March Madness Game Delayed by Horn Malfunction

During Saturday’s Elite Eight game in Houston between Illinois and Iowa, play was paused for 11 minutes due to a malfunctioning horn at the Toyota Center.

The game was interrupted after the loud horn went off to signal the end of a timeout, with less than eight minutes remaining in the first half.

Legendary announcer Kevin Harlan humorously remarked, “There’s got to be a way to take this off. I’m sure there’s a horn expert somewhere in this building,” as the sound persisted. He quickly added, “Please cover your ears! Cover your eyes! The horn won’t stop!”

Iowa’s head coach, Ben McCollum, was eager to get his team back on the court, concerned about losing their momentum amidst the chaos.

Eventually, the horn quieted down, leading to a round of applause from the crowd. However, the excitement was short-lived when some arena lights went out, along with the entire Jumbotron.

The NCAA later explained that the constant horn was due to a faulty scoreboard, which required turning off the Jumbotron to silence it.

Despite attempts to reset the Jumbotron at halftime, those efforts were unsuccessful.

As the game continued, an operator resorted to using a manual air horn to manage the game clock and buzzer signals.

When play resumed, Iowa’s star guard, Bennett Staats, quickly sank a 3-pointer, putting the Hawkeyes ahead by five points.

Ultimately, Illinois triumphed with a score of 71-59 and will advance to face either Duke or UW in the Final Four on April 4th.