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For the first time in more than two decades, the Illinois men’s basketball team will still be dancing when the Final Four begins.
Iowa’s losing streak in the NCAA Tournament ended Saturday with a 71-59 loss to a dominant Illinois team. Before Illinois could shut down the nets at Houston’s Toyota Center, a buzzer malfunction caused a steep delay of about 10 minutes.
The buzzer initially sounded, signaling the end of a media timeout with just under eight minutes remaining in the first half. The horn continued to blare for about seven more minutes.
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A referee speaks to the scorer’s table during an official’s timeout due to a broken shot clock horn during the first half of an Elite Eight game between Iowa and Illinois in the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, March 28, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
The players remained on the court ready to play for a couple of minutes before both teams began warming up as the buzzer continued to sound.
He was eventually silenced, to applause from the crowd, but then the main scoreboard and the video screen hanging in the center of the court went dark.
The match eventually resumed with the big scoreboard still off. Two smaller scoreboards were operating at each end of the arena.
Freshman guard Keaton Wagler scored 25 points to help secure Illinois’ first Final Four berth since 2005.
Keaton Wagler (23) of the Illinois Fighting Illini dribbles against Isaia Howard (23) of the Iowa Hawkeyes during the first half of the Elite Eight of the 2026 NCAA Tournament at the Toyota Center on March 28, 2026, in Houston, Texas. (Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
This will be the sixth overall trip to the Final Four for Illinois, which has never won a national title. The Fighting Illini will face either Duke or UConn next week in Indianapolis.
