NCAA Tournament - Terrence Shannon Jr. & Illinois sneak past Iowa State, advance to first Elite Eight since 2005

Yahoo Sports’ Jason Fitz and Krysten Peek analyze the Fighting Illini's Sweet 16 victory over the Cyclones, focusing on how Terrence Shannon Jr. changed the course of the game for Illinois.

Video Transcript

JASON FITZ: They say that defense wins championships, but on day one of the Sweet 16 when the top defense in the country took on the top offense in the country, it was in fact the offense that came out victorious, as third seeded Illinois takes down second seeded Iowa State. She's Krysten Peak. I'm Jason Fitz for Yahoo Sports. KP, this, you called it early on, that we knew there was going to be a superstar in this tourney when you talk about his basketball play. And there was tonight, as Illinois was all about one name that I know you love.

KRYSTEN PEEK: Yeah. It was Terrence Shannon Jr. And like you said, it was a defensive battle down the stretch. And every time Iowa State made a run, Illinois would answer with a big shot. Usually, it was Terrence Shannon Jr. He continues to be one of the best players in the tournament. He finished with 29 points and is now averaging 28.3 points in the tournament. He had a steal and a dunk with 30 seconds left to put the game away.

And by far, he's been the most dominant player so far. No one is playing better than him right now. He's the first Illinois player ever to have 25-plus points in three consecutive games in the NCAA tournament. And we have to give credit to Iowa State. Curtis Jones off the bench was incredible with 26 points. Four 3's in the second half, but it wasn't enough to beat Illinois and advance.

JASON FITZ: And by the way, it's interesting now, we'll get possibly the best player in this tournament taking on the best team in this tournament, as Illinois advances to take on Connecticut. Also, fun fact here, we came into the weekend with every 1 and 2 seed advancing into the Sweet 16 for only the fifth time in tournament history.

Connecticut was the only one of those top two seeds that won on the first day of the Sweet 16, as we saw North Carolina go down to one seed and both of the two seeds go down. So let's see. It looks like a tournament that felt like it was chalk. All the way up to now seems to be anything but that as the Sweet 16 gets underway.