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Iowa-Illinois Big Ten men’s basketball tourney glance: Time/TV/game info (March 13, 2025)
Hawkeyes got off to a good start in Indy with a win over Ohio State Wednesday, now faces 24th-ranked Illini team it lost to by 20 points in Champaign two weeks ago
Mar. 12, 2025 9:02 pm, Updated: Mar. 13, 2025 9:25 am
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What: No. 15-seed Iowa (17-15) vs. No. 7-seed Illinois (20-11) in a Big Ten men’s basketball tournament second-round game.
When/where: Thursday, 5:30 p.m. (Iowa time), Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis
TV: BTN (Kevin Kugler, Robbie Hummel)
Livestream: Fox Sports Live
Radio: Hawkeye Radio Network affiliates
Series: Illinois leads, 93-77
Line: Illinois by 10.5
What to know: Iowa defeated Ohio State 77-70 in Wednesday’s first round to advance to this matchup against the 24th-ranked Illini, who were 12-8 in Big Ten play with wins over nationally ranked Michigan and Purdue in their last two games. Iowa was 7-13 in league games.
The Hawkeyes have won back-to-back games for the first time since beating Nebraska and Indiana Jan. 7 and Jan. 11.
Iowa has made 21 of 52 three-pointers in wins over Nebraska and Ohio State this week, while its opponents sank just 11 of 49.
Hawkeye reserves have scored 61 points over the last two games.
The teams met once in the regular-season, an 81-61 win in Champaign on Feb. 25. Seven-foot center Tomislav Ivisic had 22 points and five assists. Iowa had a season-high 16 turnovers.
Freshman guard Kasparas Jakucionis, considered a likely first-round NBA draft pick this year, was a third-team All-Big Ten choice of the coaches and media. He leads Illinois in scoring with 15.2 points per game.
All five Illini starters average at least 10 points. One is freshman forward Will Riley, who is the Big Ten’s Sixth Man of the Year despite starting the last five games. Riley is from Canada. Jakucionis is from Lithuania, Ivisic from Croatia.
Illinois is the Big Ten’s top scoring team at 83.7 points per game.
Illinois is one of four teams with 20 wins in the regular season in each of the last six seasons. The others are San Diego State, Gonzaga and Houston. The Illini also are the only team with a Big Ten winning record in each of the last six seasons.
Illinois’ Big Ten tourney record is 34-22. Iowa’s is 23-23. No. 7-seeds are 20-26. No. 15-seeds are 1-0.
The Hawkeyes are 3-2 against the Illini in this tournament.
Iowa has only won more than once in this tournament one time since 2007, when it went 4-of-4 for the 2022 title.
The only NCAA men’s teams to win five games in five days in conference tourneys are Connecticut in 2011 and North Carolina State last year.
Iowa has won its last five games in Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
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