The Illinois men’s basketball team went a full 50 minutes without scoring during their Elite Eight matchup against the UConn Huskies Saturday night.
The Fighting Illini were just five points behind the Huskies going into halftime, trailing UConn 28-23.
But UConn went on an unprecedented 30-0 run to open the second half and went ahead by a shocking 53-23.
During the run, Illinois didn’t score for the first seven minutes and 18 seconds of the half, finally putting in a two point bucket to make the game 53-25 with 12 minutes and 42 seconds left in the game.
“It’s been 50 minutes in real time since Illinois has scored. 50 minutes!” play-by-play announcer Kevin Harlan exclaimed as Illinois recorded their first second half bucket
“It’s been fifty minutes in real time since Illinois has scored! FIFTY MINUTES!” – Kevin Harlan
“Can anyone COMPETE with UConn, let alone beat them? Is there anyone out there who can even make a game competitive with them?” – Stan Van Gundy 🏀🎙️ #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/Z22rT8ReZ6
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 31, 2024
Illinois started the second half missing 18 of their first 19 shots. They finished the half shooting 8 for 35, a putrid 22.85 percent. (RELATED: Caitlin Clark Gets Multi-Million Dollar Offer From American Pro Basketball League. Is She The Future Of Pro Ball?)
Absolutely embarrassing for Illinois. I’m still trying to figure out how the team that beat Iowa State got so thoroughly dismantled.
UConn handed them an absolute drubbing. And while the Huskies deserve their flowers, they crashed the glass and played lights out defense, this one’s on Illinois. For a team called the “Fighting Illini” they showed a complete and utter lack of fight in that game.
1-19?! Are you kidding me? How do you make it all the way to the Elite Eight only to not even show up when it matters most.
I feel for these kids, I do. But they have to put in a little more effort when the whole country’s watching.