Halftime reactions: No. 3 seed Iowa vs. No. 2 seed Illinois

The third-seeded Hawkeyes trail the second-seeded Fighting Illini at halftime of the second Big Ten Tournament semifinal matchup of the day at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Hannah Kinson

Iowa guard Joe Wieskamp reaches for a rebound during the first half of the Big Ten men’s basketball tournament semifinals against Illinois on Saturday, March 13, 2021 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The Hawkeyes are behind the Fighting Illini, 37-45 at halftime. (Hannah Kinson/The Daily Iowan)

Austin Hanson, Sports Editor
March 13, 2021

INDIANAPOLIS — After an up-and-down first half, third-seeded Iowa men’s basketball trails second-seeded Illinois, 45-37.

Center Luka Garza struggled throughout the first half, hitting just four of his ten attempts from the field for eight points.

Picking up the slack has been senior point guard Jordan Bohannon, who dropped 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting.

 

Also contributing largely to Iowa’s first half point total is junior guard Joe Wieskamp, who has 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting.

Freshman center Josh Ogundele also got some minutes in the first half. On the season, the London, England, native has averaged just 2.7 minutes per game.

On the game, Iowa has hit 15-of-31 from the field and 6-of-13 from beyond the arc.

The winner of this afternoon’s game will advance to the Big Ten Tournament finals tomorrow.