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Illinois vs. Iowa: Five Things to Watch in Big Ten Tournament

The Illini should handle the Hawkeyes in the Big Ten tournament – but will they?

Steven Greenberg

Feb 25, 2025; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini forward Will Riley (7) drives the ball against Iowa Hawkeyes guard Carter Kingsbury (14) during the first half at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images
Feb 25, 2025; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini forward Will Riley (7) drives the ball against Iowa Hawkeyes guard Carter Kingsbury (14) during the first half at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images / Ron Johnson-Imagn Images
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INDIANAPOLIS – A "Starting Five" before Illinois' men's basketball team, seeded seventh, takes on 15th-seeded Iowa at 5:30 p.m. CT on Thursday in the second round of the Big Ten tournament at Gainsbridge Fieldhouse:

1. Aim high: The lower seeds went 3-0 Wednesday, with 13 seed Northwestern beating 12 seed Minnesota, Iowa beating 10 seed Ohio State and 14 seed USC beating 11 seed Rutgers.

There's also a long tradition in college basketball to think about of underdogs who played the day before getting out fast against favorites who didn't.

The Illini (20-11) have to start fast – or fast enough – against the Hawkeyes (17-5). As long as they do that, things should be A-OK because this is, on paper, a mismatch.

2. Hawk talk: Iowa is 11-2 when shooting 50 percent or better. Its bench outscored Ohio State's 27-3 in a 77-70 win. Payton Sandfort moved into second place on the school's all-time list of three-pointers made (263). If the Illini play good defense, bring some thunder off the bench and guard Sandfort like nobody's business, they'll bust up all that nonsense.

3. Rivalry? What rivalry? Illinois has a three-game winning streak against Iowa – including an 81-61 cakewalk in Champaign this season – and has taken eight of the past nine head-to-head. Does that mean Brad Underwood owns Fran McCaffery? You do the math.

4. Fran's take: "That's an incredibly talented team," he said of the Illini. … "It's really one of the more talented teams throughout the course of the year. They've been one of the most impressive teams that I've watched. I know they had a little bout with the flu bug, and they took a step back, but they just kept coming. We'll have [our guys] ready."

5. Morez Johnson Jr.: He's back. The Illini are complete.

"I think we all have to understand he hasn't played in a month," Underwood said. "He's a freshman. There's some lmitations. We're not just throwing him back into the starting lineup. So we'll see how he progresses."

More From Illinois on Sports Illustrated:

A Look Back on Illinois Basketball's 2024 Big Ten Tournament Title

Why Illinois Basketball's Impressive NET Ranking Is So Important

How to Watch Big Ten Tournament: Illinois Basketball vs. Iowa

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Steven Greenberg
STEVEN GREENBERG

Greenberg is a columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times, has written about college sports since the early 1990s. He covered University of Wisconsin football and basketball in the early 1990s before spending nearly 20 years as a magazine editor and writer. A former managing editor, features writer and college football columnist for The Sporting News, he has written for The New York Times, Rolling Stone and Bleacher Report and joined the Sun-Times in 2013.

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