Virginia Basketball vs. Illinois | Scores and live updates
The No. 16 Virginia Cavaliers (3-0) host the No. 19 Illinois Fighting Illini in the Continental Tire Main Event Championship Game on Sunday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. UVA knocked off No. 5 Baylor on Friday, while Illinois took down No. 8 UCLA in the semifinals.
The title game tips off at 3pm ET and will be televised on ESPN.
Follow along with score updates, play-by-play and live analysis for the game below. This article will be updated at each media timeout. The latest updates will be at the top. Please refresh the page for updates.
Current Score: Illinois 57, Virginia 56 | 3:38 2H
Vander Plas is called for a foul as he swipes Cole Hawkins, who goes to the line for a one-and-one. Hawkins misses the front, but Dainja works hard for the rebound, which goes wide of the path of Vander Plas. Illinois gets a couple more offensive rebounds and Epps eventually knocks down an open three-pointer to tie the game at 53-53. Clark turns the ball over and Dain Dainja cashes in with a dribble move to get past Shedrick for a dunk. Illinois is 8-0 to take the lead. Vander Plas is fouled on a three-point attempt and makes all three throws. Hawkins spins in the paint and knocks a floater off the glass.
Illinois 57, Virginia 56 | 3:38 2H
Shannon euro walks through the lane and completes the setup. A hectic sequence unfolds with quick break opportunities at both ends. Caffaro blocks a shot on one end and UVA takes it the other way as Beekman gets a wide-open dunk — some very un-Virginia-like up-and-down basketball ends in UVA’s favor. Ben Vander Plas is fouled in the paint and hits both free throws. Kihei Clark draws a charge, but for some reason the refs call it a block. Illinois takes advantage of the bad call as Hawkins knocks down another three-pointer. Vander Plas draws another foul and hits both free throws. Dain Dainja grabs an offensive rebound after a missed Illinois three and lays it in. Armaan Franklin keeps his pivot foot in and gets the floater going after bouncing off the back iron. Franklin works around a screen and pulls up for a mid-range jumper. UVA doubles Dainja in the low post and Illinois works around Jayden Epps, who hits an open three.
Illinois 50, Virginia 53 | 6:05 2H
Kihei Clark has a lot of success running the baseline. This time he gets past Epps, who is forced to foul and Clark makes both free throws. Mayer uses some nice footwork to get around Shedrick for a layup. Virginia forces some bad misses on three-pointers from Illinois with great defense and solid contests. Both teams don’t shoot very well, sitting below 40% from the floor.
Illinois 40, Virginia 43 | 11:29 3H
Terrence Shannon goes back for a mid-range jumper and knocks it down. Shedrick drops a screen and gets the ball down low for an easy layup. Coleman Hawkins fakes a handoff and tricks Gardner and Shedrick, as neither marks Hawkins, who slides to the rim uncontested for a layup. Shedrick is fouled and goes 1/2 from the line. Illinois breaks down the Virginia defense and uses some nice ball movement to find Hawkins for an open three from the right wing. Reece Beekman has the answer at the other end with a pull-up three-pointer from the top of the key.
Illinois 38, Virginia 41 | 15:17 2H
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Clark drives baseline and dishes to Gardner in the paint for a two-handed slam. Shedrick uses a great move in the post to get around Shannon, who is forced to take his second personal foul to avoid the layup. Shedrick makes both free throws and UVA leads 33-31. Beekman jumps an overtaking lane and takes the other road. Gardner has blocked the layup in transition, but Shedrick is there for the rebound and dunk. Illinois calls timeout as UVA goes on a 6-0 run to start the second half.
Illinois 31, Virginia 35 | 18:32 2H
Terrence Shannon vs. Reece Beekman will be a battle to watch all game. Shannon beats Beekman this time and gets fouled, but he misses both free throws. Franklin pokes the ball loose and Virginia takes it on the fast break, which eventually results in a pair of free throws for Jayden Gardner, and he makes one of two. Coleman Hawkins gets a very lucky bounce as his three-pointer hits every part of the rim and backboard before falling in. Reece Beekman is called for his second personal foul on a charge. Illinois leads 31-29 at halftime.
Illinois 31, Virginia 29 | 0:41 1H
Terrence Shannon gets an extra possession for Illinois when he pokes the ball off Vander Plas and out of bounds. Skyy Clark cashes in with the three-pointer. Vander Plas misses a three-pointer, and Sencire Harris is fouled at the other end, making one of two free throws. Gardner gets around Mayer inside and completes the open layup. Gardner gets hacked in the lane without a call and Illinois takes it the other way and Shannon goes to Harris for a transition layup. Beekman pump fakes out of a three and drives to the basket late in the shot clock and draws a foul. He hits both free throws. Epps uses a nice hesitation move to get past Clark and drives to the basket for an easy layup. Gardner grabs an offensive rebound and makes the putback go off the glass plus the foul. Gardner completes the three-point play at the free throw line to tie the game. Melendez cuts to the basket and gets the feed from Shannon, completing the dunk. Beekman gets an offensive board and drives to the basket, finishing at the rim plus the foul.
Illinois 28, Virginia 28 | 3:30 1H
Epps uses a screen to find a lane and then hits a floater. UVA gets a couple of offensive rebounds on a single possession and Francisco Caffaro finally puts it up and in. Kihei Clark knocks down a three-pointer from the left wing. Epps works around a screen and knocks another floater off the glass. Clark drives baseline and sends a great bounce pass to the corner to McKneely, who hits the triple. Shannon gets under Beekman on a back-cut and puts it in. Shedrick is whistled for his second personal foul on another offensive foul.
Illinois 18, Virginia 19 | 7:33 1H
UVA goes small with Ben Vander Plas as the tallest player on the floor. Jayden Gardner draws a foul on the inside and makes one of two free throws. Jayden Epps shakes Clark and gets in for a layup. Isaac McKneely checks into the game. Melendez hits a catch-and-shoot three from the left wing, his second three-pointer of the game. Illinois leads 12-11.
Illinois 12, Virginia 11 | 11:37 1H
Kihei Clark drains a three in the corner just 12 seconds into the game to get the scoring started. UVA gets a stop and then Clark gets loose on the inside with a fake to finish the open left layup and Virginia takes a quick 5-0 lead. Illinois gets on the board as RJ Melendez hits a corner three. Kadin Shedrick is whistled for an offensive foul when he elbowed an Illinois player. The referees review the play and call a flagrant 1 foul to Shedrick. Skyy Clark goes to the free throw line and hits both free throws to tie the game at 5-5. Kihei Clark beats his man off the dribble and finishes a reverse layup – he has scored each of Virginia’s first 7 points. Matthew Mayer cuts the backdoor and Shannon finds him for an open layup. Armaan Franklin has the answer as he picks up where he left off Friday night and drains his first three-point attempt.
Illinois 7, Virginia 10 | 15:24 1H
