Illinois Basketball: 4 observations from the Illini win over Iowa

After a long layoff, the Illinois basketball program was back in action against No. 7 Iowa on Friday night.

From the jump, the Illini looked good in this game. Iowa had a small lead early on, but Illinois never let the game get away. After a two-point halftime lead, the Hawkeyes and Illini kept it close down to the final seconds. A couple of big rebounds and free throws sealed the deal for the Orange and Blue, as the Illini won the game 80-75.

Here are four observations from the Illini win over Iowa.

1. That was a bonus win for the program

Coming into the game against Iowa, I wasn’t expecting the Illini to look good. They hadn’t played a game since January 19 so, naturally, there should have been rust.

Illinois didn’t come out with a single speck of rust, though. They managed to not get in too deep of a hole, and by halftime, the Illini actually had the lead. It was a nice sight to see considering there have been multiple games this year where we have been in a double-digit hole at the break.

In my second season article on Friday, I chalked the Iowa game up as a loss. I thought we would come out not looking great because of the layoff. I then had us beating Indiana and No. 14 Wisconsin to go 2-1 in the three-game stretch.

But Illinois has already broken my prediction. They took down No. 4 Iowa in great fashion. They won one of the three games I had them pegged to lose in the final stretch of nine games. That means I now have them projected finishing with an overall record of 17-7 and a Big Ten record of 13-5.

A record of 17-7 with some big wins and one of the best NET Rankings in the nation, I say Illinois will probably end up being a top three-seed in the NCAA tournament. If we finish with a 13-5 Big Ten record, we might just come away with the regular-season conference crown. Strap in Illini fans, we are in for a wild finish.