Brad Underwood 'ecstatic' as Illinois leads Iowa State at halftime in Elite 8

It hasn’t always been pretty, but Illinois is getting the job done. Ahead 36-26 against No. 2 seed Iowa State at halftime in the Sweet Sixteen matchup, Illinois head coach Brad Underwood pulled back the curtain on how he’s feeling.

“We’re up 10 In the Sweet Sixten against a two-seed, so you’re ecstatic,” Underwood said. “It wasn’t a thing of beauty. They do what they do. It was kind of choppy at times, but you’re up 10 and a half. You get 20 more minutes to go to the Elite Eight.”

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The Fighting Illini could easily boast a more comfortable lead if they were more efficient from the free-throw line. Illinois went 7-16 (43.8%) from the charity stripe in the first half. For reference, Illinois is shooting 74.4% from the free-throw line this season.

Despite their struggles at the stripe, the Fighting Illini put the clamps on the Cyclones in the first half. Iowa State only connected on 9-of-its-31 (29%) field-goal attempts in the first half.

As usual, Terrence Shannon Jr. has been excellent for Illinois, tallying a game-high 16 points in the first 20 minutes of the game. Now, the Fighting Illini are on the cusp of their first Elite Eight appearance since the 2000-01 season when Bill Self was the program’s head coach.

Terrence Shannon Jr. unavailable to NCAA Media

Shannon has been spectacular so far in March. Since the Big Ten Tournament began, Shannon has not scored less than 28 points in a game. Despite the fifth-year senior’s standout performances, he has chosen to not make himself available to the NCAA Media during the Big Dance.

On Tuesday, Illinois released a statement on his decision.

“Illinois just put this out: Please note: As Illinois continues in the NCAA Tournament, be advised that Terrence Shannon Jr. will remain unavailable to the media, pursuant to the advice of his legal counsel,” Adam Zagoria of the New York Times wrote on X.

Shannon was originally suspended in late December 2023 by Illinois after a warrant was issued for his arrest for an alleged rape that took place in Kansas. Through his lawyers, Shannon quickly released a statement on the matter, indicating he would push back against the suspension that he claimed hadn’t followed processes laid out by the school’s own policies.

Back in January, a federal judge ruled in favor of Shannon for a temporary restraining order (TRO) that ended the suspension against him by the school. It did not, however, curtail the lawsuit itself, which is still ongoing.