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March Madness bracket: Using AI for better odds
Illinois Professor Sheldon Jacobson uses science to help people create their best March Madness bracket. Jacobson and his students created BracketOdds to offset the unpredictability of the NCAA Mens Basketball Tournament.
OMAHA, Neb. - Illinois might have played the Eagles close, but the Fighting Illini took care of business in the end.
The No. 3 seeded Illini beat up No. 14 seeded Morehead State, advancing to the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament with an 85-69 win in Omaha.
Terrence Shannon Jr. continued to score at a high rate, but it was Marcus Domask who stole the show.
Here's how the game unfolded.
Why Illinois won
The first half wasn't pretty, by any means.
Illinois had the lead, but held the slimmest of leads at 39-38.
In the second half, Morehead State actually took a lead, too. But, any idea of putting Illinois on upset alert went away quickly.
Illinois utilized a 16-3 run over a four-minute span to take firm control of the game. The Illini's transition offense was working well and Illinois had big games from Terrence Shannon Jr., Marcus Domask and Dain Dainja to put away the Eagles.
It was over when
Leading 81-60, Domask got his triple double with a three with about three minutes to go in the game.
Shortly after, Brad Underwood emptied his bench. That was it. Illinois had it in the bag.
Who starred
The usual stars for Illinois had their day. Terrence Shannon Jr. had a 20-point game and was deadly in transition. He scored 26 points to lead the Illini.
However, Dain Dainja provided a nice surprise with 21 points on 9 of 9 shooting from the floor. It was a deadly efficient day from the 6-foot-9 forward.
Marcus Domask was also extremely productive doing the dirty work. Domask scored two points in the first half, but scored 10 points in the second half to finish with 12 points, 10 assists and 11 rebounds to record a triple-double in his first-ever NCAA Tournament game.
What it means
Illinois is moving on. The dance continues for the Illini who will face No. 11 seed Duquesne in the NCAA Tournament's Round of 32.
Duquesne is fresh off an upset, having beat No. 6 seed BYU in the NCAA Tournament's Round of 64.
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