IOWA CITY – Illinois raced to a big lead in Sunday’s contest in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, and the Iowa Hawkeyes failed to keep pace, losing a crucial conference finale game 73-61.
Illinois (23-8, 14-6 B1G) made 9-of-16 field goals over the first eight minutes and limited Iowa (18-13, 10-10 B1G) to 1-of-14 shooting to build a 22-4 lead at the 11:49 mark.
Iowa trailed by as many as 21 (30-9) in the first half before outscoring the Illini, 20-9, to cut deficit to 39-29 at the break.
The Hawkeyes cut the deficit to 51-47 with 11:15 remaining and 59-53 with 6:59 left.
It is the first time in his career he has scored 20+ in three straight contests.
It was his team-leading 10th 20-point game this season.
With his 3-pointer at the 14:40 mark in the second half, Sandfort became the 54th player in program history to reach the 1,000 career point mark.
Sandfort has made five or more 3-pointers in five games, four or more in 10 games, three or more in 15 games and two or more in 25 games.
Sophomore Josh Dix finished with 13 points on 6-of-13 shooting.
The guard has reached double digits in four straight games and 10 times this season.
Freshman Owen Freeman finished with eight points and eight rebounds; freshman Brock Harding had six points and six assists.
Iowa finished with just five turnovers in the game.
Illinois outrebounded the Hawkeyes, 50-33.
With the loss, the Hawkeyes will be the No. 7 seed in next week’s TIAA Big Ten Tournament. Iowa will face 10th-seeded Ohio State at 5:30 p.m. (CT) in Minneapolis.
Up Next
The Hawkeyes will return to action Thursday in Minneapolis at the TIAA Big Ten Tournament. Iowa, the No. 7 seed, will face 10th-seeded Ohio State at 5:30 p.m. (CT).