A Champaign super road block for the Hawkeyes

IOWA CITY - Kenyon Murray finished his Iowa basketball career 0-4 at Illinois from 1993 through 1996.

Three times in Murray's Hawkeyes won at least 21 games and twice qualified for the NCAA Tournament. But Illinois' Assembly Hall offered no respite for Iowa and Murray, whose teams lost those four games by a combined 28 points.

“It's a huge home-court advantage for them,” said Murray, now a Big Ten Network analyst. “As soon as you're stepping on the court, the students - the Orange Krush - are saying stuff to you.

“It takes a herculean effort to beat them there.”

Iowa has lost nine straight, 20 of its last 21 and 59 of 73 historically at Assembly Hall. The Hawkeyes have taken both great and mediocre teams to Champaign and often were scorched. Iowa's average margin of defeat over the most recent 20 losses is 12.1 points.

Before 2000 (and Illinois' 15-4 dominance over Iowa spanning the last decade), Illinois led the all-time series 64-62 and the programs held serve on their home courts. Historically, both rank in the top 10 - Illinois (6th); Iowa (10th) - among basketball programs, according to an analysis by ESPN and Sagarin. So with coaches changing and players shuffling in and out of programs and both programs enjoying comparable historic success, why does Illinois possess such a great advantage over Iowa in Champaign?

The answer, according to sports psychology coach Dr. Doug Gardner, is multilayered and non-specific.

“The funny thing is how many times have they (the Hawkeyes) been in very similar environments, but just being there is different from somewhere else,” said Gardner, the founder of ThinkSport Consulting Services who formerly worked with the Boston Red Sox and Green Bay Packers. “The intensity has been greater or the same somewhere else, but they don't recognize it. It becomes an awareness factor of what they become aware of. I argue that teams face adversity everywhere they go. It becomes a choice at why does it become any different from any other place.”

Iowa's road situation at Illinois is part of several road losing trends among Big Ten rivals. Iowa has lost 16 straight at Michigan State. Northwestern has dropped 30 straight at Ohio State, 12 straight at Wisconsin and owns just four wins in their last 90 trips to Illinois (1-28), Indiana (2-34) and Michigan State (1-23). The Wildcats have even lost six straight at Penn State.

“We've seemed to play pretty well against them for some reason,” Penn State Coach Ed DeChellis said. “Again, I don't have a reason. I wish I could come up with it so I could translate to a few other teams in the league.”

Michigan State has plowed through several teams recently at the Breslin Center including Iowa, Indiana (16 straight), Minnesota (12 straight), Michigan (11 of 12), Penn State (18 of 19) and Northwestern.

Wisconsin's home surge in the Bo Ryan era is recent and dominant. The Badgers own winning streaks of at least eight games against Ohio State, Northwestern, Michigan State, Michigan, Penn State, Iowa and Indiana. But Illinois Coach Bruce Weber credits those streaks to Ryan and Wisconsin's meticulous style of play.

“The players change, but the system stays,” Weber said. “I think that system, where they're solid on defense and they make you guard on offense, it becomes a possession game where it gives them an advantage. Then when you throw in the venue and the crowd, and the confidence of the kids, that's another big thing.”

There are reasons for the other streaks. Northwestern has yet to compete in the NCAA Tournament. Michigan State has qualified for six Final Fours in the last 12 seasons. Wisconsin is 77-6 at Kohl Center in Ryan's 10 years. But Iowa's streak at Illinois transcends generations.

"I think some of it (Illinois' dominance of Iowa) is there's certain nights (the Illini) are better but when you throw in a rivalry-type situation also, the game becomes important," Weber said. "Your intensity level, the crowd level, the noise level, everything increases. I think all of that definitely becomes a factor."

Iowa's two most recent wins in Champaign - 1999 and 1987 - have their own stories. Both Iowa squads qualified for the Sweet 16 those seasons. In 1999, Illinois finished dead last in the Big Ten. In 1987, Iowa trailed by more than 20 points only to rally and win 91-88 in overtime.

The programs often compete for the same recruits, including Deon Thomas in the late 1980s. Current Tennessee Coach Bruce Pearl, then an Iowa assistant, turned over tapes to the NCAA in which Thomas allegedly implicated Illinois assistant Jimmy Collins offering cash and a vehicle during the recruiting process. The NCAA did not find Illinois guilty of that incident - but of others instead - which led to a one-year postseason ban.

“I think there's always that border war thing,” Murray said. “Then you throw in Bruce Pearl even though been so many years ago. I think it still adds fuel to the fire.”

This year's Hawkeyes face a tough task at Illinois, first-year Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery concedes. The Illini are a talented, yet underachieving squad playing for their NCAA Tournament lives. McCaffery, who came to Iowa from Siena, understands the challenge of playing at a rival when history goes against his squad.

“(At Siena) it was the dreaded Buffalo trip, and we'd go to Buffalo and played Niagara and Canisius, and we'd never win there,” McCaffery said.

McCaffery recalled his team eventually reversing its Buffalo curse. But he also recognizes the current task might be more formidable.

“I don't really pay much attention to location other than I do think that crowd in particular at Illinois - with all due respect to Canisius - is going to be a lot more intense than what we walked into,” McCaffery said.

Iowa junior Matt Gatens has started in two losses at Illinois. As an Iowa City native, he's watched the Hawkeyes lose in Champaign all but once in his 21 years. When asked if he feels like Iowa trails by 10 points just walking into the arena, Gatens said, “hopefully we don't think like that.”

“You don't want to be thinking of those stats,” Gatens said. “But it's good to motivate us and get the word around that it would be that much more special to go in there and get a win.”