Illinois and Iowa State are set to meet in a matchup of very contrasting styles. The Cyclones bring the 4th best scoring defense in the country. On the flip side, Illinois has the 9th best offense in the country.
Iowa State comes into this game riding a five game winning streak. They went 3-0 on their way to claiming the Big 12 Championship and smothered both South Dakota State and Washington State in the first two rounds. The Cyclones dominated the Jackrabbits, but struggled with Wazzu for about 30 minutes. The game was tied with about nine minutes left on Saturday before they went on a 20-12 run to close out the win. The Iowa State defense can be suffocating at times. They have held teams to under 60 points in 16/36 games this season.
The Fighting Illini are on a six game heater coming into this one. But unlike their opponent, they have been riding their hot offense. Terrence Shannon Jr. leads the team with 23 points per game. That is good enough to make him second in scoring in the Big 10. They also have Coleman Hawkins and Marcus Domask who are both averaging double digits per game. Both are capable of going on a tear at any time. Illinois has had a relatively easy run in the tournament so far, but they dominated both games against Morehead State and Duquesne.
