A buzzer malfunction leads to a delay in the Illinois-Iowa Elite Eight game

Underdog Iowa is running in NCAA tournament It ended Saturday with a 71-59 loss to a dominant Illinois team. Before Illinois could cut down the nets at the Toyota Center in Houston, a buzzer malfunction caused a loud delay of about 10 minutes.

The buzzer initially signaled the end of the media timeout with just under eight minutes remaining in the first half. The bugle continued to sound for another seven minutes.

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A referee talks to the scorers’ table during an official’s timeout due to a broken shot clock horn during 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 preparing to play for a few minutes before both teams began warming up as the buzzer continued to sound.

The game was finally silenced to the cheers of the crowd, but then the main scoreboard and the video screen hanging in the middle of the field went dark.

The game eventually resumed with the big scoreboard still up. There were two small panels running at each end of the square.

Freshman guard Keaton Wagler scored 25 points to help secure Illinois’ first Final Four berth since 2005.

Keaton Wagler (23) of the Illinois Fighting Illini dribbles against Isaiah Howard (23) of the Iowa Hawkeyes during the first half of the Elite Eight of the 2026 NCAA Tournament at Toyota Center on March 28, 2026, in Houston, Texas. (Alex Slitz/Getty Images)

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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.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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