IOWA CITY – The Iowa Hawkeyes are suddenly playing some very tough basketball with a shot at the NCAA Tournament, and a win Sunday in their home finale versus #12 Illinois would be a major boost to their hopes.
The game, which will tipoff at 6:10 p.m. (CT) on Mediacom Court inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena, will be televised nationally on FS1. It will be a rematch of the Feb. 24 game in Champaign, which the Fighting Illini won, 95-85.
The Hawkeyes, winners of four of their last five games, host No. 12 Illinois on Senior Night Sunday in their regular season finale. Iowa will honor Jovone Cater, Ben Krikke, Patrick McCaffery and Tony Perkins along with student manager Jackson McLaughlin prior to the game. The game will be a âGold Outâ in CHA as fans are encour- aged to wear gold clothing. The game is sold out, the second sellout in the last three home contests.
Iowa has posted three Quad 1 wins over its last five games — No. 20 Wisconsin, (RV) at Michigan State and (RV) at Northwestern. The Hawkeyes have eight Quad 1 & 2 wins this season.
With seven games remaining in the entire Big Ten slate, Iowa can finish as high as a No. 3 or as low as No. 7 for the Big Ten Tournament.
The Hawkeyes have won 10 or more Big Ten games in a school record six consecutive seasons. Iowa has won 10+ Big Ten games in nine of the last 10 seasons under head coach Fran McCaffery. Iowa has 11 Big Ten upper division finishes in the last 12 years.
Senior Tony Perkins had 14 assists in Iowaâs road win at Northwestern. He is one of two players in the Big Ten this century to record 14+ assists in multiple games, joining Ohio Stateâs Shannon Scott (2014-15).
Iowa had four 14+ assist games in its history entering the 2023-24 season; Perkins has two of them since Jan. 12.
Junior Payton Sandfort posted the first triple-double in program history, finishing with 26 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists and three blocks in a win over Penn State on Feb. 27. It was the first 25-10-10-3 game in regulation since Marquetteâs Dwyane Wade did so against top-ranked Kentucky in the 2003 NCAA Tournament.
Iowa is the only Division I school in the last 25 years to have a 25-point triple-double by a womenâs player (Caitlin Clark) and menâs player (Sand- fort) in the same season.
Sandfort, who was named the Big Ten Player of the Week and Dick Vitaleâs National Player of the Week on March 4, is 10 points shy of becoming the 54th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points.
Sophomore Josh Dix has posted three straight 20-point games, averaging 21.3 points with a 68.4 field goal percentage and a 61.5 3-point field goal percentage in the three contests.
Freshman Owen Freeman has five double-doubles this season– the most by a Big Ten freshman and tied for the sixth-most by a freshman nationally. They are the most by a Hawkeye freshman since Melsahn Basabe (6) in 2010-11.
Perkins is currently one of six players nationally with 425+ points, 130+ rebounds, 135+ assists and 50+ steals. He ranks in the top 15 in the Big Ten in points, assists and steals.
Sandfort is second in the Big Ten with 78 3-point field goals on a league-high 211 attempts. He also is second in the Big Ten with a 37.0 3-point field goal percentage. The forward has hit two or more 3-pointers in 24 games.
Freeman earned his ninth Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors on Feb. 19 after averaging 12.5 points and 10 rebounds against Maryland and Wisconsin. The nine honors are the second-most in league history, trailing only Ohio Stateâs Jared Sullinger (12).
SCOUTING ILLINOIS
⢠The Illini have won three of their last four, five of seven and eight of 11 games. Illinois is 22-8 overall and 13-6 in Big Ten play, sitting second in the league standings.
⢠Illinois lost at home to No. 3 Purdue, 77-71, on Tuesday. The 71 points were the fewest the team scored since Jan. 27.
⢠The Illini havenât lost consecutive games the entire 2023-24 season.
⢠Illinois is in the top 10 nationally in rebounding (41.07) and rebounding margin (+8.5). The Illini are second in the league in scoring, averaging 84.3 points per game.
⢠Guard Terrence Shannon, Jr., leads the team, averaging 21.5 points per game with a team-best 55 3-pointers. He is second in the Big Ten in scoring and eighth nationally.
⢠Marcus Domask averages 16.2 points and has a team- high 104 assists, while Coleman Hawkins (13.3 points) and Quincy Guerrier (10.3 points) also average in double figures. Hawkins has a team-best 46 steals, while Guerri- er is the teamâs top rebounder (6.5 p/game).
SERIES HISTORY
⢠Sundayâs game is the 169th meeting in the all-time se- ries that began in 1908. Illinois holds a 91-77 advantage. ⢠Illinois won the most recent meeting, winning 95-85 on Feb. 24 in Champaign.
⢠Iowa has won three of the last four games in the series in Iowa City, including an 81-79 victory last season. The last three games in Carver have been decided by seven points or less.
