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MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Illinois hits the road to play Iowa

marvin holman marvin., commercial-news, danville, ill.
·4 min read

Feb. 4—CHAMPAIGN — While the University of Illinois men's basketball team are coming off a great defensive effort, they need another one today.

And instead of a team that had few offensive options like Nebraska on Tuesday, the Illini will take on Iowa, a team that has averaged 81 points per game so far this season.

"It is the February mentality as we go on to the next and what's next is a great basketball team with a lot of talent," Illinois coach Brad Underwood said. "Offensively, they are the same Iowa team that they always are. They played a little more man than usual on defense, but they are a typical Iowa team."

Kris Murray leads the Hawkeyes with 20.6 points per game, while Filip Rebraca has 13 points and 8.5 rebounds per game and Connor McCaffrey has 7.9 points and 3.0 assists per game.

"They bring (Payton) Sanfort off the bench, who is extremely productive in his minutes played," Underwood said. "Connor McCaffrey is having an exceptional year and its one of the elite passers in the country and Rebraca is one of the most improved players out there and he is capable of getting 20. He is good a rim-running, he is good at Iso's and he can face you up. He is a guy that was not a top option last year is one this year and Kris is an NBA talent, so this is a very talented Iowa team and we have to be very good on the defensive end to keep them in check."

The Hawkeyes are 14-8 overall and 6-5 in the Big Ten and is on a two-game winning streak after beating Northwestern 86-70 on Tuesday.

"They can rattle up 2-3 3's if you are sloppy with the ball and are good in transition," Underwood said. "You have to be cognizant of what needs to be done on transition. One of the thing Iowa does is they let you know they are going to show you the press and you have to make this adjustments. We didn't do well against Zone on Tuesday, but our numbers during the season have been through the roof."

Underwood said that the similarities between the two teams has led to great games, including last year's 74-72 win at Champaign.

"I look at (Iowa coach Fran McCafferty) and we are a lot a like," Underwood said. "He has become a close friend but he is fiery and as competitive as anyone and Connor has been around for 100 years and rivals Trent Frazier in longevity and he's a heck of a competitor.

"It is a great college basketball game. They have had All-Americans and Players of the Year and so have we, so it has coincided in both teams making jumps in the Big Ten My hat's off the Fran and his players because there is a lot of success and you have two successful teams and its a bordering state, you get some competitive games."

The Illini are the hottest team in the Big Ten with three straight wins and wins in seven out of their last eight games. Games like Tuesday's 72-56 win over Nebraska was an example of the team's defensive efforts.

"We had a great last 12 minutes of the game the other night. We did a really solid job defensively and that's been our calling card," Underwood said. "We didn't shoot the ball very well, but to go 5-for-29 (from the 3-point line) and still win by 16 in this league, you are doing something well.

"If you saw the other night, the defense got us out of transition and got us running I think our toughness and ability to make it hard for teams to score. We have been very select and purposeful in our ability to stop transition. Some came off turnovers and some came off stops. We may have worn people out and fatigued them. We were solid on offense and we elevated each other."

Underwood also acknowledged freshmen like Jayden Epps, Sencire Harris and Ty Rodgers.

"They played a lot of minutes. Every minutes gained is valuable and they pick up experience. They have been thrown to the wolves and they have seen a lot. I think with every game they play, that is confidence gained."

Today's game is Black and Gold day at Iowa and the game has had controversy as Iowa has not allowed the Orange Krush to make the trip to the game.

"We've got the best fan base and student section in the country and the Orange Krush is important in our home games," Underwood said. "It's one of those situations, we have stayed out of."

The game will start at 1:30 p.m. and will ne shown on Fox. The game will also be broadcast on the Illini Sports Network, which includes WDAN-AM 1490 and WDNL-FM 102.1.