Illinois overcomes Iowa 87-77

It might have been foggy outside Carver-Hawkeye  Arena Wednesday night, but one team had its radar working on the inside.

And, it was quite clear which was the 23-ranked team in the nation and which was the team that will give some of those ranked teams fits at times this season.

Illinois nailed 3-pointers all night in handing Iowa an 87-77 defeat in the Big Ten opener for both teams. The Fighting Illini (11-3) had five players in double figures, led by Demetri McCamey's 20 points, in snapping a two-game losing streak and winning for the first time in 17 days.

They made 13 of 18 3-pointers (72.2 percent) and shot 66.7 percent overall from the field.

Iowa (7-6) was led by Matt Gatens' 21. And while the Hawkeyes shot a respectable 46.9 percent from the field, they were only 9 of 24 from 3-point range.

Hawkeyes coach Fran McCaffery said it was a combination of the Fighting Illini's hot hands and some defensive lapses that led to the 3-point barrage.

“They are a team that's difficult to defend,” McCaffery said. “They really stretch your defense, but we were not as quick with our rotation as we need to be against a team like this.”

Illinois coach Bruce Weber agreed his team shot lights out all evening, but gave credit to Iowa for hanging in despite trailing by as much as 19 points.

“When you shoot the ball like that, it really makes you look good,” Weber said. “To (Iowa's) credit, they didn't quit.

“Fran has done a nice job with this team. They played with some energy. They make it difficult on you.”

The anticipation of a more competitive Iowa team in conference games and the rivalry with Illinois made it the first sellout at CHA since a March 1, 2008 game – also against the Illini – and there was a substantial amount of orange in the arena to no one's surprise.

Illinois, which shot 64.3 percent in the first half, used a flurry of 3-pointers to open and maintain a double-digit lead for most of those first 20 minutes. D.J. Richardson and Bill Cole each had 12 points for the hot-shooting visitors, who were 10 of 12 (83.3 percent) from outside the arc.

The Fighting Illini nailed their first 7 treys (2 from McCamey and 3 from Richardson) as part of a 16-0 run that gave them a 27-15 lead at the 9:20 mark. Meanwhile, Iowa shot 50 percent, but was only 4 of 11 from 3-point land.

Back-to-back jumpers by Bryce Cartwright pulled the Hawkeyes within 38-31 with 2:46 to the break but a pair of 3-pointers by Cole, a solo 3-pointer by Richardson and a dunk by a wide-open Mike Davis under the basket put Illinois up by 14 with seconds left.

A bank shot at the buzzer by Cartwright made the halftime score 49-37 in favor of the visitors, and gave the crowd some hope heading into the second half.

That hope was quickly squelched as Illinois outscored Iowa 9-2 in the opening two minutes of the second half to open a 58-39 lead and leading to a quick timeout by McCaffery.

Gatens' 3-pointer and two free throws were the bookends of a 10-0 run that pulled the home team within nine points with 15:35 to play. A  layup by Devyn Marble cut the lead to 6 with 8:21 left, but Marble missed the free throw to finish the conventional three-point play, and McCamey quickly showed why he's one of the best players in the Big Ten with a jumper at the shot-clock buzzer and a 3-pointer to give Illinois a 70-59 lead.

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