That Illinois Fighting Illini team that lost to North Florida and Chattanooga earlier in the year? That was not the same team that showed up to battle for the Emerald Coast Classic championship trophy tonight. The Illini were at full strength for only the second time this season, and for about 32 minutes tonight, they gave the No. 4 team in the country all they could handle.
However, the Iowa State Cyclones rallied late behind their All-American forward and star point guard in Georges Niang and Monte Morris, and came away with a 84-73 victory to capture the title in their 2015 non-conference tournament.