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For the first time in more than two decades, the Illinois men’s basketball team will still be dancing when the Final Four tips off.
Iowa’s underdog run in the NCAA Tournament ended Saturday with a 71-59 loss to a dominant Illinois team. Before Illinois could cut down the nets at Houston’s Toyota Center, a buzzer error caused a loud, roughly 10-minute delay.
The buzzer sounded in the first period, signaling the end of a media timeout with just under eight minutes remaining in the first half. The horn continued to blast for about another seven minutes.
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A referee talks to the scorer’s table during an officials timeout due to a broken clock horn in the first half of an Elite Eight game between Iowa and Illinois in the NCAA tournament Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Houston, Texas. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
The players stood on the court ready to play for a few minutes before both teams began to warm up as the buzzer continued to sound.
It eventually fell silent, to cheers from the crowd, but then the main scoreboard and video screen hanging over the center of the field went dark.
The game was eventually resumed with the big scoreboard still gone. Two smaller scoreboards at each end of the arena worked.
Freshman guard Keaton Wagler scored 25 points to secure Illinois’ first Final Four berth since 2005.
Keaton Wagler (23) of the Illinois Fighting Illini dribbles against Isaia Howard (23) of the Iowa Hawkeyes during the first half of the Elite Eight of the 2026 NCAA Tournament at the Toyota Center on March 28, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
This will be the sixth overall trip to the Final Four for Illinois, which has never won a national title. The Fighting Illini will face either Duke or UConn next week in Indianapolis.
