Bennett Stirtz dropped 24 points in his final collegiate game, but the Fighting Illini's size in the paint was too much to overcome. Iowa finishes the 2025-26 season at 24-13 overall.
HOUSTON - An improbable two-week run has fallen just short.
The No. 9-seeded Iowa men's basketball team fell to third-seeded and longtime rival Illinois, BLANK-BLANK, in the South Regional final of the NCAA tournament on Saturday evening.
Bennett Stirtz dropped 24 points in his final collegiate game, but the Fighting Illini's size in the paint was too much to overcome.
Iowa falls just short of reaching its first Final Four in 46 years and finishes the 2025-26 campaign at 24-13.
First Half
The crowd in the Toyota Center was roughly 60% Illinois fans, compared to 40% for Iowa. Though it was a difference, it was not as as major as Thursday's win over Nebraska - where the arena was probably 80% red and white.
Crowd advantage or not, the Hawkeyes came out of the gates on fire with something to prove. Bennett Stirtz and Kael Combs each knocked in a triple, and Iowa's lead was already 12-2 at the first media timeout. Illinois was struggling to create its own offense at this point, but the Hawkeyes created it for them by not rebounding the basketball. The Illini recorded four offensive rebounds in the four-minute block alone, slicing the deficit to just 15-11 at the next timeout.
After the under-eight timeout, one of the most bizarre instances you'll ever find in a basketball game occurred. The horn to send the players out of huddle sounded and didn't stop, as a malfunction made it keep ringing. That forced the teams to play without a video board, and the question posed was which team would benefit from the 11-minute delay.
Iowa came out on a 5-0 run, but the delay didn't heavily benefit one side. Instead, the contest remained a back-and-forth affair, but when the halftime buzzer sounded, the Hawkeyes carried a 32-28 lead to the locker room. The 18-9 rebounding discrepancy and seven turnovers prevented it from expanding, but Stirtz's 15-point output helped Iowa stay in front.
Second Half
Illinois star freshman Keaton Wagler has been one of the most unexpected superstars in college basketball this year, but the Hawkeyes definitely weren't surprised to see him make play after play early in the half, and his ridiculous and-one gave the Illini some early momentum.
Any fan in this building couldn't have asked for their money back, as these two teams kept delivering punch after punch to one another. Illinois would knock down a bucket, and Iowa would fire right back, leading to a 46-46 deadlock with 11:23 left.
The contest stayed that way until the six-minute mark, when the tired Hawkeye bodies began to give way to the larger Illini. Tomislav Ivišic's layup with 5:41 left gave Illinois a commanding (at least for this type of game) 56-51 lead.
Iowa's magic seemed to slowly run out when the Illini extended their edge to eight at the under-four timeout. The resurgent Hawkeyes wouldn't go away - slicing the lead back down to four - but Illinois was just too dominant inside, and rode that all the way to Indianapolis.
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