Illinois Basketball silences Iowa Hawkeyes in Gritty road win

Illinois basketball came out of the box firing on all cylinders. After mumbles about a history of slow starts in 11 am tip-offs and questions about how they can handle a two-day break between games, the Illini came out with major intensity. The game looked personal as Andrej Stojakovic, Kylan Boswell, and David Mirkovic all looked locked in and played with a purpose. This helped Illinois basketball jump out to a 29-11 lead. 

However, Iowa is no slouch; they continued to stay in the game and made the deficit four points at multiple times in the second half. The Illini never lost their composure, however, and closed out a victory 75-69. The Illini stuck to their principles and never panicked despite multiple runs by Iowa.

What does this win mean?

Illinois is now 4-1 in Big Ten play with games vs Northwestern and Minnesota coming up. The Illini will be favored in these games and have a chance to establish themselves at the top of the Big Ten. Currently, Purdue and Nebraska are undefeated in conference play at 5-0, whilst Michigan and Michigan State also share a 4-1 record. Illinois needed this big-time road victory to stay in this race. Right now, Illinois is 4-3 in quadrant one games. 

Illinois will have a crack at another quad-one game this upcoming Wednesday when they head to Evanston to play Northwestern.

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