Iowa 40-12 in the paint, out-rebounded Iowa 38-21 and rode star freshman Keaton Wagler and the “Balkan Bloc” — the Illini’s four European contributors — to the win. The Hawkeyes hit 11 three pointers to the Illini two but the points in the paint and 16 offensive rebounds proved to be too much for Iowa to overcome.
Iowa did everything it needed to do to win the game for about 28 minutes but slowly but surely Illinois took over and kept their foot on the gas to get a lead and also to keep Iowa from making a serious run down the stretch.
The game included 13 lead changes and seven ties, Iowa led by 4 after a first half that the Hawkeyes shot well enough from the field to offset the Illini rebound advantage and their points in the paint. Neither team could gain any separation until Iowa’s shots quit falling and the Illini just started finding mismatches, either by setting up post-ups or drives for Wagler or Andrej Stojakovic.
Wagler led the way with 25 points and three assists, and Stojakovic added 17 points on just nine shots. Freshman David Mirkovic, who the Illini played through early in the second half, had nine points and 12 rebounds, including five of the Illini’s 16 offensive boards.
Bennett Stirtz almost helped Iowa pull off the upset. Stirtz, who played every minute of the Hawkeyes’ surprise tournament run, finished with 24 points and spent the final seconds with his hands on his knees at half-court. But he only scored nine points in the second half as the Hawkeyes shooting went cold and they failed to score on seven straight possessions midway through the second half. The Illini took advantage by pushing the ball inside to Stojakovic or Mirkovic. When they didn’t go inside, Wagler hit three’s or made easy dribble drives for points to put Illinois ahead and stay ahead. The Hawkeye’s finished their season at 24-13 and their first Elite 8 appearance since 1987. Coverage of Iowa basketball is brought to you by Muscatine Power and Water and Ed Morse Chevy, Buick and GMC.
