Breakdown of the 30-Point Breakdown
March Madness gets its name from the madness that occurs when there are major upsets in the NCAA basketball tournament field. It's synonymous with wild upsets such as #15 St. Peter's over #2 Kentucky in 2022 and #16 Fairleigh Dickinson over #1 Purdue in 2023.
Sometimes, though, if your team is struggling to do anything right in a game that should be closer than the score indicates, it's less "madness" and more "maddening."
On Saturday, March 30, TD Garden in Boston hosted the first Elite Eight game of 2024, with a trip to the Final Four in Phoenix on the line. Top-seeded Connecticut faced off against the University of Illinois. Historically, this was significant for both: Connecticut was the first defending champion to make the Elite Eight since Florida did in 2007; Illinois had not made the Elite Eight since their runner-up finish in 2005. Several current U of I freshmen had not been born yet.
Illinois played an ugly first half of the game, shooting just 28.57% from the field and from beyond the arc, and going 1-4 at the free throw line. Luckily for the Illini, UConn wasn't having the best game either, shooting 33.33% from the field and going 1-11 from deep range. The Huskies' free throw performance, 7-9, put them ahead 28-23 entering the break.
With 1:49 left in the first stanza, the game was tied 23-23. For most of the first half, UConn looked primed to make a quick run, only to be stopped short by Illinois, who struggled to take advantage of any Connecticut blunders.
I don't know what head coach Dan Hurley gave his Huskies to drink during halftime, but that magic potion woke a beast in UConn.
Or maybe Illinois just fell asleep.
The game clock would tick nine minutes and eight seconds before Illinois would score another basket, bringing their total up to 25. During that same time span, UConn blew the game wide open, scoring 30 unanswered points. The game finished with a 25-point victory for the Huskies, with Illinois unable to get much offense generated once they found their footing. The final score was 77-52.
What went wrong for Illinois?
In short, adjustments were not made.
UConn sophomore Donovan Clingan is listed as 7-foot-2, which ranks him as the third-tallest player in this year's tournament. Purdue boasts the top two on that list with Zach Edey (7' 4") and Will Berg (7' 2"). Clingan, a Connecticut native, was a Connecticut high school basketball player of the year, and understandably so.
Watching Illinois play basketball this year, one could find players like Terrance Shannon, Jr, or Marcus Domask attacking the basket and finessing their way to the rim, making wondrous shots that would eventually hex a defense. This only works, though, if the defense is of similar vertical stature.
Illinois lost both its matchups to Purdue in large part because of the offensive and defensive attacks in the paint by the opponents' big men; the same occurred in the Elite Eight.
In all, UConn blocked ten of Illinois's shots throughout the game. Five of those were clobbers by Clingan. Even when Illinois wasn't shooting, Clingan's mere presence deterred a shot attempt. Making routine layups would not be an option for Illinois.
Three-pointers, both open and contested, were not falling for Illinois either. The Fighting Illini shot 6-23 from distance; Coleman Hawkins shot just 1-7 there. Plenty of these shots came during the nine-plus minute drought.
What I noticed to be lacking from Illinois was the midrange shot. While Illinois generally found success in attacking the rim and popping the trey throughout the season, it clearly did not work against UConn. As much as Brad Underwood may say that his team is going to do the same thing they've done all year to find success, sometimes adjustments need to be made to find a rhythm. Those adjustments should have come in the form of higher-percentage shots from outside the lane but inside the arc.
Overall, the ball movement and control were okay for Illinois; UConn only came away with five steals, three by Clingan. But the outside shots were not falling and the lane had a sentinel guarding the goal. That leaves a valuable option for a team with smart passing and off-ball screening abilities: two-point jump shots.
Illinois fans couldn't help but watch their Final Four hopes drop with every step Illinois took toward Clingan in the second half. Clearly, UConn made a halftime adjustment that Illinois wasn't ready for, but the Illini did not take the time to respond.
Phoenix 2024 is out of the question for Illinois. On to San Antonio 2025.
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