Illinois Dominates Iowa in Carver Hawkeye Arena

The Fighting Illini headed into Carver Hawkeye Arena on Wednesday night needing a win to stay on pace with Michigan State for the Big Ten Championship. Behind a balanced attack from Illinois' three starting guards, the Illini beat Iowa 78-59, the largest margin of victory in Iowa City for the Illini in over fifty years. Dee Brown led Illinois with 18 points and 10 assists. Luther Head also had a double double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

After watching Michigan State come back and defeat Michigan last night, the Fighting Illini needed a win in Carver Hawkeye Arena over Iowa to keep pace in the race for the Big Ten Championship. The Illini, behind a balanced scoring attack which featured four starters in double figures did just that winning their seventh game in a row with a 78-59 victory over Iowa in Iowa City.

Despite only being 4-14 inside Carver Hawkeye Arena in the building’s history, the Illini were never phased by the Hawkeyes on Wednesday evening. Illinois’ guard trio of Dee Brown, Luther Head, and Deron Williams combined to score 47 points and dish out 20 assists. After Saturday’s game against Penn State lead to no scoring from Illinois’ James Augustine, the Illini made it a point to get the ball inside against the smaller and thinner front line of the Hawkeyes. Augustine only scored 5 points on the evening, but he spread out the Hawkeye defense and allowed the guards free reign on the perimeter.

Illinois went into the half with a 39-28 lead thanks to a Rich McBride three-pointer from the top of the key that went through the net just before time expired. The Illini were led by Dee Brown’s double-double as he contributed 18 points and 10 assists. The other Illini in double figures were Luther Head, Deron Williams, and Roger Powell with 16, 13, and 12, respectively.

The Hawkeyes were led by Jeff Horner’s 20 points, but their scoring was not balanced at all. Only Horner, Pierre Pierce, Greg Brunner, Brody Boyd, and Erik Hansen scored for the Hawkeyes who were never in the game after the first ten minutes of action were completed.