Terrence Shannon Jr. scored a game-high 25 points and No. 12 Illinois never trailed on the way to a 73-61 Big Ten road victory over Iowa in the teams’ regular-season finale Sunday night in Iowa City.
Quincy Guerrier added 14 points and 13 rebounds for Illinois (23-8, 14-6 Big Ten) while Marcus Domask recorded eight of his 11 points after Iowa chopped a 21-point deficit to four with 11 minutes to play.
Payton Sandfort paced Iowa (18-13, 10-10) with 23 points and seven rebounds and Josh Dix notched 13 points. Tony Perkins, the Hawkeyes’ No. 2 scorer and one of three players honored before the game on Senior Night, hit just 1 of 10 shots and finished with two points as Iowa scored its fewest points of the year and tied its worst field-goal percentage (35.4 percent).
Illinois and Iowa could face each other again Friday in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals. The Illini own the No. 2 seed and a double bye while the Hawkeyes are the No. 7 seed and face No. 10 seed Ohio State (19-12, 9-11) in the second round Thursday.
Iowa, which entered the game ranked No. 9 nationally in offensive efficiency per KenPom.com, came up empty on its first 10 possessions. The Hawkeyes missed nine shots and committed one turnover in the first five minutes as Illinois broke to a 10-0 lead.
Sandfort got Iowa off the schneid with a runner at the 14:58 mark, but Illinois extended its lead to 22-4 on Shannon’s drive in transition for a three-point play with 11:50 left in the half.
Iowa switched to a zone defense at that juncture, but the Illini kept rolling. Guerrier and Shannon cashed 3-pointers, then Shannon slashed through three defenders for a layup. When he added one free throw on Illinois’ next possession, he owned 13 points — two more than Iowa in an 31-11 game.
Sparked by freshman backup point guard Brock Harding, the Hawkeyes responded with a 14-2 run. Harding’s 3-pointer from the wing pulled Iowa within 33-25 with 3:28 left in the half.
Illinois carried a 39-29 lead into the break. The Illini extended their margin to 14 early in the half on Shannon’s driving layup and 3-pointer, but Iowa chipped away as Sandfort heated up. He drilled two 3-pointers and a jump hook to help the Hawkeyes cut the deficit to 51-47 with 11:15 to go.
That’s when Domask’s game-long struggles ended. He drove for a short pullup, sank a 20-foot fadeaway as the shot clock sounded and fed Dain Dainja for a layup and a dunk to reel off eight straight points and restore a 12-point margin.
–Field Level Media