HOUSTON — Iowa’s deepest NCAA Tournament run in nearly four decades came to a painful end Saturday night as third-seeded Illinois pulled away late to defeat the ninth-seeded Hawkeyes, 71-59, in the South Regional championship game.
Iowa led for much of the night and held a 51-50 advantage with 7:27 remaining, but Illinois closed the game by scoring 21 of the final 30 points. The Illini used an 8-0 surge to take control before finishing the contest on another 8-0 run.
The loss ended Iowa’s season with a 24-13 record. Despite falling one victory short of the Final Four, the Hawkeyes reached the Elite Eight for the first time since 1987.
Bennett Stirtz led Iowa with 24 points, three rebounds and three assists. He connected on 8-of-17 shots from the field, including four 3-pointers, and was selected to the South Region All-Region Team.
Stirtz scored 15 of Iowa’s 32 first-half points and posted his second straight 20-point NCAA Tournament performance. It was his 20th game with at least 20 points this season.
The standout guard finished the year with 734 points, the fourth-highest single-season total in Iowa program history, along with 163 assists.
Freshman Tate Sage added 10 points off the bench, making two 3-pointers and all four of his free-throw attempts. Cooper Koch finished with six points, three rebounds, five assists and two blocked shots.
Iowa came out firing, scoring the game’s first nine points and building a 12-2 advantage when Stirtz buried a 3-pointer with 15:56 remaining in the opening half.
The Hawkeyes held Illinois without a field goal for nearly four minutes, but the Illini responded with nine consecutive points to cut the lead to 12-11.
Iowa continued to withstand the pressure and carried a 32-28 lead into halftime. The Hawkeyes shot 57.1 percent from the field during the opening 20 minutes, despite being outrebounded 18-9 and surrendering 10 offensive boards.
Illinois quickly erased the deficit after the break. The Illini scored the first five points of the second half and took their first lead, 33-32, with 18:36 remaining.
From there, the Big Ten rivals traded control in a physical battle that featured seven ties and 13 lead changes.
The decisive turn came after Iowa moved ahead 51-50. Illinois answered with 10 of the next 12 points, opening a 60-52 advantage with 4:06 left.
Iowa’s offense went cold when the Hawkeyes needed it most. They made only 6-of-26 field-goal attempts in the second half, including five 3-pointers, and finished the game shooting 38.3 percent overall.
Illinois shot 57.7 percent during the second half after making only 37 percent of its shots before halftime.
Keaton Wagler led the Illini with 25 points, while Andrej Stojakovic scored 17 off the bench. Tomislav Ivisic added 13 points, and David Mirkovic collected 12 rebounds as Illinois advanced to its first Final Four since 2005.
The difference inside proved too much for Iowa to overcome. Illinois outrebounded the Hawkeyes 38-21 and grabbed 16 offensive rebounds, which produced 13 second-chance points.
The Illini also overwhelmed Iowa in the paint by a 40-12 margin. Illinois made just three 3-pointers but repeatedly attacked the basket and finished 18-of-21 at the free-throw line.
The Hawkeyes made 11 shots from beyond the arc but converted only seven baskets from inside the 3-point line.
Saturday’s game also included an unusual 11-minute delay during the first half after the scoreboard horn malfunctioned. Officials used air horns for the remainder of the game.
A crowd of 17,010 watched the regional final at the Toyota Center.
The disappointing ending could not erase Iowa’s unexpected March run. The ninth-seeded Hawkeyes played their way into the final eight teams in the country and took Illinois deep into the second half before the Illini’s size, rebounding and late defensive pressure finally ended Iowa’s season.