Iowa stumbles yet again in Illinois

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Illinois staggered into its meeting against Iowa Sunday with fleeting confidence, scattered pre-game applause and only history against the Hawkeyes on its side.

The Fighting Illini had lost every game in February and nine of its last 10 overall. Nary a cheer was audible when Coach Bruce Weber was introduced before the game. But Illinois always provides Iowa with an I-74 traffic stop, and the Hawkeyes once again ended up in the back seat.

Illinois center Meyers Leonard battered the Hawkeyes at both ends of the floor, matching a career-high 22 points in a 65-54 win against Iowa at Assembly Hall, The win was Illinois' 22nd in the teams' last 23 meetings in Champaign, and the Fighting Illini's record-extending seventh straight in the 104-year-old series.

The margin of defeat was right at the series standard (11.9 points) in Illinois' 11 consecutive wins against Iowa at Assembly Hall. But Illinois (17-12, 6-10 Big Ten) was ripe for a technical knockout, and Iowa senior Matt Gatens knew it.

Weber is under heavy scrutiny and the Fighting Illini were floundering after a 10-0 start. If there ever was a good chance for the Hawkeyes to win in Champaign, Sunday was it.

"I wanted this one personally because I hadn't won here - you guys always talk about it - we hadn't won here in like 25 years," Gatens said. "It would have been fun to get. Of course I hadn't beaten Illinois, and it was on my mind and I really wanted to get it done."

Outside of Gatens, Iowa (15-14, 7-9 Big Ten) lacked focus and energy offensively in the first half. Leonard, who didn't start after not completing a practice drill ahead of his teammates, came off the bench with Iowa leading 5-2. He blocked Iowa's shots on consecutive possessions to spur an 18-3 Illinois run.

Leonard finished with 14 points and appeared to intimidate the Hawkeyes from attacking the rim. Iowa scored just six points in the paint in the first half .

"We did short-arm a couple of things," Iowa freshman Aaron White said. "I don't know if it was because we were scared to go in there. I think we were thinking about (Leonard) coming from the other side of the lane. When that happens, you've just got to go up strong either try and dunk it or lay it in strong.

"If he gets a couple, he gets a couple."

Gatens continued his torrid shooting pace, knocking down all four 3-point attempts in the first half and five overall. In the last four games Gatens has hit 24-of-34 3-pointers. Over that four-game span he has averaged 26.5 points.

Gatens was the only Hawkeye keeping it close in the first half. He had 15 points by halftime, while his teammates combined for eight points in a 34-23 deficit. He shot 5-of-7 from the field, while the rest of the team sank 3-of-20.

Leonard had his way with the Hawkeyes in the first half, also scoring 15 points, seven of which were from the free-throw line.

Iowa was more diverse offensively in the second half as the Fighting Illini converged all over Gatens, who attempted only four second-half shots. After Illinois took a 10-point lead with 5:45 left, the Hawkeyes cut its deficit in half with 3:36 left.

But Leonard and Brandon Paul, who joined Leonard on the bench to start the game, scored on a three-point play and a 3-pointer, respectively, to keep Iowa at bay the rest of the way.

"The thing that this game was, we just didn't play well all-around," White said. "We played hard enough, we just didn't play well. We couldn't make our shots, we didn't play smart. We turned it over. Matt carried us as far as he could, we just couldn't get that secondary option to carry the rest of the scoring."

IOWA (15-14)

McCabe 1-5 2-2 4, White 3-6 2-3 8, Oglesby 4-10 0-0 9, Marble 4-9 2-2 10, Gatens 6-11 5-7 22, Olaseni 0-0 0-0 0, Basabe 0-4 1-2 1, Brommer 0-0 0-0 0, Cartwright 0-3 0-0 0, May 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 18-49 12-16 54.

ILLINOIS (17-12)

Griffey 1-6 0-0 2, Egwu 1-1 0-0 2, Richardson 4-12 2-2 12, Bertrand 1-3 0-0 2, Abrams 1-6 1-2 3, Maniscalco 2-2 0-0 5, Paul 5-9 4-5 17, Leonard 7-13 8-8 22, Henry 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-52 15-17 65.

Halftime_Illinois 34-23. 3-Point Goals_Iowa 6-17 (Gatens 5-6, Oglesby 1-5, White 0-1, May 0-1, Cartwright 0-1, Marble 0-1, McCabe 0-2), Illinois 6-18 (Paul 3-5, Richardson 2-8, Maniscalco 1-1, Bertrand 0-1, Abrams 0-1, Griffey 0-2). Fouled Out_None. Rebounds_Iowa 27 (McCabe 7), Illinois 35 (Leonard 14). Assists_Iowa 12 (Marble 6), Illinois 12 (Maniscalco 4). Total Fouls_Iowa 17, Illinois 14. A_16,322.

[nggallery id=828]