Illinois Basketball: 5 takeaways from the Illini loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes

The Illinois basketball team ended their season on Wednesday night when they fell to the Iowa Hawkeyes.

This was the second time this season the Illini went up against the Hawkeyes. The first game went to overtime and Iowa prevailed. On Wednesday night, Illinois couldn’t get that close to Iowa to send it to extra time. They were defeated in regulation 96-87.

The Illini had the lead 5-4 less than three minutes into the game but a classic Illinois drought enabled Iowa to go on a 13-0 run. Illinois managed to score and fight back, though. They continued to chip away at the double-digit deficit and even had it down to a two-point margin with less than three minutes to go in the first half. But, Iowa finished strong and took the lead heading into the locker room 35-31.

Illinois started strong in the second half. They got the score back to a two-point margin only being down 38-36. Iowa then took command of the game via the free throw line. Illinois couldn’t do much and the frustration set in. This got Brad Underwood riled up and he ended getting a technical foul.

Iowa ended up getting the margin back up to double-digits but the Illini continued to fight in the game. They narrowed the margin back to just two points with less than 11 minutes to go in the game. After that, the Hawkeyes kept the Illini at a safe distance and finished them off 96-87.

Here are five takeaways from the Illini loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes.