6:57 pm CT

H2 13:33, 69-60 — Fran McCaffery ejected

Gus Martin

Pryce Sandfort came back in the game and made 1-of-2 free throws.

Payton Sandfort has been incredible tonight! He’s up to 22 points and 6-of-8 from downtown, just absolutely locked in and keeping Iowa in this.

But Fran McCaffery got two technical fouls for saying something to the referee and he’s out of the game. I couldn’t get a clear look at what exactly happened, but didn’t look like much.

6:49 pm CT

H2 15:57, 61-52 Illinois — Fighting Illini pulling away

Gus Martin

Iowa has struggled to close defensive possessions thus far, allowing Illinois to grab multiple offensive rebounds.

But Payton Sandfort seems to have stayed hot and is up to 17 points.

But Pryce Sandfort went down hard after drawing a shooting foul. He seems to be getting his knee checked out.

6:42 pm CT

The second half is underway!

Gus Martin

Let’s see if Iowa can find some answers defensively while keeping up its hot shooting.

6:27 pm CT

Halftime: 49-45 Illinois — Offense, offense, offense

Gus Martin

Payton Sandfort hit a triple just before the buzzer to give Iowa a better feeling going into the locker room. He has 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting, keeping the Hawkeyes afloat after Dix picked up his second foul.

Iowa shot 61% in the half but just couldn’t stop Illinois at all on the other end. The Fighting Illini scored 24 points in the paint and outrebounded Iowa 19-11.

Iowa only being down four points is a great sign, but adjustments need to be made.

6:21 pm CT

H1 1:27, 49-41 Illinois — No defense from Iowa

Gus Martin

The Hawkeyes are not known as a good defensive team, but Illinois has gotten almost no resistance from Iowa on that end all half.

6:12 pm CT

H1 3:11, 43-39 Illinois — Sandfort heating up

Gus Martin

Thelwell got fouled on a triple and missed all three free throws.

Dix then picked up his second foul and was forced to the bench. That’s a big loss as he has 11 points.

But Thelwell made up for it with a terrific hustle play that led to a Payton Sandfort triple.

6:05 pm CT

H1 6:09, 35-34 Illinois — Offensive clinic

Gus Martin

Neither side can stop the other right now.

Iowa is shooting 65%, Illinois 54%. There have been eight combined made triples, a couple by Payton Sandfort during the last stretch.

This is classic Iowa playstyle for this season.

5:56 pm CT

H1 10:23, 24-23 Iowa — Back and forth

Gus Martin

Great set out of the timeout to get Brauns a bucket on a post up.

The team pretty much traded buckets thereafter.

Iowa has brought the same level of energy and focus that got it the win last night, but is just playing much more efficiently on offense so far.

Seven of the eight Hawkeyes who have played have scored.

5:44 pm CT

H1 15:09, 11-11 — Solid start

Gus Martin

Dembele got the scoring started for Iowa with a midrange jumper, and then Dix scored five straight points to take a 7-6 lead.

Dix (7 points) and Dembele (4 points) have scored all of Iowa’s points thus far. Both have been efficient to start.

5:36 pm CT

The game is underway!

Gus Martin

Let’s see if Iowa can have a better start than last night and set itself up for another upset.

5:13 pm CT

Starting 5s

Gus Martin

Iowa

• Payton Sandfort
• Josh Dix
• Drew Thelwell
• Seydou Traore
• Ladji Dembele

Illinois

• Kylan Boswell
• Tre White
• Kasparas Jakucionis
• Will Riley
• Tomislav Ivisic

5:00 pm CT

Betting odds for Iowa men’s basketball vs. Illinois

• Spread: Illinois is favored by 10.5 points via DraftKings (as of Thursday at 9:45 a.m. CT)
• Over/under: 165.5
• Moneyline: Iowa +440, Illinois -600

4:30 pm CT

Iowa basketball schedule 2024-25

Record: 17-15

• Nov. 4: Texas A&M Commerce (W, 89-67)
• Nov. 7: Southern (W, 89-74)
• Nov. 12: South Dakota (W, 96-77)
• Nov. 15: Washington State (W, 76-66)
• Nov. 19: Rider University (W, 83-58)
• Nov. 22: Utah State (L, 77-69)
• Nov 26: USC Upstate (W, 110-77)
• Dec. 3: Northwestern (W, 80-79)
• Dec 7: @Michigan (L, 85-83)
• Dec. 12: Iowa State (L, 89-80)
• Dec. 15: University of New Orleans (W, 104-57)
• Dec. 21: University of Utah (W, 95-88)
• Dec. 30: University of New Hampshire (W, 112-70)
• Jan 3: at Wisconsin, (L, 116-85)
• Jan. 7: Nebraska, (W, 97-87)
• Jan. 11: Indiana, (W, 85-60)
• Jan. 14: at USC, (L, 99-89)
• Jan. 17: at UCLA, (L, 94-70)
• Jan 21: Minnesota, (L, 72-67)
• Jan. 24: Penn State, (W, 76-75)
• Jan 27: at Ohio State, (L, 82-65)
• Feb. 4: Purdue, (L, 90-81)
• Feb 8: Wisconsin, (L, 74-63)
• Feb. 12: at Rutgers, (W, 84-73)
• Feb. 16: at Maryland, (L, 101-75)
• Feb. 19: Oregon, (L, 80-78)
• Feb. 22: Washington, (W, 85-79)
• Feb. 25: at Illinois, (L, 81-61)
• Feb: 28: at Northwestern, (L, 68-57)
• March 6: Michigan State, (L, 91-84)
• March 9: at Nebraska, (W, 83-68)
• March 12: vs. Ohio State (W, 77-70)
• March 13: vs. Illinois, 5:30 p.m. CT, BTN

4:00 pm CT

Can I watch Iowa vs Illinois for free on livestream?

The Iowa vs. Illinois game can be streamed on FUBO, which offers a free trial to new subscribers.

3:45 pm CT

Big Ten Tournament schedule

All times CT

Wednesday, March 12 — First Round

• Game 1: No. 13 seed Northwestern 72, No. 12 seed Minnesota 64
• Game 2: No. 15 seed Iowa 77, No. 10 seed Ohio State 70
• Game 3: No. 14 seed USC 97, No. 11 seed Rutgers 89

Thursday, March 13 — Second Round

• Game 4: No. 8 seed Oregon vs. No. 9 seed Indiana | 11 a.m. on Big Ten Network
• Game 5: No. 5 seed Wisconsin vs. No. 13 seed Northwestern | 25 minutes after Game 4 on Big Ten Network
• Game 6: No. 7 seed Illinois vs. No. 15 seed Iowa | 5:30 p.m. on Big Ten Network
• Game 7: No. 6 seed Purdue vs. No. 14 seed USC | 25 minutes after Game 6 on Big Ten Network

Friday, March 14 — Quarterfinals

• Game 8: No. 1 seed Michigan State vs. Game 4 winner | 11 a.m. on Big Ten Network
• Game 9: No. 4 seed UCLA vs. Game 5 winner | 25 minutes after Game 8 on Big Ten Network
• Game 10: No. 2 seed Maryland vs. Game 6 winner | 5:30 p.m. on Big Ten Network
• Game 11: No. 3 seed Michigan vs. Game 7 winner | 25 minutes after Game 10 on Big Ten Network

Saturday, March 15 — Semifinals

• Game 12: Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner | 12 p.m. on CBS
• Game 13: Game 10 winner vs. Game 11 winner | 25 minutes after Game 12 on CBS

3:30 pm CT

What channel is Iowa vs Illinois on today?

TV channel: BTN

Livestream: FUBO (free trial)

Iowa vs Illinois will be broadcast nationally on BTN. Streaming options for the game include FUBO, which offers a free trial to new subscribers.

3:15 pm CT

Hawk Central prediction for Iowa vs. Illinois men’s basketball

Tyler Tachman’s prediction: Conventional logic would tell you this will be a difficult game for Iowa to win. The Fighting Illini won the final three games of the regular season — Iowa, Michigan and Purdue, in order. Illinois has no shortage of talent.

But Iowa is playing some of its best basketball right now. The Hawkeyes have delivered five quality halves out of their last six. Beating Nebraska and Ohio State is Iowa’s first two-game winning streak since January.

Is Iowa capable of beating Illinois? Yes. Will they? Probably not. But because of how the Hawkeyes are trending, it could very well be a much tighter contest than Iowa’s 20-point loss on Feb. 25. Illinois 84, Iowa 81

3:00 pm CT

Iowa vs Illinois time today

• Date: Thursday, March 13
• Start time: 5:30 p.m. CT

The Iowa vs Illinois game starts at 5:30 p.m. CT at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana.

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