How to Watch Illinois at Iowa
Game Time: 11 a.m. Sunday
TV Channel: Fox
Online Streaming: FoxSportsGO
Odds: N/A (Illinois 57.5% Chance To Win – ESPN Matchup Predictor)
Quick Hits:
Illinois Fighting Illini (12-3, 3-1 Big Ten)
Head Coach: Brad Underwood (9th season)
Last Game: Illinois 81, Rutgers 55
Gameday Reading:
Iowa Hawkeyes (12-3, 2-2 Big Ten)
Head Coach: Ben McCollum (1st season)
Last Game: Minnesota 70, Iowa 67
What Happened the Last Time These Two Teams Played?
- Illinois leads the all-time series 94-77.
March 13, 2025: Illinois 106, Iowa 94 (Big Ten Tournament Second Round)
INDIANAPOLIS — The bout between two of the Big Ten’s highest-scoring offenses did not disappoint.
On Thursday of the Big Ten Tournament, Illinois outran Iowa, lighting up the Gainbridge Fieldhouse scoreboard in a 106-94
win.
“High-level basketball game,” Underwood said to open his postgame press conference. “Didn’t expect anything any different. I thought Iowa’s been playing exceptionally well. They’ve been in kind of postseason mode here for a few games.”
It’s the fourth time this year that Illinois has hit the 100-point mark and first since a 109-77 win at Oregon in January. The Illini fell just short of the record for most points scored in a Big Ten Tournament. The record was 112 points, set by the Hawkeyes in 2022.
Underwood said that the possibility of a high-scoring shootout is always a possibility when playing Iowa.
“I think we’re the two top scoring teams in the league. As these guys mentioned, we try to practice that way. We play 14-second shot clocks in practice most of the time. That fits us.”
The 200 points between both teams did set a record for most combined points ever in a Big Ten Tournament game, though.
Both teams erupted in the first half, combining for 94 points. While neither team was playing exceptionally bad defense, it was Illinois’s effective inside game and Iowa’s efficient outside game that kept the teams tight.
In the second half, both teams embraced the outside game, with some courtside drama to spice things up as well.
The Illini drove the ball against the Hawkeyes, who all season long have been one of the shakier teams when defending inside the arc. Early drives from the likes of Kasparas Jakucionis got the Lithuanian started in the points column and opened up opportunities for shooters elsewhere.
