Tag: illinois basketball

How to buy Iowa State vs Illinois NCAA March Madness Sweet 16 tickets

Want to watch Iowa St. battle Illinois in person? Tickets are still available for this Sweet 16 matchup in Boston, MA.

Take a breath, Cyclone and Illini fans, your teams are moving onto the Sweet 16!

No. 2 Iowa State defeated No. 7 Washington State 67-56 behind a balanced team performance and their famous stifling defense.

No. 3 Illinois dominated No. 11 Duquesne 89-63, racing out to a 24-point halftime lead and never looking back.

Both teams advance to the Sweet 16 in the East Region, and will play in Boston on Thursday, March 28.

Tickets are still available to the Iowa State vs. Illinois Sweet 16 matchup for as little as $294.

Tickets include access to both Sweet 16 games, the other game will feature No. 1 UConn vs. No. 5 San Diego State,

Weekend passes are also still available, and include both Sweet 16 games and the subsequent Elite 8 game in Boston.

At the time of publication Boston Regional weekend passes are still available for as little as $500.

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Illinois’ Marcus Domask made March Madness history with rare triple-double in first-round win

Illinois’ Marcus Domask joined elite company in March Madness history on Thursday.

Illinois guard/forward Marcus Domask made some pretty impressive March Madness history on Thursday during his team’s first-round victory over Morehead State.

Domask posted up a triple-double in the victory (12 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists), making him the first player to do so in the men’s NCAA tournament since Ja Morant’s appearance with Murray State in 2019.

It’s also only the 10th time in the tournament’s history on the men’s side that a triple-double has been recorded during a March Madness game. How about that?

Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green also netted a couple of triple-doubles in the NCAA tournament while he was at Michigan State, as he’s the only player in men’s history with two to his name.

This is just such a cool accomplishment for Domask as he led his third-seeded Illinois past a fierce effort from Morehead State to the Round of 32.

We’ll see if Domask can keep his hot streak alive when Illinois plays again on Saturday, opponent to be determined.

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Big Ten Notebook: Illinois men’s basketball wins fourth Big Ten title

Illinois basketball won the Big Ten Tournament on Sunday

For the fourth time in program history, the Illinois Fighting Illini are Big Ten Tournament champions. On Sunday, they defeated Wisconsin 93-87 in a hard-fought championship game battle that went down to the wire. They were led by the talented duo of Terrence Shannon Jr. and Marcus Domask.

As Illinois pulled away in the second half, Shannon Jr. set the tone offensively. The Chicago native scored a team-high 34 points while draining three-pointers. He got some help from Domask, who scored 26 points and only missed one shot.

While Wisconsin’s Big Ten Tournament ended in disappointing fashion, there were a few bright spots. That includes Chucky Hepburn and AJ Storr. Just like he has done all season, Storr was a scoring machine. He added 24 points and three steals to his resume. Hepburn had one of his best games of the season, scoring 20 points.

 

 

Part of Illinois’s ability to take control late was due to its success close to the basket. They scored 40 points in the paint, while Wisconsin only scored 36. The Fighting Illini also shot over 50 percent from the field and made seven three-pointers.

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Once the confetti was released, Illinois had a reason to celebrate beyond winning a title. Their star, Terrence Shannon Jr., was named the 2024 Jim and Kitty Delany Most Outstanding Player of the Big Ten Tournament

A closer look at Nebraska’s loss to Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament

On Saturday afternoon, the Nebraska men’s basketball team played in the first Big Ten Tournament semifinal in school history.

On Saturday afternoon, the Nebraska men’s basketball team played in the first Big Ten Tournament semifinal in school history. The Huskers battled with the Illinois Fighting Illini, falling 98-87.

Following the loss, Head Coach Fred Hoiberg said that he’s excited about the fact that Nebraska’s season isn’t over.

I like where we are heading into this week, heading into tomorrow, where we will find out our fate. As I told the guys in the locker room after, one thing that still — it was such a pit in my stomach last year at this time, a couple days earlier when we lost, because I just had a feeling we wouldn’t be able to play again and I wouldn’t be able to coach that group, and I loved that group that we had a year ago. It was such a fun group to coach.

The Huskers’ semi-final appearance is their deepest run in a conference tournament since 2006. Nebraska lost for only the third time this season when leading at the half; they were 18-2 heading into Saturday’s game. The Husker head coach is looking forward to seeing who the Huskers will play come the start of the NCAA Tournament.

The blessing we have is we’re going to be playing next week. Whether that’s Thursday or Friday, we’re going to have the opportunity to continue to compete and hopefully make a little run right here and continue to do things that have never been done with this program.

Illinois will now advance to play the Wisconsin Badgers in the Big Ten Title game on Sunday afternoon. Nebraska will learn their opponent in the upcoming NCAA Tournament later Sunday night.

You can find a photo gallery from Nebraska’s semi-final loss below.

Fans are roasting Illinois’ Coleman Hawkins for his late-game miscues against Penn State

Coleman Hawkins might not want to open social media for a few days.

The Penn State men’s basketball team unraveled No. 12 ranked Illinois on Wednesday, and hoops fans couldn’t wait to troll senior forward Coleman Hawkins. Hawkins had multiple late-game blunders that helped secure Penn State’s staggering upset win.

Here’s a word to the wise: the internet is forever. When you put something into the universe, you better believe fans will not forget it, including when a game is on the line. Illinois forward Coleman Hawkins wore a Maryland shirt after beating the Terps on February 17 and flipped them a NSFW gesture. However, he could have used some of that boldness on Wednesday night because it might have changed the outcome of Illinois’ matchup with Penn State.

As the game was winding down, Hawkins missed two free throws he absolutely needed to sink, and a short time later, he fouled Penn State’s Zack Hicks on a 3-point shot. Hicks subsequently nailed three free throws to ice the game and secure a colossal Penn State win. (By the way, the win probability for Illinois was 96.5 percent before this sequence.)

Hoops fans remembered Coleman’s trolling of Maryland and roasted him immediately. Here’s what they said:

(Warning: NSFW language.)

Rutgers men’s basketball looking to build on thrilling Big Ten win

Rutgers men’s basketball faces a ranked Illinois on Sunday.

After a thrilling overtime win over Nebraska on Wednesday, Rutgers men’s basketball is back in action on Sunday against Illinois. They will be looking to secure their third conference win and continue to climb up the Big Ten standings. However, they have a tough matchup in the Fighting Illini.

Through 17 games this season, No. 14 Illinois has posted a 13-4 record. They have been led by Marcus Domask, who is averaging 14.9 points a game. In his latest masterpiece against Michigan on Thursday, Domask added 15 points to his resume while shooting 71.4 percent from the field.

 

As Rutgers looks to stop the talented forward, they will need Mawot Mag and Aundre Hyatt to have big games. Mag has been a scoring machine of late with 41 points in his last three games. Hyatt has also been hard to stop during that stretch with 43 points.

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While Rutgers is coming off their best win of the season, they have struggled on the road. In five games, they only have one win compared to nine at home. Sunday represents a great opportunity for Rutgers to pull off an upset and prove they can beat ranked opponents away from Jersey Mike’s Arena.

Coleman Hawkins ranks Rutgers basketball’s Steve Pikiell as the Big Ten’s best coach (other than his own)

Coleman Hawkins says he would like to play for Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell if he wasn’t at Illinois.

Illinois standout Coleman Hawkins said that if he didn’t end up at the Illini, he would have played for Rutgers basketball head coach Steve Pikiell. It was a nice (and unsolicited) shoutout from one of the Big Ten’s top returning players.

A four-star recruit according to ESPN.com, Hawkins was a Rutgers recruit and even visited campus in June of 2019. He was a part of Illinois’ strong 2020 recruiting class.

The comments from Hawkins were interesting because they were unsolicited. On3 national recruiting analyst posted a graphic on X (the social media platform formerly known as Twitter) where he asked fans which Big Ten head coach they’d like to play for.

It is a simple way to up social media engagement, and Tipton probably wasn’t expecting to see a Big Ten player respond. And he probably didn’t expect to see a conference head coach also named in the response:

 

Hawkins was quick to point out that his tweet was “Coach Pikiell (obviously not counting illinois).” Hawkins projects to be a big factor in the Illinois front court this year and landed a very good spot both on and off the court.

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Last season, Hawkins averaged 9.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.

Nick Smith was so hyped for an Arkansas put-back he shoved his teammate to the floor mid-game

When hyping up a teammate goes wrong

It’s hard to blame any team, or any player, for having too much energy during March Madness.

If playing in this tournament doesn’t get your heart pumping, you probably shouldn’t be on the floor. That said, you shouldn’t shove your teammates to the floor, either. Even if it comes from a place of excitement and pure adrenaline.

Arkansas’ Nick Smith learned this mid-game as the No. 8 Razorbacks took down No. 9  Illinois, 73-63, in the first round on Thursday. After teammate Kamani Johnson finished off a tough put-back just before halftime, Smith’s attempt at a celebration accidentally put Johnson on his back.

These are the type of things you can laugh about when you’re winning.

Arkansas will try to keep those vibes going on Saturday against No. 1 Kansas in the Second Round.

Illinois’ Matthew Mayer played with just one shoe for more than a minute of March Madness

It is shocking how long it took for him to reunite with his sneaker.

Illinois senior Matthew Mayer lost his shoe during the first half in the opening round of March Madness against Arkansas.

Rather than immediately attempting to put the shoe back on his foot, however, the 23-year-old forward made a much stranger decision. After getting the ball in the backcourt, he passed it to a teammate and then he tossed his shoe onto the Illinois sideline.

Instead of calling a timeout, Illinois then ran a half-court possession with Mayer spotting up on the perimeter. Arkansas then forced a turnover, then Illinois quickly forced a turnover, then Arkansas forced yet another turnover.

Arkansas finally scored — Mayer wasn’t much help on defense with just one shoe on his feet.

While you might expect that by this point, Mayer would have found a quick moment to put the sneaker back on his foot, you would be mistaken!

Why didn’t Brad Underwood call a timeout? Why didn’t the officials blow their whistles to stop the play?

Illinois shockingly ran one more half-court set, with Mayer once more spotting up on the perimeter. They missed their field-goal attempt, Mayer got back on defense, and Illinois got a stop.

It was finally time: After more than a minute of the game clock had passed, the forward was finally reunited with his missing sneaker.

This is assuredly one of the strangest sequences you will see during the tournament. But that’s why they call it March Madness, amirite?

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The compete Big Ten basketball tournament bracket

The compete Big Ten basketball tournament bracket

Wisconsin faces a must-win situation in the Big Ten tournament this week.

The Badgers open play in the first round on Wednesday as they take on Ohio State in a game that will likely decide their NCAA Tournament fate.

The Badgers earned the No. 12 seed in the conference tournament and face the unusual task of playing on the first day of the event.

Wisconsin enters in at 9-11 in the conference and 17-13 overall, and are in desperate need of a solid week at the United Center in Chicago.

Here is a look at the complete Big Ten tournament bracket and schedule: