No. 12 Illini Secure Road Win Over Iowa in Regular-Season Finale - University of Illinois Athletics (2024)

IOWA CITY, Iowa – No. 12 Illinois took advantage of a strong start and a phenomenal finish in a 73-61 road victory over Iowa at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Sunday night in the team's final game of the regular season.

Leading by as many as 21 points, the Fighting Illini finished with the conference's second-best road record in Big Ten play with a 6-4 mark away from State Farm Center.

Terrence Shannon Jr. surpassed the 20-point scoring mark for the 15th time this season, including in each of the Illini's last six road games, en route to a game-high 25 points. Scoring in double figures for the 35th game in a row, Shannon amassed 18 points in the first half before finishing with a team-best scoring mark for the 16th time this season. Making three 3-pointers, he also totaled three rebounds, two assists, and two blocks.

Quincy Guerrier scored in double figures for the third time in his last four games, tallying his ninth double-double of the season with 14 points and a team-most 13 rebounds.Guerrier connected twice from beyond the arc andgrabbed three of his 13 boards on the offensive glass.

Marcus Domask recorded eight of his 11 points in the second half, which brought him into double figures for the fourth game in a row and the 21st time in his last 22 appearances. Domask also snagged four rebounds, dished out three assists, and made one steal.

Dain Dainja added nine points off the bench, his most in a road game this season. Dainja notched seven points in the second half, and he hauled in two of his five rebounds on the offensive glass. He also made two blocks, which equaled his season-best mark and set a new season-high tally in conference play.

Ty Rodgers ended his night with seven points and eight rebounds, three of which came on the offensive end of the floor.

Coleman Hawkins grabbed double-digit rebounds for the third time this season, finishing with four points, 10 boards, three assists, and one block.

Never trailing in the contest, Illinois held Iowa to its lowest scoring total this season, while the visitors also outrebounded the home side at a 50-33 clip, including 10-3 on the offensive glass. The Orange and Blue's dominance in the lane also reflected in the 38-26 advantage in points in the paint.

The Illini opened the contest on a 10-0 run, as Guerrier and Shannon each tallied four points through the first five minutes of play. After the Hawkeyes got their first basket of the evening, Illinois continued to add onto its lead by going on a 7-0 run over the next 60 seconds.

The Orange and Blue took advantage of a three-minute stretch during which they made six consecutive field-goal attempts to go ahead, 17-2, after eight minutes of play.

Iowa cut into its deficit from the free-throw line, but Illinois built onto its double-digit edge via an 8-2 run, which included Guerrier's second 3-pointer of the game and a Shannon fast-break and-1 bucket. Holding the Hawkeyes to 1-for-14 from the field to begin the contest, the Illini led by as many as 19 through the opening 10 minutes of the evening.

With Illinois' advantage down to 16 points, Shannon moved into double figures with five points in the span of just 22 seconds, which grew the visitors' lead to 30-9 just after the halfway mark in the opening frame.

The Hawkeyes settled in and used a 14-2 run to cut what was once a 21-point deficit down to single digits with four minutes to go before halftime. Shannon connected from 3-point range shortly after, though, which moved the Illini's lead back into double figures.

After coming up with a chase-down block in transition with just over one minute to play in the half, Shannon went into the break with a game-high 18 points, which helped give the Orange and Blue a 39-29 lead through the opening 20 minutes. The Illini got going in transition in the first half, as they tallied 12 fast-break points prior to the intermission.

Illinois quickly got back to work in the second half, opening the frame with a 7-3 run. Guerrier reached double figures during that stretch, while Shannon surpassed the 20-point mark to extend the Illini's edge to 46-32.

Though Rodgers was credited for the visitors' next four points, a 15-5 Iowa run cut Illinois' advantage to four points with just over 11 minutes remaining. Domask then tallied four consecutive points, including a spinning fadeaway jumper from just inside the arc to beat the shot clock, before Dainja accounted for the next four.

The pair combined for all eight points during the Illini's 8-0 run over a two-minute stretch, helping Illinoisre-establish a double-digit lead, 59-47, with 9:30remaining. Dainja's dunk during that span brought him up to three field goals on the day, equaling his most in a road game this season.

Two minutes later, after the Hawkeyes recorded back-to-back 3-pointers, the Illini put together a 7-0 run, which included a 3-point play from Domask to bring him into double figures. Holding Iowa scoreless for over three-and-a-half minutes, Illinois' advantage grew to67-53 with three minutes left on the clock.

Despite multiple Hawkeye 3-pointers late in the contest, dunks from Shannon and Guerrier with under two minutes remaining put an exclamation point on the Illini's road victory in the final game of the regular season.

No. 12 Illinois finishes the regular season with a 23-8 record, including a 14-6 mark in Big Ten play. The Illini earned the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament, and they will begin their postseason run onFriday in the the quarterfinals.Illinois will take on the winner of [7] Iowa vs. [10] Ohio State at the Target Center in Minneapolis at5:30 p.m. CT on Big Ten Network.

HIGHLIGHTS

POSTGAME NOTES

PLAYER NOTES

• Terrence Shannon Jr. scored a game-high 25 points on 10-for-19 shooting with three 3-pointers and added a pair of blocks.
  • Reached double-figures scoring for the 35th consecutive game.
  • Scored 20+ points for the 15th time in 25 games this season, tied for eighth-most in single season in Illinois history and the most since Kofi co*ckburn also posted 15 games with 20+-point games in 2021-22.
  • Led the team in scoring for the team-leading 16th game this season.
  • Tied a career high with 19 field goal attempts, and recorded at least 10 field goals for the fourth time this season.
  • His 10 makes tied the most by an Iowa opponent this season.
  • It marks Shannon's sixth game of the year with multiple blocks and his first since posting four rejections at Maryland (2/17).
  • Shannon enters the postseason 10 points way from 2,000 for his collegiate career.
• Quincy Guerrier recorded his team-leading ninth double-double of the season, posting 14 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
  • It marked his first double-double since Jan. 24 at Northwestern, a span of 12 games.
  • Guerrier went 2-for-3 from 3-point range, his ninth game of the season with multiple 3-pointers.
  • It marks Guerrier's 18th double-digit scoring game of the season, and his 10th game of the year with10+ boards.
  • One of three Illini to start all 31 games during the regular season.
• Marcus Domask finished with 11 points while tying for the team lead with three assists.
  • Scored in double figures for the fourth consecutive game and for the 21st time in his last 22 games.
  • Reached double-figures scoring in all 10 Big Ten road games this season.
  • Dished out at least three assists for the fourth straight game and the eighth time in his last 10.
  • One of three Illini to start all 31 games during the regular season.
• Ty Rodgers scored seven points and corralled eight rebounds.
  • Tied Quincy Guerrier with a game-high three offensive rebounds, pushing his team-leading total to 66 for the season.
  • Eight rebounds are his third-most in conference play this season, and his second-most in a true road game this season.
  • One of three Illini to start all 31 games during the regular season.
• Coleman Hawkins posted four points, 10 rebounds, three assists, and one block
  • Recorded 10 rebounds for his third game of the season with double-digit boards.
  • Dished out three assists for the third time in his last five games.
• Dain Dainja scored nine points and went 3-for-5 from the field.
  • His nine points set a new season-best mark away from home and his three field goals match his season-best in a road game this season.

TEAM NOTES

• Illinois closes the regular season with a record of 23-8 (14-6 B1G) and will be the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament where they will face the winner of the game between No. 7 Iowa vs. No. 10 Ohio State in Friday's quarterfinal round at 5:30 p.m. CT.
• Illinois' 23 regular-season victories are the most for the Illini since the 2008-09 team also posted a 23-8 mark heading into the postseason.
• Illinois' 14th Big Ten victory of the season gives head coach Brad Underwood three of the top five marks in Illinois history and fourof the top eight, including the top two (16 in 2021 and 15 in2022).
• Illinois improves its Big Ten-best record to 69-31 (.690) in the last five seasons under Brad Underwood.
  • The Illini also lead the Big Ten in conference road wins over the last five seasons with a record of 29-21 (.580).
• Sunday's win at Iowa is Illinois' sixth Quad 1 victory of the season, a mark that ranks top 12 nationally.
• Illinois' defense held Iowa to a season-low 61 points, nearly 23 points below the Hawkeyes' season average of 83.8 points per game.
  • It is the fewest points the Illini have allowed in Iowa City since a 57-49 victory on Feb. 3, 2010.
  • The Hawkeyes' 61 points are their fewest in a game, overall, since scoring 52 in a road loss to Wisconsin on Feb. 22, 2023.
  • Iowa's 61 points are their fewest in a home game in over eight years, when they recorded 59 against Wisconsin on Feb. 24, 2016.
• The Illini opened the game on a 10-0 run, holding the Hawkeyes scoreless for the first five minutes of play.
• The Illini led by as many as 21 points (30-9), the 14th time the team led by double-digits in a Big Ten game this season.
• Illinois outrebounded the Hawkeyes, 50-33, the team's ninth game this season with 50+ rebounds, its most 50+-rebound gamessince 1979-80.
  • Iowa's three offensive rebounds tied their worst mark of the season and set a new season-low tally in conference play.
  • The Illini's 40 defensive rebounds are the most conceded by the Hawkeyes in a game this season.
• The Illini had two players grab 10+ rebounds in the same game for the fourth time this season (Rodgers & Guerrier vs. FDU, Guerrier & Hawkins at Michigan, Guerrier & Hawkins at Northwestern).
• Illinois held Iowa to 35.4% from the field, which equaled the Hawkeyes' worst mark of the season.
  • Iowa's field-goal percentage of 35.4% is their worst in a home game since shooting 33.3% against Wisconsin on Jan. 27, 2020.