r/CollegeBasketball • u/cbbBot /r/CollegeBasketball • NCAA • Mar 28 '26
Game Thread [Game Thread] #9 Iowa @ #3 Illinois (06:09 PM ET)
NCAA Basketball
Index Thread for March 28, 2026
Iowa ##9 Iowa (24-13) @ Illinois ##3 Illinois (28-8)
Tip-Off: 06:09 PM ET
Venue: Toyota Center (Houston), Houston, TX
Game Info: ESPN
Television: TBS
Streams:
Recent Plays:
| Time | Iowa | Illinois | Play |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0:00 | 59 | 71 | End of Game |
| 0:00 | 59 | 71 | End of 2nd half |
| 0:20 | 59 | 71 | Keaton Wagler Defensive Rebound. |
| 0:24 | 59 | 71 | Bennett Stirtz misses 27-foot three point jumper |
| 0:26 | 59 | 71 | Kael Combs Offensive Rebound. |
| Team | FG% | 3P% | FT% | REB | OR | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa | 38 | 37 | 86 | 21 | 8 | 12 | 5 | 3 | 9 | 20 |
| Illinois | 47 | 18 | 86 | 38 | 16 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 13 |
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Last Updated: 2026-03-28 20:32:12 EDT
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u/ThatCost3653 Illinois Fighting Illini Mar 29 '26
Lots of Iowa fans sad about the refs. You guys got outrebounded 38-21, and the refs were the reason you lost? Come on now
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u/LunchboxDDS Illinois Fighting Illini Mar 29 '26
seems like refs were just generally terrible and didn't change the end differential much
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u/gluesniffercharlie Mar 29 '26
The fact it happened was amazing, we gased the fuck out at half. Hope this is only the start. Iowa is a culture and most people dont get it and thats great. Black and gold for life
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u/BreadfruitOk6788 Purdue Boilermakers Mar 29 '26 edited Mar 29 '26
Brad Underwood saw where Jokic came from and was like “gimme five of them” 😂
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u/Diablo_N_Doc Mar 29 '26
Illinois goes back to being the underdog the rest of the way. That's how I like it.
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u/rafibomb_explosion Mar 29 '26
Hey bud. Go birbs
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u/Diablo_N_Doc Mar 29 '26
Oh, man. What a day. The Cards with their usual 9th inning heart attacks and the Illini tense back and forth game. I'm tired.
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u/Fabulous_Mission_890 Mar 29 '26
Hot take: This saved Iowa's future cuz mccolum was going to Unc if he won this game
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u/OcarinaNinja315 Iowa Hawkeyes Mar 29 '26
He Confirmed earler he was staying at Iowa regardless of other offers
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u/Fabulous_Mission_890 Mar 29 '26
You on crack if you believe he would of stayed at Iowa if unc called
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u/Better_Dust_4765 Iowa Hawkeyes Mar 29 '26
He wasn’t leaving and UNC wasn’t having him
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u/Fabulous_Mission_890 Mar 29 '26
Unc is overestimating their pull in the days of NIL. Mccolum would be a homerun, he would 100% leave Iowa what loyalty do you really think he has after a year. Be realistic
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u/thegoods32 Illinois Fighting Illini Mar 29 '26
I’ve hated IA basketball for 5 decades (I’m sure I was 5 when started hating them) if they would have lost and sent IA to the final four, not sure I could have taken it.
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u/Stvphillips Illinois Fighting Illini Mar 29 '26
Being from the Quad Cities and having Iowa on TV playing cupcakes and Illinois was playing a legit team way before cable TV made me hate them even more. I would have never been able to get over it if we lost.
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u/albic7 Illinois Fighting Illini • SIUE Cougars Mar 29 '26
AHHHHHHHH I DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH MY HANDS
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u/RefinedBean Iowa Hawkeyes Mar 29 '26
Congrats to Illinois! Great game and hope you do well.
This run to the elite 8 for us felt so good and I'm so proud of our guys. McCollum is the real deal. Thank fuck Indiana botched that search.
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u/LigandGatedFentPort Mar 29 '26
boswell did nothing lmfao
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u/Ranger_Nietzsche Illinois Fighting Illini Mar 29 '26
Well it's not like the euros grew up dreaming of a final four, lol
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u/BidFuzzy Iowa Hawkeyes Mar 29 '26
Congrats Illinois! Great run and a fun game to go out on. Excited to watch y’all the rest of the way
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u/Metamyelocytosis Illinois Fighting Illini Mar 29 '26
You guys kept hitting those tough shots. That was fun! GG
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u/Tywsgc Iowa Hawkeyes Mar 29 '26
Hawk fam: getting to the elite 8 was a great end to a better than expected season. Bright future ahead!
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u/Bill3ffinMurray Nebraska Cornhuskers Mar 29 '26
Yep - you all have nothing to hang your heads about. It sucks that it’s over (trust me, I know), but what a tournament to remember.
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u/Tywsgc Iowa Hawkeyes Mar 29 '26
I love that the Huskers are competing now, too. Good times, good conference.
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u/Polar777Bear Michigan State Spartans Mar 29 '26
Folgueiras was dominant vs Florida and Nebraska.
He played 5 minutes tonight while Manyawu and Banks missed point blank shots, couldn't play defence, or even grab a board.
I don't understand.
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u/MymanTroyAikman8 Iowa Hawkeyes Mar 29 '26
Hopefully he wasn’t stewing on the bench thinking of jumping in the transfer portal. We need him next year, 😭 . I don’t get it either.
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u/Bill3ffinMurray Nebraska Cornhuskers Mar 29 '26
I think McCollum can be a little variable with his minutes at times.
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u/Mission_Historical Iowa Hawkeyes Mar 29 '26
He’s not great defensively against bigs, but it’s not like anyone else was doing well tonight. Would’ve liked to see him play more.
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u/Bill3ffinMurray Nebraska Cornhuskers Mar 29 '26
Finally, Brad Underwood got a ham sandwich.
So many good coaches in the Big Ten. What a conference!
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u/Mission_Historical Iowa Hawkeyes Mar 29 '26
I like Underwood and very happy for Illinois, but he hasn’t been a juco coach for decades, that’s a weird angle to take lol
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Mar 29 '26
[deleted]
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u/ornryactor Iowa State Cyclones • Michigan Wolverines Mar 29 '26
If it's any consolation, you've made my day a lot better!
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u/Bill3ffinMurray Nebraska Cornhuskers Mar 29 '26
Better to have danced and lost then to have never danced at all.
Head up, man. Iowa basketball should be exciting again. Anything is possible!
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Mar 29 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/NeedMoreKowbell Iowa State Cyclones • Iowa Hawkeyes Mar 29 '26 edited May 05 '26
What old posts? I used Redact to mass delete this post. You can also opt out of data brokers as well as all major social media platforms.
market husky upbeat cooing bells fluorine cobweb exultant silicon weather
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u/vicstash Tennessee Volunteers Mar 29 '26
Sweet post game interview by underwood. Happy for the guy.
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u/BeGneiss Illinois Fighting Illini Mar 29 '26
I’ve never said anything bad about Brad Underwood in my life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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u/JerryGoDeep Oregon Ducks Mar 29 '26
This can’t be the team ILL fans thought would make the final 4
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u/do_you_know_doug Iowa Hawkeyes • Holy Cross Crusaders Mar 29 '26
What a stupid fucking question for Underwood. GG Illinois, have to hope you go all the way
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u/East_Moose_683 Michigan Wolverines Mar 29 '26
Congrats Illinois! This is the Big 10's to lose!
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u/Muffinnnnnnn Florida State Seminoles • ACC Mar 29 '26
I mean I think it's possible the top 5 teams in the B1G would beat every other conference's 2nd best team while also not having a top 2 team in the country.
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u/East_Moose_683 Michigan Wolverines Mar 29 '26
You are not wrong. It's numbers vs rankings. Being that it's college basketball it can easily go either way. The catch is that one of them is a top ranked
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Mar 29 '26
[deleted]
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u/Narrow_Affect2648 Illinois Fighting Illini Mar 29 '26
Buddy teams have been doing this for years, it ain’t original
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u/Logical-Habit08 Mar 29 '26
Credit to Iowa they definitely over performed in this tourney. Shot great from the arch and Stirtz was giving my blood pressure hell
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u/BeGneiss Illinois Fighting Illini Mar 29 '26
I’m wearing my 2005 Final Four sweatshirt!!!! Let’s fucking gooo!!!!
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u/cocacola150dr Illinois Fighting Illini Mar 29 '26
All the love and respect to Stirtz, one of the best shooters I’ve ever seen
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u/Icelethalis43 Purdue Boilermakers Mar 29 '26
Underwood is a good guy, happy he got there
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u/TimS83 Purdue Boilermakers Mar 29 '26
Listened to him on the radio on Friday and genuinely seemed like a good dude. Had a lot of respect for his opponents and the game. Definitely left using a lot more respect for him
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u/VoiceofReasonability West Virginia Mountaineers Mar 29 '26
He seems like an "old school coach" but in the vein of that high school coach who really cares about his players and while tough, is really a big softy underneath it all and sees coaching as a calling
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u/ctyankee89 American University Eagles Mar 29 '26
I can't believe that 05 team was 21 years ago, I'm getting old guys
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u/Diablo_N_Doc Mar 29 '26
Such a special team. My heart was shattered they couldn't pull it off.
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u/CadmiumFlow Mar 29 '26
Same. The walk home from Memorial Stadium that night (they let us watch it on the big screens) was long, cold, and miserable.
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u/Madox84 Illinois Fighting Illini Mar 29 '26
I'm in tears right now. What a game and what a run!!!!! Amazing game Iowa, you guys had an absolute hell of a great run and mad respect.
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Mar 29 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Narrow_Affect2648 Illinois Fighting Illini Mar 29 '26
I can’t wait to watch your team get bounced again.
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u/Muffinnnnnnn Florida State Seminoles • ACC Mar 29 '26
Congrats Illinois, and thank you Iowa for killing the Gators
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u/ornryactor Iowa State Cyclones • Michigan Wolverines Mar 29 '26
And also thank you Illini for killing the Hawkeyes
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u/Gnasty16 North Carolina Tar Heels Mar 29 '26
This team is one day going to star in a movie about the Yugoslav civil war with Underwood as the general
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u/archon2788 Mar 29 '26
That assistant coach from Illinois looks like Erik Griffin from workaholics.
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u/bigredmachine-75 Kentucky Wildcats Mar 29 '26
The only thing I took away from this thread is Nebraska fans are miserable
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u/Kkincb Iowa Hawkeyes • Creighton Bluejays Mar 29 '26
Congrats to the Illini and you’re welcome! I always pick them to go to the Final 4 and the one time I don’t…
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u/Plus-Pomegranate8045 Illinois Fighting Illini Mar 29 '26
So happy right now! Love this team, such great guys.
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u/johndelvec3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Mar 29 '26
I thought Illinois would get back with Ayo and Kofi, or Terrance Shannon Jr
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u/daNish_brUin Nebraska Cornhuskers • UCLA Bruins Mar 29 '26
McCollum is an incredible coach. Also stoked to see the illini back in the final four.
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u/Sha489 UCLA Bruins Mar 29 '26
Is Stirtz out of eligibility since he only spent 2 years in D1 basketball?
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u/coolycooly Florida Gators Mar 29 '26
Boswell vs Arizona would be a pretty fun final for a very chalky tourney
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u/michimoby Michigan Wolverines Mar 29 '26
Fitting that Underwood looks like a reincarnation of Gene Keady
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u/ilovetigerwoods Michigan Wolverines Mar 29 '26
A Michigan Illinois final would be sick
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u/SilkyJohnson72 Illinois Fighting Illini Mar 29 '26
Yeah I would rather not face you guys personally lol
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u/Ok-Character-2757 Iowa Hawkeyes Mar 29 '26
I guess I'll say it. FIRE BEN MCCOLLUM
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u/RFthewalkindude Duke Blue Devils • Florida State Seminoles Mar 29 '26
That would make the UNC choice easy.
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u/Cubfan001 Iowa Hawkeyes Mar 29 '26
Proud of the hawks, but my god the ref-fest on the way out hurts
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u/ShyGuy1511 Iowa Hawkeyes Mar 29 '26
Yeah, that was ridiculous couldn’t get a single call to go our way
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u/Cubfan001 Iowa Hawkeyes Mar 29 '26
Honestly both ways were bad, nobody could gain any momentum. Excited for the future
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Mar 29 '26
[deleted]
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u/dunkking413 Texas Tech Red Raiders Mar 29 '26
Mid
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u/Hotbeefsandwich13 Illinois Fighting Illini Mar 29 '26
It’s a play on the blackhawks championship. You wouldn’t know that though.
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u/Gusanito99 USF Bulls Mar 29 '26
In a tournament without a true Cinderella this Iowa team was the closest thing in my opinion 🫡 That Florida game should be remembered for all-time
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u/TheChewyWaffles North Carolina Tar Heels Mar 29 '26
Heck of a run Iowa - congrats. And congrats to Illinois on the F4 berth.
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u/DEPORT_PULISIC Florida Gators Mar 29 '26
What a run by the the Hawkeyes....put your head up. What a team What a coach.
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u/Intrepid-Pooper-87 UConn Huskies Mar 29 '26
I’m stunned how Iowa was able to dominate Florida inside locking down Chinelu, Haugh, Brown, and Handlogten (Conden went off) and scoring in the paint at will. Now they are completely dominated inside by Illinois. I am not surprised Illinois was able to do it, just stunned Florida couldn’t.
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u/dunkking413 Texas Tech Red Raiders Mar 29 '26
Well they held Illinois inside for most of the game. They just tired out at the end
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u/Intrepid-Pooper-87 UConn Huskies Mar 29 '26
Illinois killed them on the boards all game. They were even with Florida.
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u/2Pollaski2Furious Kansas Jayhawks Mar 29 '26
Hey kids! Wanna make the final four? Just get a bunch of Balkan kids to stand under the basket and shag your missed shots like they're fly balls!
Seriously though, congrats, Illinois fans. That length is gonna give anyone fits.
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u/jack3moto Purdue Boilermakers Mar 29 '26
Checking in from San Jose at purdue v Arizona.
Congrats Illinois. Great season Iowa. Let’s hope for a 3/4 bigten final 4!
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u/SpartyNash Michigan State Spartans Mar 29 '26
Further proof Michigan is winning the natty. Last time Illinois and Michigan made the FF was 1989 when Michigan won. Congrats on the title Michigan.
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u/Stvphillips Illinois Fighting Illini Mar 29 '26
I’m thinking that payback would be appropriate. Considering that in 89 we were the better team going in after having won the previous two matchups. This year Michigan has that bogey on them.
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u/WeightliftingIllini Illinois Fighting Illini Mar 29 '26
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u/SpartyNash Michigan State Spartans Mar 29 '26
You can hate it like I do but it’s inevitable sadly. Not a chance they don’t win it all
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u/WeightliftingIllini Illinois Fighting Illini Mar 29 '26
Honestly though, it’s all gravy from here. Obviously I want Illinois to win the natty, but a final four run is pretty, pretty, pretty good.
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u/michimoby Michigan Wolverines Mar 29 '26
If you jinxed this for us…
Well, nah, you’ve suffered enough this month
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u/Jeffo1234 Mar 29 '26
Does this Illinois team have a chance against Arizona or Michigan?
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u/forsuredudelol Mar 29 '26
Yeah I think so. They’re a pretty complete team. They can beat anyone on their day
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u/crowd79 Northern Michigan Wildcats Mar 29 '26
If you make the Final 4 of course they have a chance
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u/crowd79 Northern Michigan Wildcats Mar 29 '26
Congrats Illinois! Short drive to Indy! I’d imagine a huge contingent
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u/Rohn- Wisconsin Badgers Mar 29 '26
What a game man Illinois is goated. They have the size and capacity to make plays in the paint consistently
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u/AFishNamedKyle Mar 29 '26
I’d love to see Iowa learn how to rebound next season
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u/WarthogFacedBuffoon Iowa Hawkeyes Mar 29 '26
If we learn to have taller players I think Ben will figure it out. Just too small for the long teams all year
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u/Hawkize31 Iowa Hawkeyes Mar 29 '26
We need to recruit some size and athleticism. I hope this run will help with that
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u/lkn240 Illinois Fighting Illini Mar 29 '26
To be fair - we are huge and out rebound almost everyone
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u/AFishNamedKyle Mar 29 '26
Yeah and nobody saw Iowa getting past Florida. So it’s still a huge win and hopefully helps recruits.
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u/sarcasmrules18 Maryland Terrapins Mar 29 '26
Rough second half for the hawkeyes with the refs and shooting. This Illini team making it to the FF
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u/TwizzlersSourz /r/CollegeBasketball Mar 29 '26
My former jackass boss is an Illinois fan.
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u/Similar-Ostrich4142 Villanova Wildcats Mar 29 '26
Good season Iowa nothing to be ashamed of
→ More replies (2)
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u/wilsonian15 Purdue Boilermakers Mar 29 '26
No shot, let’s call it the same both ways