Illinois basketball is on to the Sweet 16 after winning the first two rounds by double-digit points.
The Illini traveled out to Ohama, Nebraska, and as a No. 3 seed, we were able to avoid any type of chaos. We took down No. 14 Morehead State in the first round, 85-69.
No. 11 Duquesne was Illinois’ second-round opponent. The Dukes upset No. 6 BYU in the first round, so they had a lot of confidence. The Illini squashed any confidence Duquesne had early, though. We jumped out to a double-digit lead less than 10 minutes into the game and never looked back. An 89-63 win over the Dukes propelled us into the Sweet 16.
The Sweet 16 matchup for the Illini isn’t an easy one either. Illinois takes on No. 2 Iowa State. While Illinois has 28 wins on the season, the Cyclones just hit win No. 29 in their great run to the Sweet 16.
Illinois basketball vs Iowa State Sweet 16 game time, location, and commentators
- Game Time and Date: Thursday, March 28 (roughly 30 minutes after the conclusion of No. 1 UConn vs. No. 5 San Diego State, 9:20 p.m. CT-ish)
- TV: TBS/TruTV
- Location: Boston, Massachusetts
- Commentators: Kevin Harlan, Dan Bonner, Stan Van Gundy, Andy Katz
Illinois basketball doesn’t have a long history against Iowa State, but it is a fruitful one
The Illini don’t get a chance to play Big 12 teams too often. Once Missouri left the Big 12 for the SEC, matchups against the conference kind of dried up.
Illinois does have a solid history against the Cyclones, though. We are 12-3 against Iowa State but have dropped the last two, which came in 2018 and 2015. Before that, Illinois had won 10 straight against Iowa State.
On Thursday, Illinois will be going up against a hot Iowa State team, though. They won the first round against No. 15 South Dakota State by 17 points. The Cyclones then took down No. 7 Washington State by 11 points on Saturday.
Iowa State is a program that has now won nine out of the past 10 games, with the only loss coming on the road against Kansas State. This winning trend includes victories over Houston, Baylor, and BYU as well.