Illinois faces Iowa in Big Ten Tournament rematch after late season surge

Illinois will face Fran McCaffrey at least one last time.

The Illini are playing Iowa in the 2nd round of the Big Ten Tournament. The winner will face two-seed Maryland on Friday at the quarterfinals.

The Illini and Hawkeyes just played one another two weeks ago. Behind Kylan Boswell strong performance, Illinois dominated the Hawkeyes, 81-61.

The victory was a turning point for Illinois. They've won three straight games, including wins over ranked Purdue and Michigan teams. The late season resurgence has shot Illinois back into the Top 25. For the NCAA Tournament, they've jumped to a 6-seed from an 8-seed.

The Hawkeyes have played better since the blowout loss to Illinois -- leading Michigan State late in the 2nd half, and securing wins over Nebraska and Ohio State, which ended those team's NCAA tournament chances.

Iowa is banged up. 6'10 forward Owen Freeman is out for the season. He was averaging 16 points per game. And Iowa has the Big Ten's worst defense, and struggle to rebound.

However, they can score.

Josh Dix and Payton Sandfort each score 14-plus-points per game.

And Iowa shoots 38% from three, which is top 6% in college basketball.

Illinois is a 10.5 point favorite v. Iowa. Advanced metric website Ken Pom predicts a 88-80 Illinois win.

A Whole Roster

"I'm not scared to say it. We can be Final Four good. But we need to be whole," said Illini head coach Brad Underwood in February. He was frustrated with the amount of injuries and illness.

This included Kasparas Jakucionis missing two games with a left forearm injury. Tomislav Ivisic missing several games due to mono and flu. Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn and Tre White missing games due to flu. And Morez Johnson being out four games due to a broken wrist.

In January and February, at one point, Illinois went 5-8. It dropped Illinois from the rankings, and some questioned whether they'd miss the NCAA tournament.

However, the roster is the healthiest its been in months. And Morez Johnson is back and will play against Iowa. However, it's unknown how much he'll play due to conditioning.

Johnson brings 6'9 and 260 pounds to Illinois depleted front court. When Johnson is out, undersized players such as Carey Booth, Jake Davis and Ben Humrichous have to guard big men. Illinois, at times, has struggled to protect the rim this season. Maryland, USC and Purdue has a lot of success with layups and dunks.

In Johnson's last seven games, he averaged 10 points and seven rebounds.

Stepping Up

Over the last 11 games, Will Riley is scoring 16 points per game and shooting around 45%. The 11 games prior, he was averaging just 7 points and shooting around 30%.

The freshman has blossomed and Underwood told me he's the most confident players on the team right now.

After months of settling for three pointers, Riley has gained 20 pounds, has more point guard duties and has attacked the basket on offense more.

He's cemented his status as a projected NBA First Round Draft pick in 2025.

Boswell has stepped up, too. He's averaged 15 points over the last four games and is taking smarter shots (such as layups).

But Boswell's calling card is on-ball defense. He held Duke's Cooper Flagg to 15 points. He shut down Iowa's top guard, Sandfort. And held Michigan's 7-foot center to under 10 points.

Boswell was snubbed from All-Big Ten defensive team, which Underwood called a "joke."

Finally, Tre White has returned after a quiet two months. The Louisville transfer has scored in double figures in four straight games, and is a good rebounder and runs the court in offensive transition.

Illinois is 24th in AP Poll, but they're ranked 18th in Ken Pom. Before the winter slump, Illinois was considered a serious Final Four threat.

If they stay healthy and play well this week, that label could return.