IOWA HAWKEYES vs.
ILLINOIS FIGHTING ILLINI
THE FACTS
| TIME | 2:30 pm CT (approx.) |
| WHERE | Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis |
| TV | CBS |
| RADIO | Learfield Affiliates |
| STREAM | CBS Sports Live |
| LINE | Illinois -4 |
| KENPOM | Illinois -1 |
TALE OF THE TAPE
| IOWA | ILLINOIS | |
|---|---|---|
| 21-7 | RECORD | 21-6 |
| 14-6 | CONF. | 16-4 |
| 125.0 (2nd) | OFF. EFF. | 119.6 (7th) |
| 94.3 (51st) | DEF. EFF. | 88.3 (7th) |
| 69.9 | POSS. | 70.6 |
| 54.9 (26th) | eFG% | 56.0 (13th) |
After three days, there are four teams left standing at the Big Ten Tournament. Each one is in the Kenpom national top seven; each of them is capable of winning a national title. Up next for the Hawkeyes: Illinois, winner of 12 in its last 13 games, arguably the nation's best team at the moment.
When we last saw Illinois, both the Illini and the Hawkeyes were in a rut. Illinois had just lost against Maryland and Ohio State; Iowa had stumbled at home against Indiana. What we didn't know was that Illinois was on an upswing, and Iowa still had room to move down. Since that day, the Illini have lost just once, a nine-point defeat at Michigan State where their best player was knocked out (literally). They eviscerated Michigan, knocked off Ohio State in Columbus, and cruised past Rutgers last night. They are a likely top seed on Sunday, regardless of what happens this weekend, and will be a trendy pick to win the national championship.
Of course, Iowa is also streaking, winners of 8 in their last 9 games with their own victory in Columbus and three wins over Wisconsin (not really relevant here, just wanted to mention that Iowa beat Wisconsin three times this month). These two teams might not have won the Big Ten title, but they're the two hottest teams in the tournament at the moment.
The main event will once again be in the post: Luka Garza against Kofi Cockburn is a true heavyweight matchup, one that Garza has won on three occasions over the last two years. Kockburn has been held to single digits just twice this year, but one of them was against Iowa; of the nine games in the last two years where Kockburn has failed to get to ten points, two were against the Hawkeyes (he scored 12 in Illinois' win last season). Garza has averaged 24 in those games.
Then again, Illinois won two of those three games, so the battle at center isn't necessarily the central battle. In the January game, Ayo Dosunmu and Trent Frazier combined for 49 points; Iowa got 19 from Wieskamp, but C.J. Fredrick didn't play, Jordan Bohannon managed just six points on 2/6 shooting, and Iowa's bench got just 12 points and 9 boards. Even with Iowa's improved defense in recent weeks and Garza's dominance in the post, a win against this squad is going to require scoring from everywhere.
It's unlikely that today's result changes much about Sunday's bracket. It's also irrelevant. This is about whether a conference tournament matters. If the play and statements of these two teams on Friday was any indication, it means a lot. This season deserves Iowa versus Illinois with both teams at the height of their powers. Saturday afternoon, we get just that.
