Illinois Men’s Basketball: Iowa Game Preview

The Illinois Fighting Illini will play the Iowa Hawkeyes on Tuesday.

The Fighting Illini are coming off of a Senior Day victory against the Nebraska Cornhuskers, 72-65. They trailed the Cornhuskers, 57-55, with just over 6 minutes left in the game. It was then that D.J. Richardson sparked the Illini to a 7-0 run by hitting a huge three-pointer.

Tuesday’s game will be the first meeting between Illinois and Iowa this season. The last time they met was in the first round of the Big Ten conference tournament and the Hawkeyes won, 64-61. D.J. Richardson and Joseph Bertrand both scored in double-figures with 11 points each, but former Illinois player Meyers Leonard led the team with 18 points.

The Hawkeyes come into Tuesday’s game with an overall record of 18-11 and a Big Ten record of 7-9. They are coming off of a loss to the former #1 Indiana Hoosiers. Indiana rolled to a 73-60 victory and Iowa had the same amount of points as they had turnovers (14 each) in the first half.

A big question about Iowa heading into Tuesday’s match-up with Illinois will be about how they will handle injuries.

Feb 27, 2013; Iowa City, IA, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes forward Roy Devyn Marble (4) drives against Purdue Boilermakers guard Ronnie Johnson (3) at Carver Hawkeye Arena. Iowa beat Purdue 58-48. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports

The Hawkeyes could be without two of their top three scorers. The players that could both miss Tuesday’s game will be Mike Gesell and Roy Devyn Marble.

Gesell will definitely miss the game against the Illini with an ankle injury. He has not played in Iowa’s last two games against Purdue and Indiana. The last game Gesell played in was against Nebraska on February 23rd. He went 3-of-10 and scored six points. Overall, he was averaging 9.0 points per game this season.

Devyn Marble could miss Tuesday’s game with an ankle injury as well. However, he is listed as probable and “should” start for the Hawkeyes. Devyn Marble is the leading scorer for Iowa this season. He is averaging 14.2 points per game and scored 20 points in the team’s loss to Indiana.

The other big scorer on the Hawkeyes is Aaron White. White is averaging 13.7 points per game this season. He has scored double-digits in the last four games and scored 14 points against the Hoosiers.

This will be 149th meeting between the Fighting Illini and the Hawkeyes. Illinois leads the series 81-67. Illinois and Iowa split the two games they played last season.

With a win on Tuesday. Illinois would be at least the 7th seed in this year’s Big Ten conference tournament. Right now, the Illini are 8-8 in the Big Ten and just one game ahead of the Hawkeyes. If Illinois wants to keep their spot as the 6th seed in the Big Ten, they need to beat Iowa then either get a win over Ohio State or have Minnesota lose one game.

Illinois also needs to keep up the hot streak they’ve been on in their last seven games. Since their upset win over #1 Indiana, the Fighting Illini are 6-1 with their only loss being on the road at #7 Michigan.

The Illini should be in good shape for the NCAA Tournament, but cannot have any bad losses. If they were to lose to the Iowa Hawkeyes, that would be a bad loss. Illinois just needs to play like they have been in their last seven games and focus on their defense. If they do that, they’ll be fine on Tuesday.

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