Illinois continues its dominance over Iowa

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Iowa's main characters and its script have changed, but the ending remains the same at Assembly Hall.

Iowa battled through a pair of double-digit, first-half deficits to stay within striking distance of Illinois, but once again the Hawkeyes couldn't overcome the Fighting Illini at Assembly Hall in an 81-68 loss Saturday night.

Iowa now has lost 21 of its last 22 in Champaign, including 10 straight. Iowa has beaten Illinois just once - 1999 - in Assembly Hall since 1987. It was Illinois' sixth straight win against Iowa - a series record - and the Illini have won 16 of 20 against Iowa.

"I would have loved to have snapped that and turn it around," Iowa junior Matt Gatens said.

Iowa (10-18, 3-13 Big Ten) battled the Illini in a wild first half. Illinois (18-11, 8-8) started on a 10-0 run, but the Hawkeyes battled to tie the game on a 13-3 run.

Illinois then sprinted to a 16-2 run to lead comfortably at 29-15 with 5:33 left in the first half. Then Iowa chipped away for the remainder of the half. Bryce Cartwright drilled a 3-pointer as time expired to complete a 15-7 run and cut Iowa's deficit to 36-31 at halftime.

The teams traded scores early in the second half, but Illinois scored on four straight possessions to boost its lead t 10 points. Iowa twice cut its deficit to under 10 points but struggled to convert offensively, scoring only one point in a five-minute stretch. Illinois outscored Iowa 10-1 to boost its lead to 17 points.

"You've got to keep it closer than we did," Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said. "So then when we fought back, and we got it under 10, there wasn't enough time."

Illinois was successful at feeding the post and attacking with its size. The Illini boast four post players who stand at least 6-foot-9, including 7-foot-1 Mike Tisdale, who scored a game-high 25 points. Illinois shot 55.4 percent from the floor in the game, including 62.5 percent in the second half. The Illini outscored Iowa 38-30 in the post.

"We let them pick us apart," Iowa senior Jarryd Cole said. "They had a couple of nice passes, guys were able to score in the post, get some dunks and it skyrocketed. They took off from there. "

"It's unacceptable when a team shoots that high," Iowa freshman Melsahn Basabe said. "It's hard to win a game like that."

Illinois' senior trio of Tisdale, Mike Davis and Demetri McCamey combined for 63 points.

Iowa nearly had to play without point guard Bryce Cartwright, who suffered from flu-like symptoms. Cartwright had a fever and vomited most of Friday night but his fever broke on Saturday and he was able to eat. McCaffery said he wouldn't have played Cartwright with a fever.

"(Saturday) morning we had a shootaround, and I was able to go then," Cartwright said. "I just wanted to play and be out there with my team."

Iowa junior Devon Archie did not play after suffering lingering effects from a concussion three weeks ago at Indiana. Archie played 10 minutes at Northwestern on Feb. 17, but since has suffered multiple headaches and is not cleared to play.

Basabe led Iowa in scoring with 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Cole scored 15 points, while Gatens added 14.