The Illinois men’s basketball team went scoreless for 50 minutes in Saturday night’s Elite Eight game against the Union Huskies.
The Fighting Illini went into halftime trailing the Huskies by just five points and outscored Collegiate Conn 28-23.
But UW went on an unprecedented 30-0 run to start the second half, winning a shocking 53-23.
Meanwhile, Illinois didn’t score for the first 7 minutes and 18 seconds of the first half, but finally made a two-point bucket with 12 minutes and 42 seconds left in the game to make it 53-25.
“It’s been 50 minutes of real time since Illinois scored. 50 minutes!” yelled play-by-play announcer Kevin Harlan as Illinois scored the first play of the second half.
“50 minutes have passed in real time since Illinois scored! 50 minutes!” – Kevin Harlan
“Can anyone compete with UConn, let alone beat them? Can anyone create a game that can compete with them?” – Stan Van Gundy 🏀🎙️ #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/Z22rT8ReZ6
— Terrible announcement (@awfulpayment) March 31, 2024
Illinois missed 18 of its first 19 shots to start the second half. They finished the half on 8-of-35 shooting, a 22.85 percent loss. (Related: Caitlin Clark receives multi-million dollar offer from American professional basketball league. Is she the future of pro ball?)
It’s really embarrassing for the state of Illinois. I’m still trying to understand how the team that beat Iowa State got dismantled so thoroughly.
UConn absolutely hurt them. And while the Huskies deserve all the glory, they shattered the glass and played perfect defense, and this was at Illinois. For a team known as the “Fighting Illini,” they showed a complete lack of fighting ability in that game.
1-19?! Are you kidding me? Even though he made it to the Elite 8, why doesn’t he show up even when it matters most?
I feel sorry for these kids, I think so. But with the whole country watching, they need to try a little harder.
