Iowa
Terrence Shannon Jr. scores 25 as No. 12 Illinois beats Iowa 73-61
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 25 points, Quincy Guerrier had 14 points and 13 rebounds, and No. 12 Illinois beat Iowa 73-61 on Sunday.
The Illini (23-8, 14-6 Big Ten) built a big early lead, then pulled away late in the second half after letting the Hawkeyes (18-13, 10-10) get within 59-53 with 6:58 left. Illinois, which finished three games behind Big Ten champion Purdue, will be the No. 2 seed in this week’s Big Ten Tournament in Minneapolis.
The Illini were coming off a 77-71 home loss to Purdue on Tuesday, and coach Brad Underwood said his team “kind of practiced angry for a couple of days” afterward.
“We made every drill competitive with consequences,” Underwood said. “Everything was very dialed up. Every mistake, there were consequences for. It was getting guys to understand effort.”
That effort showed early. Illinois opened with a 17-2 run in the first 6 1/2 minutes as the Hawkeyes missed 13 of their first 14 shots.
“We got it going, just by effort,” Illinois center Dain Dainja said. “I think that was because the last couple of days of practice was really hard. We locked back in on our defense, and it showed.”
The Illini led by 21 points before Iowa went on a 14-2 run, getting within 33-25 with 3:27 to play and trailing 39-29 at halftime.
“We kept fighting,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said. “We had good shots. It wasn’t like I was going to criticize anybody for the shots we were taking. I thought we were taking good shots, I thought we were moving the ball. It was just frustrating for everybody.”
The Hawkeyes continued to cut into the Illinois lead in the second half, getting within 51-47 with 11:15 to play. But the Illini scored six points in 70 seconds to get the lead back to double digits and kept control from there.
“I think this group understands that teams make runs, especially good teams,” Underwood said. “They just kind of maintained. We got in the huddle, everybody was positive, everybody was upbeat. They were saying all of the right things.”
Shannon had 18 points in the first half and finished 10 of 19 from the field, hitting three 3-pointers.
Payton Sandfort led Iowa with 23 points, 19 in the second half. Josh Dix had 13 points.
“We missed some shots we normally make,” Sandfort said. “That happens.”
Illinois held Iowa to just 35.4% shooting for the game.
“Our defense had really slipped the last couple of games,” Dainja said. “We really focused on that.”
Marcus Domask added 11 points for the Illini.
BIG PICTURE
Illinois: The Illini dominated early, but a lull at the end of the first half and early in the second half allowed the Hawkeyes to get back into the game. Illinois controlled Iowa inside, with a 50-33 rebounding edge.
Underwood appreciated the way his team slowed Iowa’s offense.
“They’re as explosive as heck,” he said. “You never feel comfortable, even with an 18 or 20-point lead. I thought we had some bite to us today.”
Iowa: The Hawkeyes, who were 5-5 in mid-December, had played themselves into NCAA Tournament consideration in recent weeks, but could have used a win over a ranked opponent to close the regular season.
Underwood said the Hawkeyes were an “NCAA-worthy” team.
“I think we have work to do,” McCaffery said. “I appreciate what Brad said and I think he’s right. We’ve had some difficult wins in a really good league. … It’s not something you want to leave to chance. We want to do some more damage.”
UP NEXT
Illinois: Opens Big Ten Tournament play on Friday against either Iowa or Ohio State.
Iowa: Plays its Big Ten Tournament opener against Ohio State on Thursday.
An Iowa man was injured Thursday afternoon after three vehicles traveling northbound on Interstate 35 collided near Albert Lea.
Thomas Gene Anderson, 34, of Winnebago, Iowa, was taken by Mayo Ambulance to Mayo Clinic Health System in Albert Lea for non-life threatening injuries, according to the Minnesota State Patrol.
Anderson was listed as the driver of a 2019 Chevrolet Blazer.
The report states the Blazer and a 2020 Nissan Rogue, driven by Brenda Sue Bangs, 52, of Glenville, and a 2021 Chevrolet Blazer, driven by Lisa Ann Bettin, 64, of Altoona, Iowa, were all northbound on I-35 near milepost 10 when the vehicles collided at 3:49 p.m.
As we work through the month of June, things are starting to heat up on the diamond around Iowa high school baseball.
With the start of postseason play just around the corner in July, teams are working to get prepared for the stretch run.
High School On SI Iowa has a Top 25 state power ranking while the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association releases weekly class-by-class rankings.
Here are leaders as of June 17, 2026 for several major hitting and pitching categories. Stats are from those uploaded to the Bound website.
Iowa High School Baseball Leaders
Home Runs
- Tru McBride, Fort Dodge, 9
- Colton Roemmich, West Des Moines Valley, 9
- Brandon Bea, Davenport North, 8
- Kamden Jorgensen, Saydel, 8
- Gabe Blanshan, Urbandale, 7
Running Batted In
- Callan Koch, Sioux City East, 38
- West Cole, Mason City Newman Catholic, 37
- Tru McBride, Fort Dodge, 36
- Chance Georgius, Roland-Story, 34
- Ty Heydon, Coon Rapids-Bayard, 34
Stolen Bases
- Aiden Ferry, Roland-Story, 38
- Tate Garman, Algona, 33
- Titan Foster, Nodaway Valley, 32
- Tate Moulton, Grand View Christian, 30
- Cael Wishman, Baxter, 29
Runs Scored
- Cal Jepsen, Sioux City East, 45
- Aiden Frey, Roland-Story, 43
- Cal Heydon, Coon Rapids-Bayard, 41
- Kolton Schiltz, Fort Dodge, 40
- Colton Wight, Martensdale-St. Marys, 39
Hits
- Colton Wight, Martensdale-St. Marys, 39
- Cal Jepsen, Sioux City East, 38
- Callan Koch, Sioux City East, 36
- Ty Heydon, Coon Rapids-Bayard, 35
- Lucas Kelley, Des Moines Roosevelt, 34
Doubles
- Joe Nilles, Sioux City North, 13
- Colton Wight, Martensdale-St. Marys, 13
- Lucas Kelley, Des Moines Roosevelt, 12
- Brett Harris, Western Dubuque, 12
- Brooks Bond, Lewis Central, 11
Triples
- Callan Koch, Sioux City East, 7
- Will Nesler, Ankeny Centennial, 5
- Jacob Pierro, Dubuque Wahlert Catholic, 5
- Lucas Kelley, Des Moines Roosevelt, 5
- Cal Jepsen, Sioux City East, 4
Total Bases
- Colton Wight, Martensdale-St. Marys, 68
- Tru McBride, Fort Dodge, 68
- Bryce Pauly, Davenport North, 67
- Cal Jepsen, Sioux City East, 65
- Ty Heydon, Coon Rapids-Bayard, 62
Pitching Wins
- Tyler Etten, Urbandale, 9
- Chase White, Dyersville Beckman Catholic, 7
- Colton Moffit, Baxter, 7
- Connor Mullenbach, Saint Ansgar, 6
- Aidan Nielsen, Don Bosco, 6
Earned Run Average (min. 18 innings pitched)
- Connor Mullenbach, Saint Ansgar, 0.00
- Luke Vestal, Pleasantville, 0.00
- Ryan Stedman, West Des Moines Valley, 0.24
- Will Litton, Iowa City Regina Catholic, 0.25
- Judd Jirovsky, Grundy Center, 0.26
Strikeouts
- Colton Moffit, Baxter, 85
- Brody Wangsness, North Butler, 75
- Lincoln Roethler, Denver, 71
- Owen Klocksiem, Louisa-Muscatine, 67
- Cooper Chizek, Emmetsburg, 65
Opponents Batting Average Against (min. 18 innings pitched)
- Macklin Loftus, Logan-Magnolia, .017
- Jack Wedemeier, Waverly-Shell Rock, .065
- Teagan Brunk, Shenandoah, .069
- Ryan Stedman, West Des Moines Valley, .072
- Bronx Siebersma, MVAOCOU, .075
Saves
- Beckham Simon, West Liberty, 4
- Deacon Kucera, Cedar Rapids Kennedy, 4
- Graham Rima, Pleasant Valley, 4
- Gavin de Jesus, Waukee, 4
- Easton Goodwin, Waterloo Columbus Catholic, 3
Innings Pitched
- Colton Moffit, Baxter, 43
- Tyler Etten, Urbandale, 38.2
- Owen Galvin, Denison-Schleswig, 38
- Tallon Crandall, Carroll, 37.1
- Austin Remster, Melcher-Dallas, 37.1
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How much rain does Des Moines get? See the 5 wettest days on record
Wondering how the rainfall total compares? Here are the five wettest days on record for Des Moines, Iowa.
Drought conditions in Iowa improved for a second consecutive week, though areas of moderate drought expanded in parts of the state.
The U.S. Drought Monitor offers a state-by-state tracking of drought conditions nationwide. New maps and forecasts are released each Thursday. What are the current drought conditions in Iowa?
U.S. Drought Monitor map: How much of Iowa is in a drought?
The latest Drought Monitor report, released on Thursday, June 18, showed about 46% of Iowa experiencing some form of drought. This continues the streak of conditions improving week to week in Iowa. The previous report, released on June 11, showed that 63% of the state was experiencing some form of drought.
The most recent report reflects conditions as of 8 a.m. June 16, right as storms were sweeping through Iowa, with parts of eastern Iowa seeing more than 2 inches of rainfall. Light rainfall on June 17 led to areas like Iowa City and Burlington reporting around an inch of rain.
Here is the breakdown of current drought conditions in Iowa:
- 61% of the state of Iowa is experiencing no drought conditions
- 39% of Iowa is experiencing abnormally dry conditions
- 7% of Iowa is experiencing moderate drought conditions
- 0% of Iowa is experiencing severe drought conditions
Even though drought conditions have improved overall in Iowa, the area experiencing moderate drought increased from the week of June 11, particularly in northern Iowa. Much of Cerro Gordo, Hancock and Kossuth counties are under D1 conditions, with nearby Palo Alto, Winnebago, Floyd and Mitchell also in moderate drought.
Pockets of moderate drought also persist along the northwest edge of Iowa in Lyon, Sioux and Plymouth counties. In eastern Iowa, Jackson, Clinton and Scott counties saw their moderate drought status ease week to week.
Most of the U.S. is facing drought conditions
About 73% of the U.S. is experiencing some level of drought, a 2-percentage-point improvement from the prior week. Some of the most intense drought conditions are in the southeast and the mountain west.
Iowa Drought Monitor tracks conditions weekly
The U.S. Drought Monitor offers a state-by-state tracking of drought conditions nationwide. New maps and forecasts are released each Thursday.
The intensity levels range from abnormally dry, or D0, to exceptional drought, or D4.
Typically with D0 conditions, corn can show drought stress. Pond levels start to decline under moderate drought conditions and soybeans abort pods, according to the Drought Monitor. The Drought Monitor also has a look-back chart that compares drought conditions from 3 months ago up to 1 year ago.
Cooper Worth is a service/trending reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at cworth@gannett.com or follow him on X @CooperAWorth.
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