Follow along: Iowa, Illinois men’s basketball teams compete in Big Ten Tournament semifinals

The winner will face Ohio State Sunday in the conference championship game.

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Kate Heston

Friday, Jan. 29, 2021; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Iowa’s Joe Wieskamp (10) dribbles past Illinois Guard Ayo Dosunmu (11) during the Iowa v. Illinois basketball game at State Farm Center Friday night. Illinois beat the Hawks, 80-75.

Robert Read, Pregame Editor


INDIANAPOLIS — The rematch the Hawkeyes were hoping for has finally arrived.

After the Iowa men’s basketball team lost 80-75 to Illinois in Champaign in the only regular-season meeting between the teams, the Hawkeyes have another shot to knock off their conference rival on Saturday. Iowa and Illinois face off the the Big Ten Tournament semifinals at Lucas Oil Stadium, with the game starting at 2:45 CT and airing on CBS.

The winner will play Ohio State Sunday in the championship game. Follow along here for updates throughout the game.

15:30 1H — Iowa leads Illinois, 9-8.

Jordan Bohannon leads Iowa with five early points, followed by Luka Garza with four. Garza was called for his first foul right before the break. It could have been his second. A couple minutes earlier, a foul was called on Connor McCaffery that originally appeared to be on Garza.

Iowa guard CJ Fredrick has been guarding Illinois star Ayo Dosunmu so far this half and Dosunmu has been maned up on Joe Wieskamp.

Both teams are shooting 4-of-7 from the field so far.

13:10 1H —Illinois leads 19-14.

Iowa coach Fran McCaffery called timeout after Illinois’ Andre Curbelo stole the ball from Bohannon and went all the way down the court for a dunk. The Illini are on a 6-0 run.

11:47 1H — Illinois leads 24-17.

Illinois has scored on 12 of its 17 possessions so far this game and have hit its last four shots from the field. Iowa isn’t cold on the offensive end, though. The Hawkeyes have hit six of their last eight field goal attempts.

Illinois center Kofi Cockburn leads all scorers with 11 points.

7:34 1H — Illinois leads 31-26.

Wieskamp leads Iowa with 11 points (3-of-4 3-point shooting).

Garza and Dosunmu, widely considered the two best players in the country, have a combined eight points on 4-of-10 shooting so far.

4:15 1H — Illinois leads 38-29.

McCaffery called timeout after another Curbelo steal and dunk. The Illini are on a 6-0 run and the Hawkeyes have not scored in the past two minutes and 19 seconds.

Iowa has committed seven turnovers to this points compared to Illinois’ two.

Halftime — Illinois leads 45-37 at the break.

Bohannon was not a fan of the foul called on him in the final seconds of the first half. The senior swiped at the ball before Illinois’ Adam Miller missed a layup. The referees called the foul and Miller knocked down two free throws.

Cockburn scored 18 points in the first half to lead the Illini. Bohannon (12 points) and Wieskamp (11) are leading the way for the Hawkeyes.

Iowa committed eight turnovers in the first half compared to Illinois’ two. Illinois shot 11 free throws compared to Iowa’s three.

14:37 2H — Illinois leads 53-43.

The Illini have not scored in the last three minutes and 49 seconds and have turned the ball over three times in that span, but they still hold a double-digit lead over the Hawkeyes.

11:20 2H — Illinois leads 57-48.

The Hawkeyes are 0-of-4 from 3-point range in the second half. McCaffery and bench player Austin Ash have been letting officials know they feel as if there have been some missed foul calls of late.

7:25 2H — Illinois leads 66-57.

Wieskamp sat for the first time all game after the last media timeout. Freshman Tony Perkins took his place and provided some solid minutes for the Hawkeyes. Perkins scored four points and defended Illinois’ guards well in four minutes of play.

Illinois has not scored a basket in the last 2:22.

2:55 2H — Illinois leads 76-69.

Bohannon hit a 3-pointer to cut Illinois’ lead down to five points with 3:40 remaining in the game. The next time down the court however, a Bohannon turnover led to a Dosunmu dunk and the Illini are back up by seven.

Final — Illinois wins 82-71.

Story: Rapid Recap: Iowa men’s basketball team falls to Illinois in Big Ten Tournament semifinals

This is a developing story. Check back for more information throughout the game.