If the family rec room is heavily decorated in Illinois orange, it’s possible that you’ve already forgotten about it.
However, it must be posted somewhere for the sake of proper bookkeeping, so here it is: Connecticut 77, Illinois 52 in the East Regional final at TD Garden on Saturday night.
UConn will return to the Final Four.
Illinois is starting over.
Let’s move on to a score that, in technical terms, was a run. It has already earned a place on the trophy shelf of legendary March Madness moments.
We talk about UConn’s incredible, take-no-prisoners, stop-the-insanity 30-0 run that started late in the first half and lasted well into the second half. For an optimistic, “we can win this thing” group of Illinois players, the run proved disastrous.
Donovan Clingan, a 7-foot-2, 280-pound center from Connecticut who scored 22 points and displayed amazing dominance in the paint, wasn’t the only player the Fighting Illini were down on.
or that, according to ESPN, Illinois was 0 for 19 when Clingan contested a shot.
Without a doubt, Clingan was the talk of the town. In fact, after the game, Illinois coach Brad Underwood was asked, in a very direct and concise manner, if he was thinking of handling the big fella in a different way. To which he replied, “He’s good.”.
“He fulfilled his duties.
That’s the reason he’s — well, doesn’t he seem like a lock to win the lottery?
Yes, he does a fantastic job keeping the rim safe. “Go Deeper, Illinois is no match for ‘Cling Kong,’ as UConn makes its way back to the Final Four Yes, the Illini discussed Clingan’s dilemma “ad nauseam,” as Underwood put it.
Marcus Domask “got some good booty-ball stuff early, but give (Clingan) a lot of credit,” he said in his observation.
Got one of those elite guys back there. “The Fighting Illini also discussed winning this game,” however.
Not that there was any off-day trash talk going around, or anything like that. Instead, we’re talking about a harmless tweet from former Illinois guard Sean Harrington that UConn coach Dan Hurley took to heart after the game as additional evidence that not everyone realizes how tough the Huskies are.
No, at halftime, the Illini—that is, the players of today—talked about winning this game.
And that will be crucial to keep in mind as upcoming historians and documentarians attempt to explain UConn’s 30-0 victory over Illinois in the years to come.
To start, let’s recap: Clingan scored seven points in the Huskies’ 9-0 opening-night victory, including a dunk, a second-chance layup (which was followed by a successful free throw), and another second-chance layup.
But despite Illinois’ best efforts, they were unable to tie the game at 23–23 until 1:49 of the half thanks to a Domask jump shot.
Illinois was unaffected by the Huskies’ five additional points to end the half with a 28-23 lead.
Not even a tiny bit.
Nor ought it to have.
It was their return, finally.
They had returned to the fray.
They were going to prevail now.
We’ll take you into the postgame Illinois locker room to explain the atmosphere there at halftime.
Luke Goode, a junior guard/forward, stated, “We were down five at the half, and we had confidence.”.
We were energized.
We believed we would win the game. We said things like, “We’ve been here before, we’re as good as this team, we’ve got everything we need to do it.”. Domask, who finished with 17 points, said, “We were right in the game.”.
“We had a good amount of confidence in our skills and our performance to win the second half. Once more, these inquiries concerning what had been a cheerful, optimistic locker room at halftime were made in a quiet, solemn locker room following the game, with players bowing their heads in conversation.
A few of them were sobbing, while others were just sitting there and gazing blankly.
Here’s why: Illinois’ brief run to tie the game seemed to infuriate UConn only.
That is essentially all.
The Huskies not only scored those five points to end the first half, but they also scored 25 straight points after the break to take a 53-23 lead.
With a Justin Harmon layup to cap off the UConn run, the Illini now had 12 minutes and 41 seconds to cut their deficit to 28 points.
They never came close to scoring 23 points, and even that is a difficult fact to consider when you consider how quickly the game was becoming intramural.
Of UConn’s 30-0 run, forward Coleman Hawkins said, “It felt like no shots were going in for us, and it felt like they were going out in transition every time.”.
We’re still at twenty-three when you look up. Upon raising your gaze, everything has finished.
For UConn, the big wins were just another day at the rock pile.
For the Illini, for whom the halftime air was a fragrant aroma, this was now a changing room full of young men thinking about the next guy.
BOSTON — Nobody will recall the final score, save from statisticians and proud parents. If the family recreation room is heavily decorated in Illinois orange, it’s possible that you’ve already forgotten about it. In the East Regional final at TD Garden on Saturday night, Connecticut defeated Illinois 52, but proper bookkeeping demands that it be posted somewhere. UConn is returning to the Final Four. Illinois will start over from scratch.
You got that?
Let’s move on to a score that, in technical terms, was a run. It has already earned a place on the trophy shelf of legendary March Madness moments. We are referring to UConn’s incredible, no-holds-barred, 30-0 run that started late in the first half and lasted well into the second half. This run proved disastrous for the once-optimistic, “we can win this thing” group of Illinois players.
Not only did the 7-foot-2, 280-pound center from Connecticut, Donovan Clingan, score 22 points and display incredible dominance in the paint, leave the Fighting Illini flat. Or that Illinois was 0 of 19 on shots that Clingan contested, according to ESPN. Without a doubt, Clingan was the talk of the town. In fact, after the game, Illinois coach Brad Underwood was asked, in a very direct and concise manner, if he was thinking of handling the big fella in a different way. To which he replied, “He’s good.”. “He completed his task. He’s competent. He does a great job of protecting the rim, which is why he’s — well, doesn’t everyone have him projected in the lottery, or at least close to it? “.
DIVE IN NOW.
‘Cling Kong’ has no trouble defeating Illinois as UConn returns to the Final Four.
Indeed, Underwood described the Illini’s discussions of potential solutions to problems like Clingan as “ad nauseam.”. Give Clingan a lot of credit, he said, noting that Marcus Domask “got some good booty-ball stuff early.”. A very good man was back there. “.
Here’s another topic the Fighting Illini discussed: winning this match. Not that there was any off-day trash talk going around, or anything like that. Instead, we’re talking about a harmless tweet from former Illinois guard Sean Harrington that UConn coach Dan Hurley took to heart after the game as additional evidence that not everyone realizes how tough the Huskies are.
No, the players from the Illini, the real ones, were discussing winning this game at halftime. And as upcoming historians and documentarians attempt to explain UConn’s 30-0 run against Illinois, that will be a crucial point to keep in mind in the years to come.
Let’s start here: Clingan scored seven points in a row for the Huskies during their 9-0 opening-night lead, including a dunk, a second-chance layup, and a made free throw. However, Illinois hustled and huddled until, at last, a Domask jump shot with 1:49 left in the half tied the score at 23.
Illinois was unaffected by the Huskies’ five additional points to end the half with a 28-23 lead. Not even a little bit. It also wasn’t supposed to. They were back on the scene. They had re-engaged. They were going to win it now.
We must take you into the postgame Illinois locker room in order to explain the atmosphere there at halftime.
Junior guard/forward Luke Goode stated, “We were down five at the half, and we had confidence.”. We were energized. We were claiming that we had won here before, that we were just as skilled as this team, and that we had everything we needed to win the game. “.
17-point scorer Domask said, “We were right in the game.”. Our confidence in our skills and our performance to emerge victorious in the second half was fairly high. “.
Once more, in a quiet, solemn locker room with players bowing their heads, these inquiries concerning what had been an optimistic, happy halftime locker room were made after the game. While some were sobbing, others were just sitting there and gazing straight ahead.
Here’s why: Illinois’ brief run to tie the game seemed to infuriate UConn only. Essentially, that is all. In addition to scoring those five points to end the first half, the Huskies scored 25 more points in a row following the half to take a 53-23 advantage. After Justin Harmon’s layup to finally halt the UConn run, the Illini had 12 minutes and 41 seconds remaining to cut their deficit to 28 points. The game quickly turned into intramural activities, so even the fact that they never came close to scoring 23 points is problematic.
Regarding UConn’s 30-0 run, forward Coleman Hawkins said, “It felt like no shots were going in for us, and it felt like they were going out in transition every time.”. We’re still at twenty-three when you look up. “.
And then it’s all over when you look up. For UConn, it was simply another day of racking up significant victories at the boulder. The Illini, whose perfume at halftime was sweet, found themselves in a dressing room full of young men thinking about the next phase of their lives.
I believe that this was Hawkins’ final year wearing an Illinois uniform. “All good things have to end. “.
That halftime comeback will always be there for the Fighting Illini. They’ll consistently have 23–23. They’ll possess that halftime assurance forever.
Nonetheless, Connecticut and Illinois will always have a 30-0 record.
