March 29, 2024

Hawks shoot Illinois out of Big Ten tourney

CHICAGO (AP) — Nicholas Baer made five of Iowa’s 12 3-pointers and scored 17 points, helping the Hawkeyes pull away from Illinois for an 83-62 victory on Thursday in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament.

Iowa turned up its play in the second half to stop a four-game losing streak and hand coach Fran McCaffery his first win since he returned Sunday after a two-game suspension. The Hawkeyes went 12-for-23 from beyond the arc and turned 15 Illini turnovers into 24 points.

Next up for the Hawkeyes (22-10) is No. 10 Michigan on Friday night.

The Fighting Illini (12-21) used a 9-0 run to trim the Hawkeyes’ lead to 30-29 with 4:38 left in the first half, but they gradually fell off the pace from there.

Iowa grabbed control by ripping off 23 of 28 points during the decisive stretch in the second half. Baer made three of the Hawkeyes’ six 3-pointers during the run, and Luka Garza connected from long range to make it 71-47 with 7:48 left.

True freshman Joe Wieskamp finished with 13 points and seven rebounds for Iowa, and Tyler Cook collected 12 points, six assists and five rebounds. Connor McCaffery had eight of the Hawkeyes’ 25 assists on 31 baskets.