Iowa

Terrence Shannon Jr. scores 25 as No. 12 Illinois beats Iowa 73-61

Published

9 months ago

March 11, 2024

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.

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Iowa

Iowa players share wild interactions with Nebraska coach Matt Rhule

Published

2 hours ago

November 30, 2024

Press Room

Iowa players share wild interactions with Nebraska coach Matt Rhule

The annual Iowa-Nebraska game doesn’t get the same hype as Alabama-Auburn and some other other college football rivalries, but emotions run high in the battle for the Heroes Cup. And things got wild Friday night.

The hijinks started even before the game. Iowa linebackers Jay Higgins and Nick Jackson shared some surprising anecdotes with reporters after the Hawkeyes’ thrilling 13-10 win on a walk-off field goal.

Higgins revealed that before the game, the Nebraska team captains made no effort to shake hands, “so that was a little weird,” he said. Then, Cornhuskers head coach Matt Rhule walked through Iowa’s pregame warmups.

“So we immediately knew what type of game this was,” Higgins said.

After sharing all that, Higgins deadpanned, “Any questions?” That drew laughter from reporters.

Jackson joined him at that point, and Higgins had more to share.

“So the first series, we were on their sideline, and I got a little close to their head coach,” Higgins said. (The way he referred to Rhule as “their head coach” in every instance is funny.)

“And I said, ‘Probably not a good idea to not shake our hands,” Higgins continued. “He goes, ‘Who are you?’”

Then Higgins and Jackson wondered aloud if Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz would ever act like Rhule.

“Would KF, would … Kirk Ferentz ever do that?” Higgins asked.

“Nah,” Jackson said.

“That’s just amazing,” Higgins said.

“Come to Iowa,” Jackson said.

“Come to Iowa, come be a Hawk,” Higgins echoed.

“Be a Hawk, you see the difference,” Jackson said.

Jay Higgins shares that the Nebraska captains didn’t shake hands before the game and Matt Rhule walked through Iowa’s warmups pregame.
Interchange with Nick Jackson: “Would Kirk Ferentz ever do that? Never. Come to Iowa.” pic.twitter.com/ytncpAScW2
— Eliot Clough (@EliotClough) November 30, 2024

While Rhule might have thought his tough-guy image set the tone for the game, the Hawkeyes had the proverbial last laugh, as Drew Stevens booted a 53-yard field goal as time expired for the win.

Iowa’s Drew Stevens kicks a game winning 53 yard field goal against Nebraska… but viewers on NBC miss the ball actually going through the uprights. pic.twitter.com/ooC3ENmeCs
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 30, 2024

Higgins had the perfect end to the night after that winning kick.

“So after the game,” Higgins said, “because they didn’t want to shake our hands before the game, I went up to their head coach and shook his hand and told him, ‘Good game.’”

[Eliot Clough]

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Iowa

‘Farmageddon’ takes on whole new level of importance for Iowa State this year

Published

10 hours ago

November 30, 2024

Press Room

‘Farmageddon’ takes on whole new level of importance for Iowa State this year

It is always nice when you can throw a catchy tagline on something like “Farmageddon” when it comes to Iowa State football playing Kansas State.

But regardless of what you call the game, you cannot deny the level of importance it has for Matt Campbell, his Cyclone players and Iowa State fans everywhere this season.

No. 17 Iowa State (9-2, 7-2) and Kansas State (8-3, 6-3) square off Saturday night inside what will be a jam-packed Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Iowa. With a win, the Cyclones will secure a spot in next Saturday’s Big 12 Conference title game.

The Wildcats, meanwhile, can not only throw a wrench into those plans but also keep slim hope alive for a spot in the league championship.

Ironically enough, Iowa State – or Kansas State for that matter – can really help generate money for the league with a win and another next week to advance to the College Football Playoff. Why that is ironic is both schools decided to really highlight the rivalry in the late 2000s as a way to do just that for each other.

Not known as a key game on the schedule, the decision was made to play back-to-back years in Kansas City at Arrowhead Stadium. Fans and media called the contest “Farmageddon,” a reference to the agricultural roots of both universities. They will play again on a neutral site in 2025 from Dublin, Ireland, to kick off the season.

One of the longest continuous series in college football history, the Cyclones won the first meeting all the way back in 1917, 10-7. They also won the most recent, 42-35, last year, and lead the all-time series 53-50-4.

But all Iowa State is focused on is the here and the now. They have had opportunities in the past to reach the Big 12 title game, only to see them slip through the cracks.

* Matt Campbell with hilarious response to understanding Big 12 tiebreakers

* Latest college football playoff rankings and where Iowa State stands

* How to watch Iowa State vs. Kansas State

* What Matt Campbell said after Iowa State’s win over Utah

* Three stars from Iowa State’s win over Utah

* Game recap, analysis, big plays from Iowa State at Utah

* Kansas lives up to Grim Reaper nickname, stuns Colorado

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Iowa

Iowa State’s Malik Verdon, a Hamilton alum, wins local college football player of the week

Published

19 hours ago

November 29, 2024

Press Room

Iowa State’s Malik Verdon, a Hamilton alum, wins local college football player of the week

Voting has closed on another week of The Enquirer’s local college football players of the week award, and our readers selected a second-time winner.

In the Division I category, Malik Verdon takes home honors with more than 44% of the vote. There was no small school category this week, because Division II and Division III football entering playoffs caused a shortage of candidates.

Verdon was all over the field as No. 22 Iowa State survived a tough challenge from Utah to win 31-28 last Saturday. The Hamilton graduate led the Cyclones with 12 tackles and added a sack.

Verdon played two seasons at Moeller before transferring to Hamilton for his senior year. He leads Iowa State with 74 tackles, and he’s also recorded a sack, five passes defended, an interception and a forced fumble.