Illinois Reaches First Final Four in 21 Years, Defeats Iowa 71-59

He slammed his whiteboard and broke his marker on the floor. Ink everywhere," Bennett Stirtz said of the moment that almost defined Iowa's season. On Saturday in the South Region final, the Hawkeyes had no answer for Illinois.

Illinois defeated Iowa 71-59 to reach its first Final Four in 21 years, advancing to Indianapolis behind Keaton Wagler and completing a turnaround coach Brad Underwood had spent years constructing. For Iowa, the loss ended a run that had already taken the program further than it had gone since 1987.

Ben McCollum's first season in Iowa City produced results the program hadn't seen in nearly four decades. He knocked out defending national champion Florida in the second round, steered Iowa to the Sweet 16, and then beat Nebraska to reach the Elite Eight for the first time since 1987. The Illinois loss closed the book on a season that reset what the program believes it can be.

In the postgame session that followed, McCollum and Stirtz spoke with the directness that has characterized their relationship since McCollum showed up at one of Stirtz's high school practices when Stirtz was a junior. "I don't think either of us would be here without the other," McCollum said. "So now we're in the Elite Eight and he's gone further than he ever has, even at Division II, and hopefully he can keep going further."

The question the offseason will answer is whether McCollum can keep what he built. Stirtz averaged 19.7 points per game this season and is precisely the kind of producer the transfer portal was designed to move. McCollum spoke about it plainly. "The way this portal works and the way all this NIL stuff works, some people were illegally recruiting him, offering him a lot more money, and he still chose to come to the University of Iowa," McCollum said. "I think that's probably as special as it gets, that he believes in you, and you believe in him."

McCollum had won four Division II national titles at Northwest Missouri State before Stirtz ever joined that program. Their connection runs through years of discipline Stirtz described in full: "He just pushes you past your limit. He shoots you straight and never lies to you. Sometimes it sucks because the discipline and everything sucks in the moment, but it makes you stronger mentally, physically, emotionally. It just makes you a stronger person and it makes you think that you can just accomplish anything."

What that discipline looks like in real time: Iowa trailed Nebraska by 10 in the first half of their Sweet 16 game at Toyota Center when McCollum called a huddle. An image of him screaming at his players went viral while the game was still being played. Stirtz described what McCollum said: "He was just telling us we sucked, and we were soft." Iowa outscored Nebraska 34-25 in the second half. Tate Sage scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds off the bench. Alvaro Folgueiras added 16, including a critical and-1 after Nebraska had only four players on the floor. Iowa won 77-71 and moved on.

Cam Manyawu was also among those who spoke after the Illinois loss, part of a roster that spent one season reminding the Big Ten it exists. Whether McCollum's core survives the portal intact will determine if that reminder carries any weight into 2027.