I feel like I am dreaming. The Illinois basketball team just had a huge win and advanced to the Elite 8 in the 2024 NCAA tournament.
If you had asked me if this was possible this time last year, I would have said you were crazy. The Illini were in disarray back in March 2023. But the past year has been incredible.
All of the great recruiting and development led to what we saw on Thursday night. No. 2 Iowa State was tough defensively, but they didn't have the juice on offense. When the Cyclones would go on a run, Illinois always had an answer to their momentum.
The Illini took a 10-point lead into the halftime locker room. Iowa State was not going to bow out, though. The Cyclones stormed back in the second half, but Illinois was always able to keep them at arm's length. While the 10-point halftime lead dwindled, the Illini were still able to beat Iowa State, 72-69.
Here are 5 huge observations from the Illinois basketball win over Iowa State
1. Illinois had a culture win against Iowa State
I can confidently sit here and say, Illinois basketball just advanced to the Elite 8 and we didn’t play our best basketball. If I had to grade what I saw on Thursday night, I would give us a grade of B or B+.
But do you know what makes this team special? We don’t have to win by scoring 90+ points in a game. We can go out there and snag a gritty win regardless of what is going on with the offense.
I believe what we saw on Thursday night against the Cyclones was a culture win. Brad Underwood had a major overhaul of the roster after the 2022-23 season, and the replacement players helped build the culture we see today.
The slogan, “Everyday Guys” has meaning. It is not just something that is printed on a t-shirt or on a graphic posted by the program. This saying holds true for every single one of the players out there on the court donning an Illinois jersey.
Did Illinois play well? I would honestly say no. But did we get the win? Yes, and that is all that matters at the end of the day. I remember back on February 5, Illinois snuck by Nebraska in overtime. I mentioned that this was a gritty win, and some commenter said, “…but #grit will not get us to the second weekend.”
Well, I guess that commenter was right in a way. Grit didn’t get Illinois to the second weekend. Grit got us into the Elite 8. Egg on my face…
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2. When called upon, the Illini bench showed up
One of my biggest worries throughout the season was with the Illinois bench. They always had a ton of talent, but there would be times when the bench showed up, and other times they disappeared.
Illinois didn’t need the bench in the first two rounds, as we trounced both Morehead State and Duquesne. But Iowa State was a different animal. This is a team that beat No. 1 seed Houston by 28 points in the Big 12 Tournament championship game.
The Illini needed all hands on deck against the Cyclones. They had a great defense, and we needed to throw all of the weapons we had at them. What the Illinois bench did for this program on Thursday night ended up being huge.
Luke Goode came up so clutch for the Illini. He played 28 huge minutes and dropped eight points, two rebounds, and one steal while not having a single turnover. Goode also went 2-of-5 from three-point range and had the rarity of making both of his free throws.
This was one of Goode’s best games. While the box score might not say it was one of his best games, he made some big plays throughout the game. Goode’s ability to rebound the basketball was phenomenal, and his basketball IQ showed greatly.
It was more of a mixed bag with Dain Dainja, but he still gave Illinois some crucial minutes. While Dainja did have three turnovers and three fouls, he contributed seven points, six rebounds, two steals, two blocks, and one assist to the cause.
The Illinois bench combined for 15 points, nine rebounds, three assists, three steals, and two blocks. Those are some big numbers, and they helped propel us to victory.
3. The Illini survived a bad Marcus Domask game
Sometimes great players just have bad games at the wrong time. Did you know, Michael Jordan once went 3-of-18, 16.7%, from the field in the Eastern Conference Finals? The Chicago Bulls beat the New York Knicks by 20 points in that game.
Now, Marcus Domask obviously isn’t Jordan, but the sentiment is the same. Players just have bad games, and when you have great team chemistry and culture as the Illini have, the players can rally around and pick him up when he is down.
Domask laid an egg against Iowa State on Thursday. He finished the game with seven points, six rebounds, and five assists, which are solid numbers. But Domask also had four turnovers on the night and went 2-of-11 from the field and missed all four three-point attempts.
Even though Domask had a bad night, he is still effective. There were multiple times he drew a double-team from the defense, and this opened up his teammates for shots. Domask’s playmaking ability makes him a threat, and that in itself helps the Illinois offense run well.
The silver lining to Domask playing poorly is the fact Illinois still came away with the win. We just survived one of our best players having one of his worst games of the season. Could you imagine what the score would have been if Domask just had a B or B+ game on Thursday night?
It is also good that Domask got this game out of the way. He has had bad games this season, but Domask usually rebounds well and puts up big numbers in the following game. We are going to need it against UConn.
4. Coleman Hawkins have a night
An efficient Coleman Hawkins is one of the scariest players in college basketball. He is someone who can turn the ball over at a high rate, but when he is clicking, watch out world.
The efficiency of Hawkins has been cranked up in the NCAA tournament as well. He finished the Iowa State game with 12 points, six rebounds, three assists, and two steals while not having a single turnover in the game. He was also 4-of-8 from the field and 2-of-5 from three-point range.
Hawkins has now gone back-to-back games without a turnover, and he has only had two turnovers in his last four games. It is like the game is slowing down for him. He gets what he needs to do with the basketball. Hawkins doesn’t just chuck it three rows deep in the stands anymore.
Against the Cyclones, Hawkins’ efficiency continued to shine. The ability to rocket a pass into his teammate was huge for the Illini. Hawkins hit Terrence Shannon Jr. on a bullet pass in the corner to get Illinois scoring again in the second half. This was a big momentum changer. He also got the ball rotating around the perimeter quite often, which helped create more open looks.
I have been extremely impressed with Hawkins’ shot selection over the past few weeks. He isn’t taking bad shots. When Hawkins does shoot the ball, it is usually in rhythm and in his sweet spot, which is toward the top of the key.
Hawkins had another huge night for Illinois. He isn’t putting up massive points, but he is doing everything for the Illini, and he is doing it efficiently. Hawkins is one of the main reasons we have gone on this magical run.
5. Illinois dodged a bullet at the free throw line
Making it to the Sweet 16 was nice, but that wasn’t the goal. The Illini fan’s mindset should have been Elite 8 or bust because a Sweet 16 as a No. 3 seed should be the bare minimum.
Illinois managed to get to the Sweet 16, and we had to play a tough Iowa State team. One of the ways we were able to get to the Sweet 16 was due to the ability to get to the free throw line.
This season, the Illini averaged 23.2 free throw attempts per game, which ranked No. 23 in the country. In years past, we have been kind of bad at shooting from the charity stripe. Not this season, though. The Illini shot free throws at a clip of 73.6% during the 2023-24 campaign.
Getting to the hoop and converting free throws has been a specialty for the Orange and Blue. But for some reason, our free throw ability was zapped on Thursday night. It is like we completely forgot how to shoot free throws.
Illinois was active and getting to the free throw line against Iowa State, but the free throws weren’t dropping. The Illini shot 29 free throws on Thursday night, but we only converted 15-of-29, 51.7%, from the charity stripe.
It is nothing short of a miracle that Iowa State didn’t take advantage of Illinois missing free throws. We left so many points out there. This game could have been a double-digit victory if we could just make free throws.
The Illini dodged a bullet with the poor free throw shooting. We can’t shoot like that against UConn on Saturday, or they will send us home. Hopefully, this was just a bad night from the free throw line, and we will get things corrected moving into the Elite 8.