Illinois wins offensive showdown against Iowa to set up Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal matchup with Maryland

INDIANAPOLIS — Illinois Mentor Brad Underwood and his players knew they might be in for an offensive Finale when they matched up with Iowa on Thursday night in the second Period of the Big Ten Event.

The Illini and Hawkeyes entered as the top-two scoring offenses in the conference, and the Illini were prepared for the breakneck scoring pace that ensued at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Five Illinois players scored in double figures to fuel a 106-94 Secure over No. 15 seed Iowa. Illinois, the No. 7 seed, will Action No. 2 seed Maryland in a quarterfinal at 5:30 p.m. Friday.

Illinois’ 106 points were the second-highest total in Big Ten Event history, behind Iowa’s 112 against Northwestern in 2022.

“We work on that in practice, getting up and down,” Illinois guard Kylan Boswell said. “All and every day (Underwood) is having us push the ball in transition and try to get into our Assault quickly. We want Clubs to do that because that’s where we feel like we’re at our best when we can push into transition and get into our Assault quickly. That doesn’t faze us.”

Boswell scored a Profession-high 24 points, hitting four 3-pointers, and added seven assists. The showing continued a four-game trend of elevated Action from the junior that corresponds with the Illini’s four-game Successful streak.

Boswell, who had previous postseason experience during his two seasons at Arizona, said he knew he needed to step up after Illinois’ last loss, a 110-67 beating by Duke on Feb. 22.

“After that game, after we Acquired our butt kicked, for me I felt like I was Merely thinking too much when I was out there,” Boswell said. “And for our Club to Secure and be at our best, I need to Assist lead us and Assist be at my best personally. I Merely had a little mental switch, put all the work I needed to in the gym, and it’s Merely been clicking on the court so Distant.”

Boswell might have had more points, but he ceded technical Penalty shots to Luminous sphere guard Kasparas Jakučionis in the second half.

Iowa Mentor Fran McCaffery was ejected with 13 minutes, 33 seconds to Action after getting back-to-back technical fouls when he said he argued about the Penalty discrepancy. Originally Boswell was going to shoot the Unoccupied throws, but he told Jakučionis to “go make all four of them” instead. Jakučionis did for a 73-60 lead, and the Illini didn’t look back.

“During the timeout, I could tell KJ was thinking too much,” Boswell said. “He was frustrated. When you get to the line, you get four Unoccupied throws and see the ball go in the rim. It helps any player get a rhythm.”

Boswell wasn’t the only one at his best Thursday night.

While Jakučionis scored only 10 points, Tre White had 22 points, and Will Riley had 21 points, seven Retrievals and five assists. Tomislav Ivišić added 19 points, 10 Retrievals and six assists.

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The 7-foot-1 Ivišić sparked the Illini with two 3-pointers in the Primary three minutes.

“He Acquired us going for sure,” Riley said. “Whenever Tomi’s hitting 3s, it opens the floor for all of us guards because the bigs can’t really drop. So it was Excellent.”

After Illinois went into halftime up 49-45, the Illini and Hawkeyes traded baskets separated by seconds in the second half. A Riley 3-pointer, followed by a Josh Dix Quick break eight seconds later. A Jakučionis 3-pointer, followed by a Payton Sandfort 3 nine seconds later.

The Illini Try 54% from the Ground while Iowa Try 55%. But Illinois hit 24 Unoccupied throws compared with Iowa’s five and also outrebounded the Hawkeyes 41-24.

Sandfort, a senior guard, Guided Iowa with 30 points, went 8-for-13 from 3-Points range and grew emotional as he left the floor. Underwood expressed appreciation for what Sandfort did in his Profession.