CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – No. 12 Illinois pulled away late in a back-and-forth contest against Iowa, returning to winning ways with a 95-85 victory over the Hawkeyes at State Farm Center on Saturday afternoon.
The Fighting Illini held the visitors to 35.2% from the field and 16.7% from 3-point range in the second half, and they outscored the Hawkeyes, 20-10, over the final 5:53 of the game in the double-digit home victory.
The 10-point win saw the Orange and Blue become the second program to win 1,000 Big Ten games, while head coach Brad Underwood became the second Illini coach to record five consecutive 20-win seasons and the first since Lou Henson.
Coleman Hawkins bounced back with a career-high 30 points, including 17 in the second half and 10 points in the final 3:15 of the contest. Shooting 81.8% from the field, Hawkins made his final three attempts from the field while also going 9-for-11 from the free-throw line. He also tallied five assists, five steals, and two rebounds.
Justin Harmon finished in double figures for the second time in his last three games, pouring in 12 points off the bench, all of which came in the second half. Harmon went a perfect 3-for-3 on field-goal attempts and 6-for-6 from the free-throw line, and he was a spark on both ends of the floor. Finishing with a team-high +23 in his 19 minutes of action, he also totaled four rebounds and one assist.
Terrence Shannon Jr. extended his double-digit scoring streak to 31 games, collecting 12 points while also connecting from deep twice in the first half. Shannon also grabbed three rebounds and dished out three assists.
Niccolo Moretti took advantage of his career-high 17 minutes of action, recording a career-high nine points while also connecting from 3-point land twice for his first collegiate 3-pointers. Moretti amassed all of his minutes in the second half, earning the most minutes by an Illini player (17) over the final 20 minutes of play. He also notched two rebounds and one assist.
Marcus Domask ended his outing with eight points and six rebounds, while Quincy Guerrier accumulated nine points and three boards, including two rebounds on the offensive glass.
The Illini bench made the difference in the contest, as the Orange and Blue reserves tallied a combined 34 points and 20 rebounds. Dain Dainja finished with six points and grabbed a team-high eight boards off the bench, while Amani Hansberry totaled four points and four rebounds. Luke Goode registered a 3-pointer for the fourth time in his last five games.
Both teams started red-hot from the floor, combining to miss only one of their first eight shots through the opening three-and-a-half minutes of action. Hawkins tallied seven points prior to the first media timeout, though the sides were knotted at 12-12 through the opening four minutes.
Hawkins moved into double figures within the first five minutes of the game, a stretch that saw neither team lead by more than three points. Both teams went on 6-0 runs prior to the halfway point in the first half, but four lead changes through the opening 10 minutes saw neither team able to pull away.
With the Hawkeyes holding a two-point edge with nine minutes left in the first half, the Illini used a 7-0 run over a 44-second span to take a five-point advantage, the hosts' largest lead of the frame. Guerrier scored five points during that stretch before catching and converting an alley-oop for a dunk less than one minute later.
The Orange and Blue held a 32-27 edge with just over seven minutes remaining in the opening period of play, but the Hawkeyes took a five-point advantage three minutes later following a 12-2 run for the visitors. The Illini responded with a 10-2 stretch of their own, fueled by five points from Shannon and a ferocious flush from Guerrier, to go back in front.
Illinois eventually went into halftime with a narrow 44-43 advantage following a back-and-forth opening 20 minutes of action. The Illini had eight different players register at least two points in the first half, led by Hawkins' game-high 13 points at the break. The home side tallied seven 3-pointers prior to the intermission, including multiple makes from Hawkins and Shannon.
The Hawkeyes pieced together a 5-0 run out of the break to put the visitors back in front before the Illini got on the board via a strong four-minute shift from Illinois' bench. With Iowa ahead by four with 13-and-a-half minutes remaining in the contest, Hawkins registered his first points since the 11:13 mark in the first half with a crafty finish through contact. The unconventional 3-point play cut the hosts' deficit to a single point.
After Iowa extended its advantage to seven points, Illinois pulled back in front via a 10-2 run. Moretti scored the final six points of that scoring spurt, both of which came from beyond the arc for his first 3-pointers at the collegiate level.
The Illini's 67-66 lead did not last for long, though, as the Hawkeyes used four free throws to take a three-point edge with 9:31 to play. Illinois responded with four makes from the stripe, all of which came from Harmon, to put the home side back in front with less than eight minutes remaining in the contest.
With the game tied at 75 apiece, the Orange and Blue put together a 5-0 run to give the Illini their largest lead of the second half up to that point. Domask opened that stretch with his first 3-pointer of the day before Hawkins came up with a steal and found Shannon, whose behind-the-back pass found Harmon for the transition layup.
The Illini built onto their advantage by going on a 7-0 run, which included five points from Hawkins to bring him to a career-best total. Leading by as many as 11 points late in the contest, Illinois secured a bounce-back victory to secure its 20th victory of the campaign.
No. 12 Illinois (20-7, 11-5 B1G) wraps up its two-game homestand on Wednesday, when Minnesota makes the trip to Champaign. The contest is the lone regular-season meeting between the sides, and it will tip off at 8 p.m. CT on Big Ten Network.
HIGHLIGHTS
PRESS CONFERENCE
POSTGAME NOTES
PLAYER NOTES
- Coleman Hawkins scored a career-high 30 points and tallied game highs with five assists and five steals.
- It marks his fourth game of 20-plus points this season, and the sixth such game of his Illini career.
- He scored in double figures for the 16th time this season, reaching that plateau at the 15:35 mark of the first half after a hot start.
- Hawkins also knocked down a game-high three 3-pointers, his ninth game of the season with at least three triples.
- Hawkins' nine field goals and nine free-throws both marked career highs.
- Hawkins' five steals are the most by an Iowa opponent since Cincinnati's Chris McNeal also totaled five steals on Dec. 21, 2019.
- Hawkins' 30 points tied the most points scored by a player against the Hawkeyes this season.
- Terrence Shannon Jr. reached double-figures scoring for the 31st consecutive game, tallying 12 points, including a pair of 3-pointers.
- Shannon is now 13 points away from 1,000 for his career at Illinois.
- Has made at least one 3-pointer in 19 of 21 games this season.
- Justin Harmon tallied 12 points, his eighth game of the year in double-figures scoring, and his second in his last three games.
- Harmon finished with a game-high +/- of +23 in 19 minutes off the bench
- Dain Dainja tied a season high with a team-leading eight rebounds (three offensive), while scoring six points in 14 minutes off the bench.
- Dainja's eight rebounds are his most since also tallying eight vs. Colgate on Dec. 17, a span of 17 games.
- Dainja's 14 minutes marked his most in Big Ten play this season.
- Niccolo Moretti scored a career-high nine points, including 2-for-2 from 3-point range and 3-for-4 from the free-throw line. .
- Moretti, who missed 10 games due to injury from Nov. 24 through Jan. 11, registered his first points since scoring two on Jan. 18 at Michigan.
- Moretti's two 3-pointers marked the first of his collegiate career. He had not attempted a three in his previous eight games for the Illini.
- Ty Rodgers pulled down three rebounds, all on the offensive glass, his team-leading 15th game of the season with multiple offensive boards.
- Amani Hansberry recorded four points and four rebounds in 13 minutes off the bench.
- Scored at least four points in consecutive games for the first time in his career.
- His four rebounds marked a career-best vs. a Big Ten opponent, and his most overall since recording seven boards vs. Southern on Nov. 17.
TEAM NOTES
- Today's win marks:
- Illinois' 1,000th Big Ten victory. A charter member of the Big Ten Conference, Illinois is 1,000-757 (.569) in 119 seasons of league games.
- Illinois' 20th win of the season. Illinois has won 20+ games in five straight seasons, the second-longest streak in program history behind legendary coach Lou Henson's run of nine straight from 1982-83 to 1990-91.
- Illinois' 11th Big Ten win of the year, securing a finish above .500 in league play for the fifth consecutive season. Illinois is the only program in the Big Ten to accomplish that feat in each of the last five seasons.
- Illinois has scored 80+ points in seven consecutive games, the team's most since a streak of 12 straight during the 1988-89 season.
- All 10 Illini who saw the floor score at least two points and had at least one field goal.
- The Illini scored their most points (95) against Iowa since registering 97 on Jan. 11, 2018.
- 95 points are the team's most in a win over the Hawkeyes since a 104-97 overtime win on Feb. 11, 1995.
- The team's 95 points are the most the Hawkeyes have allowed in a game this season.
- The Illini's 51 second-half points are the tied for the most the Hawkeyes have conceded this season.
- Illinois has triumphed over Iowa at State Farm Center in four consecutive meetings, the team's longest home winning streak over the Hawkeyes since
winning 11 home games in a row against Iowa from 2000-12.
- The Illini have had three different 30+-point scorers this season (Hawkins, Domask, Shannon).
- That is the most different 30+-point scorers for the Illini in a single season since at least 2010-11.
