Hawkeyes Fall at No. 12 Illinois, 95-85

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The University of Iowa men’s basketball team fell to 12th-ranked Illinois, 95-85, on Saturday afternoon at the State Farm Center. The Hawkeyes fall to 16-12 overall and 8-9 in Big Ten play.

Sophomore Josh Dix led Iowa in the scoring column with 20 points — one point off his career high.  He made 9-of-15 field goals, including two 3-pointers.  Dix was the only Hawkeye to make multiple 3-pointers as he led Iowa in scoring in the second half with 11 points.

Senior Tony Perkins scored 18 points to go along with eight rebounds and four assists. The guard also led Iowa on the defensive end with two steals.

Graduate Ben Krikke scored 15 points on an efficient 7-of-9 (77.8%) from the field to go along with five rebounds. Junior Payton Sandfort was the final Hawkeye in double figures, finishing with 12 points and seven rebounds.

The first 20-minutes of play featured 11 lead changes and six ties. The Hawkeyes used a 12-4 run starting at the eight-minute mark to take a four-point lead. Perkins had 11 points and five rebounds in the first half.

Iowa was hot from the field, shooting 18-of-29 (62.1 percent). Illinois grabbed eight offensive rebounds but just had four second chance points. At the end of the break, Iowa trailed, 44-43.

The Hawkeyes took the lead at the start of the second half with a layup from Dix. The Hawkeyes held onto that lead until the 10-minute mark.

Illinois took control with just under six-minutes remaining. Iowa shot 12-of-34 (35.3%) from the field and just 1-of-6 (16.7%) from 3 in the second 20 minutes.

Iowa shot 47.6 percent from the field and went 4-of-12 from deep in the game. Iowa stayed hot at the free throw line shooting, 21-of-25 (84 percent). Illinois’ Coleman Hawkins led all scorers with 30 points on 9-of-11 shooting. No other Illinois player scored over 12 points.

HEAR FROM HEAD COACH FRAN MCCAFFERY
“We had a couple opportunities to score, and we didn’t. It would have been nice if we did in that situation because we got a couple stops.”

“[Josh] was great. He’s been great. An impressive thing about him is he does play both ends. He fights you on defense. He scores the ball. He makes really good decisions. I’m really impressed with him.”

“All I’m thinking about is one game. Obviously, Penn State at home. They had a really good win today. They are playing at a very high level. A lot of guys playing well. We’ve got to be ready for that one.”

“I mean the league is the best it’s been top to bottom. Everybody’s good. You can’t look at the next game and say okay we can get that one. You can’t do that ever in this league. So, you just got to try to put a game plan together. Try to keep your guys healthy if you can because the minutes are piling up.”

GAME NOTABLES

• With the game tied at 75 with 5:53 to play, the Illini went on an 11-2 run to take control.
  • Illinois outscored the Hawkeyes, 20-10, over the final 5:53.
• Senior Tony Perkins finished with 18 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals.  He went 5-of-14 from the field and 7-of-8 from the free throw stripe.
  • It was Perkins’ team-high 24th game in double figures and his 15th game with 15+ points.
• Sophomore Josh Dix scored a team-high 20 points on 9-of-15 shooting with two 3-point field goals. 
  • It was Dix’s second career 20-point game.
  • He has scored 17+ in two of his last three games and has been in double figures seven times this season.
  • The nine field goals and 15 field goal attempts were both career highs.
• Graduate Ben Krikke finished with 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting. 
  • He has been in double figures in 20 games this season.
  • It was his 12th game this season shooting 60 percent or better from the field.
  • Krikke is five points from 2,000 for his career.
• Junior Payton Sandfort added 12 points on 3-of-11 shooting (6-of-6 FT) to go along with seven rebounds.
  • He has been in double figures in 22 games.
• The Hawkeyes shot 47.6 percent for the game, making 30-of-63 field goals. 
  • Iowa shot 62.1 percent (18-of-29) in the first half and trailed 44-43 at the break.
  • Iowa was 12-of-34 from the floor (35.3 percent) over the final 20 minutes.

UP NEXT
Iowa returns home to host Penn State on Tuesday on Mediacom Court inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.  The game will tipoff at 8 p.m. (CT).