CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – A balanced scoring night saw Illinois return to the win column with an 81-61 home victory over Iowa at State Farm Center on Tuesday night.
The Orange and Blue led by as many as 24, while four Fighting Illini scorers finished in double figures in the 20-point home triumph.
Tomislav Ivisic paced the Illini with 22 points on 9-for-13 shooting after amassing 15 points in the first half alone. Scoring in double figures for the 17th time this season, Ivisic also recorded five assists, four rebounds, and a block.
Tre White logged 14 points while going 5-for-8 from the field and 2-for-4 from beyond the arc. He also collected two rebounds and a steal.
Will Riley filled the stat sheet with 15 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
Kylan Boswell finished the night with 15 points, seven assists, four rebounds, and a steal.
Kasparas Jakucionis totaled nine points, seven rebounds, three assists, and a block.
Forcing four turnovers within the first five minutes of play, the Illini opened up an early 12-4 edge after making five of their first eight shots from the field. Ivisic ultimately accounted for 11 of Illinois' first 17 points, which helped the Orange and Blue establish a double-digit advantage for the first time.
With the hosts in front by 13, the Hawkeyes cut into their deficit via an 11-0 run across the next four minutes. Ivisic scored the Illini's next four points, extending the team's edge back up to five. After Iowa trimmed Illinois' lead down to two, Jakucionis knocked down a 3-pointer to spark a 7-2 Illini run, pushing the home side's advantage to 35-28 with two minutes remaining in the half.
The Orange and Blue went into the break with a seven-point edge, 37-30, behind 15 first-half points from Ivisic.
A 4-0 Illini run to begin the final frame swung the momentum into Illinois' favor, with the home side claiming a 13-point edge, 46-33, within the first two-and-a-half minutes of the half. With that lead down to 11 just under two minutes later, the Orange and Blue pieced together a 7-0 run to add onto its advantage and force an Iowa timeout with the hosts in front, 56-38, with 14:24 to play.
About three minutes later, the hosts' lead reached the 20-point mark for the first time, soon climbing up to 24 with just over eight minutes to go in the game.
A 7-3 scoring stretch from the visitors reduced the Hawkeyes' deficit to 19, but Ben Humrichous' second 3-pointer of the night re-established the Illini's 20-point advantage with under five minutes remaining.
Seeing out the victory, the Illini improved to 10-8 in conference play heading into the final two games of the regular season.
Illinois will play its final Big Ten road game of the season on Sunday, when the Illini head north to the Wolverine State to take on No. 15 Michigan at 2:45 p.m. CT on CBS.
HIGHLIGHTS
PRESS CONFERENCE
POSTGAME NOTES
Player Notes
- Tomislav Ivisic paced the Illini scorers with 22 points on efficient 9-for-13 shooting from the field, dished out five assists, and grabbed four rebounds.
- Recorded his highest point total in a Big Ten game, finishing one point shy of his career-high.
- Led the team in scoring for the fourth time this season.
- Tallied 20+ points for the fourth time this season.
- Scored in double figures for the 17th time this season.
- Recorded 11 of the Illini's first 17 points.
- Knocked down two 3-pointers.
- Has made at least one trey in 21 games.
- Has connected on multiple 3-pointers for the 10th time.
- Tied season-highs with five assists and nine field goals made. .
- Tre White scored 14 points on 5-for-8 shooting from the floor and added two rebounds.
- Posted 10+ points for the 11th time this season.
- Knocked down multiple 3-pointers for the third time this season.
- Kylan Boswell scored 15 points to go along with a team-high seven assists and secured four rebounds.
- Recorded double-digit points for the second-straight game and for the 18th time this season.
- Will Riley added 15 points with a team-high seven rebounds and dished out two assists.
- Finished in double figures in scoring for the 17th time this season.
- Sixth game this season grabbing 7+ rebounds.
- Played a season-high 36 minutes.
- Recorded a career-high two steals.
- Kasparas Jakucionis scored nine points, secured a team-high seven rebounds, and added three assists.
- Four of Jakucionis' team-leading seven rebounds came on the offensive end, his career-high for offensive rebounds.
- Ben Humrichous made two 3-pointers on 100% shooting while grabbing three steals.
- Set a new season-high and equaled his career-high with three steals.
- Has multiple made 3-pointers in five of the last seven games.
Team Notes
- Starting lineup: Kylan Boswell, Tomislav Ivisic, Kasparas Jakucionis, Will Riley, Tre White
- With the win, Illinois improved to 10-8 in Big Ten play this season, securing its sixth consecutive season at .500 or better in conference play.
- The Illini secured double-digit Big Ten wins for a sixth straight season, the program's longest streak since doing so for seven years in a row from 2000 through 2006.
- Illinois is the only Big Ten program to finish .500 or better in Big Ten play in each of the last six seasons.
- Illinois has won three straight games vs. Iowa, overall, with five consecutive victories over the Hawkeyes at State Farm Center.
- Illinois is now 17-1 this season when scoring 80+ points, including 10-0 in Big Ten play.
- The Orange and Blue took care of the ball tonight, committing only five turnovers, matching the team's season-best mark.
- The Illini's five turnovers are their fewest in a conference game since registering four turnovers against Minnesota on Feb. 28, 2024.
- Illinois forced 16 Iowa turnovers, the team's second most in a game this season (18 vs. Oakland, 11/13/24) and the team's most in a Big Ten game since Jan. 31, 2023, when the Illini forced 19 turnovers against Nebraska.
- The Illini scored 17 points on 16 forced turnovers.
- Illinois held Iowa to 61 points, the Hawkeyes' fewest points in a game this season.
- 61 points are the fewest Iowa has scored in a road game since recording 52 on Feb. 22, 2023, at Wisconsin.
- The Illini outscored the Hawkeyes in the paint, 42-30.
- Illinois never trailed in the contest, leading for a total of 39:30 of game action.
- The Illini held the Hawkeyes, who average nearly 10 3-pointers per game, to their third-fewest makes from 3-point range (6-for-18) in a game this season.
- Iowa's six 3-pointers were their fewest in a road game since making four at Illinois on Feb. 24, 2024.
- Tuesday's crowd of 15,544 marked the Illini's 11th sellout of the season (seventh consecutive).
- Illinois is averaging 15,063 fans per game, 96.9% of capacity.
