Iowa vs. Illinois box score: Full stats from 2026 March Madness Elite Eight game
Iowa vs. Illinois box score: Full stats from 2026 March Madness Elite Eight game originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
Big Ten rivals will meet under the glistening Toyota Center hardwood in the first matchup of the 2026 Elite Eight. Iowa and Illinois met once before during the regular season. The Illini scored a 75-69 win over their hated opposition, benefitting from scoring outbursts by Keaton Wagler (19 points), Andrej Stojakovic (17 points) and Kylan Boswell (17 points).
Then again, that matchup took place in the deep midwinter. Neither side had established itself as a college basketball powerhouse. The Hawkeyes dropped 12 games during the regular season.
They've been faultless in tournament play, however, scoring victories over a trio of hardwood luminaries -- including defending champions and No. 1 seed Florida. The Illini found success more consistently during the regular season, but fell well short of a conference title.
That hasn't prevented them from sweeping teams aside in the spring, though. Wins over Pennsylvania and VCU were followed by a dizzying display against No. 2 Houston, last year's NCAA tournament runner-up.