In the Elite 8 the Iowa Hawkeyes face another familiar Big Ten foe for the Iowa Hawkeyes magical NCAA Tournament run. The Illini raced out to a 21-5 lead on Iowa and held on for a 75-69 win in Iowa City in the season’s only matchup on Jan. 11.
“It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Iowa junior Kael Combs said. “You don’t want to take anything for granted. You obviously want to be appreciative of where you are, but still be ready to compete and go.”
“I think they’re much better than their seed,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood said. “Well-coached, great point guard, and a team that’s gotten better since the first time we played them.” One of the things that concerns Underwood about the Hawkeyes is their emerging depth. They held Bennett Stirtz to 12 point on 5 of 17 shooting in the their first meeting.
But Iowa’s supporting cast has come alive in the NCAA Tournament. Six different players have reached double figures in scoring in at least one game. Those six have been relatively balanced in their three-game scoring, too: Stirtz 49 points, Folgueiras 44, Cooper Koch 31, Tate Sage 28, Tavion Banks 28, Combs 27.
“Anybody on our team is capable of having a night like I had last night,” Tate Sage said, “Which is the great part. Last night, it happened to be my number got called and had some shots fall.”
That makes Iowa dangerous. A curious stat is in each tournament win Iowa has increased it’s scoring and in each of Illinois’s three games they have scored less in each game. Some of that is the slow pace of the Houston game but the Illini offense has dropped off by 40 points since they blew out Fran McCaffrey’s Penn squad.
But to beat Illinois the path to victory starts with one thing. “Defensive rebounds,” Combs said. “If we limit them to one shot, we’ll be in good position to win the ballgame.” Which will be a challenge since Illinois is the tallest team in the country. Iowa was outrebounded in Iowa City 38-31.
In the Illini’s 65-55 Sweet 16 win over Houston, they hauled in 12 offensive rebounds against the Cougars. Keaton Wagler, Illinois’ star freshman guard, had 12 rebounds himself.
“They crash five, and they’re the best rebounding team in the Big Ten,” Stirtz said.
When Iowa was hyper-focused on a singular stat against Nebraska, it worked. The Hawkeyes were aiming to limit their turnovers after committing 19 in a March 8 loss at Lincoln. They committed five on Thursday, and zero in the final 17 minutes.
For Iowa who is a 6.5 point underdog, it’s 40 minutes for a Final Four berth next weekend in Indianapolis. The Hawkeyes’ last Final Four was in 1980, when it famously knocked off Georgetown in the Elite Eight on Steve Waite’s 3-point play in the final seconds, 81-80.
Seemingly overnight this team has become capable of doing whatever it takes to win against a favored opponent. Why can’t they keep that streak going?
“Making sure that we execute the scout that’s put in front of us,” Manyawu said. “Play with a whole lot of energy. And just go out there, have fun, and play hard. I think if we’re able to do those things, we’ll be able to win the game.” Pregame coverage on the Hawkeye Radio Network starts at 4 with tip off today at 5:09 on KWPC, AM 860 and FM 95.1. Hawkeye hoops are brought to you by Muscatine Power and Water and Ed Morse Chevy, Buick and GMC.
