Chambana Sun

Illinois faced a challenging match against top-ranked Connecticut in the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight, resulting in a 77-52 defeat at TD Garden. The No. 3-seeded Fighting Illini managed to tie the game at 23 with two minutes left in the first half and were down by five points at halftime. However, a strong performance from the Huskies in the second half secured their advancement.

Marcus Domask led Illinois with 17 points, marking his fifth double-figure scoring game out of the last six and his 29th for the season. Domask also became only the second player in Illinois' history to log over 1,300 minutes in a single season, joining Deron Williams. His contributions included three rebounds, two steals, and one assist.

The Big Ten Tournament champion Illinois concluded its season with a record of 29-9, achieving its third-highest win total ever. This year marked Illinois' first Elite Eight appearance since 2005 and its tenth overall.

Postgame notes highlighted that Illinois has now participated in the NCAA Elite Eight ten times and holds an all-time record of 5-5 in these games. The team’s current season win count is only surpassed by records set in 2005 (37 wins) and 1989 (31 wins).

This year's tournament was Illinois' fourth consecutive appearance and their overall 34th participation. The team maintains an all-time NCAA Tournament record of 45-35 (.563). As a No. 3 seed for the fourth time, they hold a historical record of 6-4.

Illinois is among three Big Ten teams to have earned bids to each of the last four NCAA Tournaments and one of five schools nationally with five straight seasons of at least twenty regular-season wins.