A second-half comeback was not enough to overcome the Cyclones’ poor shooting start from the court, resulting in a 72-69 loss to Illinois in the Sweet 16.

Illinois’ high-powered offense was too much for Iowa State to contain throughout the game, and Iowa State’s cold first-half performance had the team fighting back all night.

While the Cyclones came out of halftime swinging and made the game close multiple times late, their lack of success from the field in the first half lingered over them.

Fighting Illini land the first punch

Illinois’ nation-leading offense took control of the game in the opening minutes of the first half, taking an 11-2 lead through the first four minutes. The Fighting Illini took advantage of Iowa State’s double team and executed on open shots from outside, knocking down four 3-pointers in the first six minutes.

Iowa State did its best to respond to Illinois’ hot start, but Curtis Jones was the only player connecting on shots early on in the first half. Jones started 4-for-6 from the floor while the rest of the team started 0-for-9.

The Cyclones failed to set up open shots and played with an uncharacteristic fast tempo that was not working against Illinois. Inside shots from Tamin Lipsey and Keshon Gilbert were not falling, which forced the Cyclones to rely on Jones’ presence even more.

Ilinois accomplished what many teams have tried, and often failed, to do against Iowa State: move the ball well. The Fighting Illini finished the half with nine assists to five turnovers, which allowed them to maintain control throughout the first half.

While the Fighting Illini started 8-for-16 from the floor and had a nine-point lead with 7:19 left in the first half, it felt like the Cyclones could have been down by more if not for some unlucky rims on Illinois’ side.

But Iowa State never got things going consistently. With every shot the Cyclones carved out, Illinois responded on the other end. Illinois erupted a 10-1 scoring run over the course of three minutes to take a 13-point lead, its largest lead of the opening half.

Lipsey became the first Cyclone to connect from the floor besides Curtis Jones nearly 15 minutes into the game and connected on a 3-pointer a minute later to cut the deficit to 10.

Both offenses slowed down during the final five minutes of the first half, and Iowa State headed into halftime down 36-26.

Cyclones’ response is not enough

In a complete 180 from how they started the first half, the Cyclones came out of halftime like a shot out of a cannon. Gilbert started the second half with three consecutive driving shots inside to cut Iowa State’s deficit to four.

Lipsey continued the Cyclones’ second-half surge with a driving layup of his own, followed by a 3-pointer from Gilbert to help the team start the second half 5-for-5 from the floor.

Illinois then went on a 5-0 run after the Cyclones’ sign of life and rebuilt its comfortable lead.

But Iowa State was not ready to let its hot start go to waste. The Cyclones responded with another punch, scoring six straight points to cut the deficit to two.

Iowa State rode this momentum for most of the second half, keeping the game close and putting Illinois on its toes. With a 3-point jumper, Jones cut the Cyclones’ deficit back to two with under 5:30 left in the game, but Illinois continued to respond.

The Fighting Illini got back to answering the Cyclones’ shots from the floor and continued to hold on to their lead despite Iowa State continuously making it close.

The Cyclones began to cool off down the stretch and failed to find open shots to respond in clutch time. A couple of unlucky calls on Iowa State late also kept Illinois ahead as the Cyclones continued to fight back.

A late turnover from Milan Momcilovic turned into a wide-open dunk for Illinois, which all but sealed the Cyclones’ fate.

Iowa State did not have enough magic left in the final couple of minutes, and Illinois stuck to its nation-leading offense it found success with all season.

Defense the unlikely culprit for Iowa State

While Iowa State made the game close with its offensive rework in the second half, its defense ended up being what cost the team against the Fighting Illini.

The Cyclones found moments throughout the game where they kept Illinois in check, but they failed to sustain that success. Illinois finished shooting 42% from the field, which is right about where Iowa State wanted it to be, but it was not enough.

The Fighting Illini’s Terrence Shannon Jr. highlighted their offensive charge despite sitting on the bench with four fouls in the second half. Iowa State consistently could not find answers to slow Shannon down, and he finished the game with 29 points on 52% shooting from the floor.

Iowa State was forced to stray away from its double teams and trap defense, as the team was not finding success in forcing turnovers. The Cyclones finished with 12 forced turnovers, off of which they scored seven points.

Illinois found holes in Iowa State’s defense, which had the Cyclones fighting back all night and ultimately ended their season.