Quick hits: Illini pop Iowa’s bubble with 73-61 road win – 247Sports

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Illinois ended its regular season by potentially ruining the postseason of a rival.

Terrence Shannon Jr. scored a game-high 25 points to lead the No. 12-ranked Illini to a 73-61 win at Iowa, dealing the Hawkeyes — squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble — a costly loss in front of a sold-out crowd at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Quincy Guerrier had his ninth double-double of the season and first since Jan. 24 with 14 points and 13 rebounds for Illinois (23-8, 14-6), which led by as many as 21 in the first half before Iowa cut it to a two-possession game midway through the second half.

Marcus Domask added 11 points to help the Illini sweep the Hawkeyes (18-13, 10-10 Big Ten) this season, while Dain Dainja added nine points off the bench. Illinois has won seven of eight over Iowa and is the only team to beat Iowa during the last six games.

Payton Sandfort led Iowa with 23 points, hitting 5 of 13 from three, while Josh Dix added 13 points. The Hawkeyes shot a season-low 35.4% from the field and now enter the Big Ten Tournament likely needing to make an extended stay in Minneapolis to get into the NCAA Tournament.

Illinois took a quick 10-0 lead in the first five minutes with Iowa missing its first nine shots, including three open 3-pointers. The Illini extended their lead to 22-4 with a 12-2 run, highlighted by a fastbreak Quincy Guerrier dunk and fastbreak Terrence Shannon Jr. and-one. Shannon then scored five straight points to build the Illini’s lead up to 30-9 midway through the half.

But Iowa then got back into the game with a 16-3 run during which they scored eight points off five Illini turnovers to cut the deficit to 33-25 with under four minutes left in the half. But Shannon hit a stepback 3-pointer to help the Illini take a 39-29 lead at the break.

Illinois briefly extended its lead to 43-29 early in the second half. But Iowa went on a 13-4 run to cut the Illini lead to 50-45 with 13 minutes left. But Marcus Domask and Dain Dainja each made back-to-back buckets to spur an 8-0 Illini run to take a 59-47 lead. But the Hawkeyes responded with Payton Sandfort hitting back-to-back transition 3-pointers to cut the deficit to 59-53 with under seven minutes left.

But the Illini then locked down defensively as Iowa made just 1 of 8 shots during an Illini 10-2 run to take a 69-55 lead.

What it means: Sure, it wasn’t perfect, but Illinois beat a desperate team on the road, a positive sign entering the win-or-go-home postseason. Illinois, which notched 14+ Big Ten wins for the third time in four seasons, also left open a path to climb a seed line by adding a double-digit Quad One win. The Illini still have more work to do in the Big Ten Tournament, but if Duke or Baylor missteps and Illinois can win a few games in the conference tournament, the Illini could make a case to climb up to the No. 3 seed line.

Star of the game: Terrence Shannon Jr. was by far the best player on the court — on both sides of the court. Shannon took over the game in stretches offensively and scored an efficient 25 points on 10-for-19 shooting (his 15th 20+ performance of the season). But he was just as dominant defensively, making a final case for Big Ten All-Defensive Team by limiting All-Big Ten candidate Tony Perkins to a season-low two points on 1-for-10 shooting.

Stats of the game

• Illinois outrebounded Iowa 49-32.
• Illinois had nine second-chance points on nine offensive rebounds.
• Iowa outscored Illinois 21-12 on the fastbreak.
• Iowa shot a season-worst 35.4% from the field.
• Illinois never trailed.

Don’t overlook: Dain Dainja continued his increased impact with one of his best games of the season. Dainja had nine points and five rebounds, but as importantly, he made things tough on Owen Freeman in the second half. Dainja was so big in the second half that Coleman Hawkins didn’t play for a nine-minute stretch as the Illini built back a lead.

Also, Quincy Guerrier scored double-digits for a second straight game for the first time since Jan. 21-24. Guerrier went through a bad Big Ten slump, but he has scored double digits in three of his last four games and looks far more confident offensively, making 8-for-12 from three during the last four games. For the Illini to reach their ceiling, they’ll need Guerrier to be good, so it’s a good sign that he’s playing well in March.

What’s next: Illinois will be the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament and will play the winner of Thursday’s game between No. 7 seed Iowa and No. 10 seed Ohio State for a 5:30 p.m. CT tipoff on Friday at Target Center in Minneapolis. Illinois is 4-4 under Brad Underwood at the Big Ten Tournament, winning three games to win the 2021 Big Ten Tournament. But Illinois has been one-and-done at the Big Ten Tournament three times in five opportunities under Underwood.