The strangest delay of March Madness? Iowa-Illinois game stopped cold

Nearly 13 minutes into their Elite Eight matchup, the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Illinois Fighting Illini were stopped in their tracks, but it wasn't because either defense completely shut down their opponent.

It was because the shot clock alarm sound couldn't be turned off. For 11 minutes, game officials and arena workers couldn't figure out how to stop the buzzer sound from ringing out through the Toyota Center, sending the game into a lengthy delay.

The Hawkeyes had been dominant through the first 12 minutes and 17 seconds, shooting over 60 percent from the field and over 50 percent from beyond the arc to build a 22-20 lead over the Illini before the buzzer delay started.

After 11 minutes, someone (who undeniably deserves a raise now) finally figured out how to fix the problem, and the game continued.

Iowa's Bennett Stirtz led Ben McCollum's squad in scoring through the first half, collecting 13 points before the buzzer initially went off (yes, that's about one point per minute).

This isn't the first buzzer-related issue that the sport has seen this year. Just a month ago, the buzzer at the Detroit Pistons was stuck on, and it led to a delay in their game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

While the Pistons-Cavs delay happened at an arena on the other side of the country, it is a bizzare occurance and coincidence that someone should have possibly prepared for before the Elite Eight tipped off.

The winner of the Iowa-Illinois matchup would advance to the Final Four, where they would face the winner of the Duke-UConn matchup. Hopefully, for everyone involved and in attendance, they have the buzzer sorted out at Lucas Oil Stadium before any of the teams arrive.