Likes, dislikes from Iowa basketball's Elite 8 loss vs Illinois

[ASFN Admin]

HOUSTON — Iowa basketball’s remarkable March Madness run comes to a close one step short of the Final Four.

The Hawkeyes had some memorable moments in this tournament, upsetting top-seed Florida and knocking off rival Nebraska. But they did not have the size to take down Illinois.

The Fighting Illini knocked off the Hawkeyes, 71-59, in the Elite Eight on Saturday, March 28.

Here are our likes and dislikes from the game.

More: Iowa vs Illinois score, recap from Hawkeyes' March Madness bracket loss

Likes​

• Fast start: Unlike the Nebraska game, where Iowa dug itself an early hole, the Hawkeyes came out scorching hot against Illinois. Iowa scored the first nine points of the game and led by as many as 10 in the early minutes. Illinois came roaring back with a run of its own. Iowa went into halftime leading by four.
• Bennett Stirtz: The Iowa star did what he could to will Iowa to victory. He had 24 points on 8-of-17 from the field, to go along with three rebounds and three assists.
• 3-point line: Iowa scored 33 points from deep compared to Illinois’ nine. But the problem was that Illinois was much more dominant inside. The Fighting Illini outscored the Hawkeyes 40-12 in the paint.
• Entertaining game: For the third time in a row, Iowa was in an incredibly competitive, thrilling game. This is part of what makes March Madness so special.
• Incredible season: Despite falling to Illinois, Iowa exceeded expectations in Ben McCollum’s first season at the helm. The Hawkeyes have built a foundation for the future.

More: Bennett Stirtz show not enough for Iowa basketball in Elite Eight loss | Leistikow

Dislikes​

• Defensive rebounding: The boards were going to be a key factor in the game because of Illinois’ size. The Hawkeyes did an incredible job in that area in their upset of Florida, another extremely physical team, but they weren’t able to replicate that against Illinois. The Fighting Illini grabbed 16 offensive rebounds, which they turned into 13 second-chance points. Meanwhile, Iowa just had eight offensive rebounds and seven second-chance points.
• Keaton Wagler and supporting cast: Wagler led the way for Illinois with 25 points. But he had more help around him than Stirtz did. The Fighting Illini had three other players with at least nine points: Andrej Stojakovic (17), Tomislav Ivisic (13) and David Mirkovic (nine.)
• Illinois’ second-half run: In a back-and-forth game, Iowa led 51-50 with about seven and a half minutes to go. But from there, Illinois went on an 8-0 run to take a 58-50 lead and the Hawkeyes couldn’t recover.
• Not enough help outside of Stirtz: Part of the reason that the Hawkeyes got this far was because Stirtz's supporting cast stepped up. But Tate Sage was the only other Hawkeye to score in double-figures against Illinois. Alvaro Folgueiras, Tavion Banks and Cam Manyawu combined for just nine points — with Folgueiras being scoreless.
• 2-point shooting: The Hawkeyes were an efficient 11-of-30 (37%) from deep. But Illinois’ size and length gave Iowa trouble closer to the rim. The Hawkeyes were just 7-of-17 (41%) on 2-pointers.
• Second half offense: After shooting 57% from the field and 50% from deep in the first half, offense was harder to come by for Iowa in the second half. The Hawkeyes shot just 23% from the field and 28% from deep in the second half.
• Second half defense: Illinois struggled to shoot the 3 throughout the game, but the difference in two-point percentage between the first half and second half was staggering. Illinois was 47% on 2-pointers in the first half compared to 76% in the second half. The Fighting Illini punished the Hawkeyes with their size and physicality.

Follow Tyler Tachman on X @Tyler_T15, contact via email at [email protected]

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Likes, dislikes from Iowa basketball's Elite 8 loss vs Illinois

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