Iowa Ends Skid, Beats Illini
After missing the last two games because of a knee injury, Iowa's Jess Settles was not sure how much he could contribute against Illinois.
He ended up playing 20 minutes and scoring 16 points in the 20th-ranked Hawkeyes' 78-72 win over Illinois on Sunday.
He even scored a thunderous dunk -- although he landed on his back.
"I told the team, `the old man still has got some hop,'" said the sixth-year senior, who missed nearly all of two seasons because of injuries.
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"We have to work on his landings a little bit," laughed Iowa coach Tom Davis.
Kent McCausland scored a season-high 18 points to help Iowa (17-7, 8-6 in the Big Ten) snap an 11-game losing streak at Illinois.
Illinois (11-16, 3-12) led by four at halftime, but Iowa scored the first seven points of the second half.
The game remained close, and Illinois was leading by four points when Iowa went on a 17-3 run -- including three consecutive 3-pointers -- to take a 68-58 lead with 3:08 left to play.
Settles said he thought Iowa's use of the press wore down the Illini.
"I think we were a little bit fresher. You've got to give those guys credit, but they're not as deep as us. We went three or four or five minutes sometimes playing guys and then bringing in a whole fresh group," Settles said. "Your legs are a little fresher on the shots."
A 3-pointer and a layup by Damir Krupalija put Illinois within five with just under a minute to play, but McCausland hit two free throws to stretch the lead to seven for the Hawkeyes.
Sergio McClain made a 3-pointer to close Illinois to 72-68 with 30 seconds left. The Ilini then resorted to fouling, and the Hawkeyes made all six of their free throw attempts to seal the win.
"We just couldn't score," McClain said. "Little things started to pile on and Iowa hit the threes. It was a real backbreaker."
Illinois was led by Krupalija, a freshman who scored a career-high 18 points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. McClain added 14 points for the Illini.
J.R. Koch scored 13 points for the Hawkeyes, and Dean Oliver added 12 points.
"For a good stretch, it was a really good basketball game," said Illinois coach Lon Kruger. "Iowa made the plays they needed to make in the final six minutes."
Iowa made eight-of-16 3-point attempts -- with six players making the shots -- compared to 25 percent 3-point shooting for Illinois.
Neither team led by more than three in the first half until Cleotis Brown scored eight in a row for the Illini to make it 29-24 with five minutes left before the break.
Iowa scored six straight points two minutes later to take a 32-31 lead, but Krupalija then hit a 3-pointer, and his dunk put Illinois up 38-34 at halftime.
Davis said he didn't pay much attention to Iowa breaking its losing streak at Illinois. He was more happy to get another win in the Big Ten, where six teams are currently ranked in the Top 25.
"I approach all these games this year in this league almost the same way -- they're all big wins," Davis said. "Sometimes coaches say that and it's hype, but not this year with everything so balanced and the teams being so good."
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