Illinois–Iowa men's basketball rivalry

Illinois–Iowa men's basketball rivalry

Illinois Fighting Illini Iowa Hawkeyes
Sport	College basketball
First meeting	February 14, 1908 Iowa 46 – Illinois 36
Latest meeting	March 10, 2024 Illinois 73 – Iowa 61
Next meeting	February 25, 2025
Stadiums	State Farm Center, Carver–Hawkeye Arena
Statistics
Meetings total	169
All-time series	Illinois leads, 92–77
Largest victory	Illinois, 118–85 (1990)
Longest win streak	Illinois, 7 (2008–2012)
Current win streak	Illinois, 2 (2024–present)

100km
62miles

Iowa

Illinois

  

Locations of Illinois and Iowa

The Illinois–Iowa men's basketball rivalry is an intra-Big Ten Conference, college sports rivalry between the Illinois Fighting Illini and Iowa Hawkeyes. Multiple factors have played into the creation of the games between the two schools; Illinois and Iowa share a state border and are located about 242 miles (389 km) apart, and they share recruiting ground. The rivalry has been evidenced both on the court and off the court. Among the off the court elements of the rivalry, recruiting of basketball talent has resulted in battles for specific athletes. The most notable battle turned into the Pearl/Thomas Incident which began when both schools sought the services of Deon Thomas and resulted in recruiting restrictions and a one-year post-season ban for Illinois.[1]

History

Main articles: Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball and Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball

Illinois and Iowa first met on February 14, 1908 with an Iowa victory, 46–36. The teams would not meet again until 1913 in Urbana, Illinois, however, after 1924 the teams would play every year with the exception of six seasons. Since the two teams are both in the Big Ten Conference, they meet at least once per season. The location of the game alternates between State Farm Center, formerly Assembly Hall, in Champaign, and in Iowa City at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. There have only been a total of five neutral site games in this series. Illinois leads the series 92-77.

Pearl/Thomas incident

In 1986 head coach Tom Davis took over an Iowa team from George Raveling that included two key forwards, Ed Horton and Kevin Gamble, each from Lanphier High School in Springfield, Illinois. Utilizing the success of those players, Bruce Pearl, assistant coach and key recruiter for Iowa, was working the state of Illinois to acquire Deon Thomas, a highly talented Chicago Public League player from Simeon High School. Simultaneously, Jimmy Collins, assistant coach to Lou Henson and the Fighting Illini, was also attempting to acquire Thomas. Pearl brought allegations to the NCAA that Illinois assistant coaches had acted improperly in the recruitment of Thomas, including secretly tape-recorded phone conversations with Thomas that were used in the investigation. While the allegations of improper conduct were unfounded by the NCAA, the investigation did uncover other violations that cost the University of Illinois with restrictions in football and basketball in the manner of limiting scholarships, recruiting and tournament participation.[2][3][4]

Coleman/McCaffery Incident

In a game played in Iowa City on February 2, 2020, after an intensely physical game which saw 14 lead-changes and 8 ties, the Hawkeyes would come out on top with a final score of 72–65.[5] During the closing seconds of the game, with Illinois' defense willing to let the final 12 seconds expire, sophomore guard Joe Wieskamp dunked to extend the Iowa lead to 10 points. This appeared to agitate the Illini players and, after a 3-point field goal by Illinois guard Ayo Dosunmu, with four seconds left, the Hawkeyes in-bounded the ball to CJ Fredrick and it appeared that Illinois was trying to intentionally foul. Fredrick kicked it out to Connor McCaffery, who was hugged by Dosunmu. Mike Eades, an official for the game, elected not to call the foul as the clock expired. The exchanges between both teams spilled over into the post-game handshake line when Illinois assistant coach Ron Coleman took exception to Joe Wieskamp's dunk with 12 seconds left to give the Hawkeyes a double-digit lead. Coleman shouted profanities in the direction of coach McCaffery, leading the coach to shout back at Coleman and instruct his Hawkeyes to head to the locker room, skipping the handshake line. The Illini staff eventually held their players near the scorer's table to let the Iowa players get to the tunnel to the locker room and off the court.[6][7]

Ticket scandal

On February 1, 2023, a student spirit group known as "Orange Krush" from the University of Illinois, had 200 tickets to the game taking place on February 4, 2023 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, rescinded with the $5,400 purchase price returned to the organization. The reason for the denial was due to the leader of the Orange Krush claiming they were being purchased for the Boys and Girls Club of Champaign, a non-profit organization who would get a discounted rate for the 200 tickets. The Iowa Athletic Department deemed this purchase to be under false pretenses, allowing them the right to deny the Orange Krush the opportunity to enter the game and barcodes for the tickets blocked, thus denying them the attempt to make the 20th annual road trip for the group. Because the order was made in September 2022, the Orange Krush had procured donations that could be utilized for charter bus transportation from Champaign to Iowa City. The denial of entry cost the Orange Krush $6,000 that had been paid towards the prearranged transportation. As for the 200 tickets retained by the Iowa Athletic Department, those were donated to the Boys and Girls Club of Cedar Rapids.[8]

Other

Occasional feuds and incidents between the schools' programs have fueled the competition over the years. Iowa has the advantage in the history of the Big Ten tournament. Of the 20+ years the conference tournament has been held, Illinois and Iowa have played a total of 5 times. Iowa holds the record of 3-2 over Illinois. In the 2016 Big Ten tournament the Hawkeyes were the fifth seed and the Illini, who were seeded twelfth, faced each other in the second round with Illinois upsetting Iowa 68–66.[9] Illinois and Iowa squared off in the 2021 Big Ten tournament semi-final where Illinois would win and later go on to win their third tournament title.

Accomplishments by the two rivals

The following summarizes the accomplishments of the two programs.

Team	Illinois	Iowa
National titles[10][11]	0	0
Final Four appearances[12][13]	5	3
NCAA Tournament appearances[12][13]	34	29
NCAA Tournament record[12][13]	45-35	31-31
Big Ten tournament titles[14]	4	3
Big Ten regular season titles[15]	18	8
Consensus First Team All-Americans[16]	16	4
Naismith Players of the Year[17]	0	1
Big Ten Players of the Year[18]	3	1
Big Ten Medal of Honor Recipients[19]	19	18
All-time program record[12][13]	1876-1054	1740-1217-1
All-time winning percentage[12][13]	.640	.588

• Through March 16, 2023[20][21]

Game results

Games with both teams ranked

(Rankings are from AP Poll)[14]

Winning team is shown. Ranking of the team at the time of the game by the AP poll is shown under the team name.

Date	Illinois rank	Iowa rank	Winner	Score
February 9, 1952	3	9	Iowa	73–68
February 23, 1952	5	4	Illinois	78–62
January 17, 1955	7	19	Iowa	92–80
February 21, 1955	14	15	Iowa	85–77
March 3, 1956	2	10	Iowa	96–72
January 3, 1980	20	10	Iowa	72–71
February 7, 1981	18	15	Iowa	72–66
January 14, 1987	8	2	Iowa	91–88^OT
February 14, 1987	11	4	Iowa	66–61
January 21, 1988	13	19	Iowa	93–79
February 5, 1989	2	9	Iowa	86–82
March 8, 1989	4	15	Illinois	118–94
January 15, 2002	11	17	Illinois	77–66
January 20, 2005	1	23	Illinois	73–68^OT
February 25, 2006	8	20	Illinois	71–59
February 2, 2020	19	18	Iowa	72–65
March 8, 2020	23	18	Illinois	78–76
January 29, 2021	19	7	Illinois	80–75
March 13, 2021	3	5	Illinois	82–71
March 6, 2022	20	24	Illinois	74–72

Series results

Winning team is shown. Ranking of the team at the time of the game by the AP poll is shown by the team name.

Illinois victories

Iowa victories

Tie games

No. Date Location Winner Score 1 February 14, 1908 Iowa Armory Iowa 46–36 2 January 18, 1913 Kenney Gym Illinois 35–9 3 February 22, 1924 Iowa Armory Illinois 26–14 4 February 29, 1924 Kenney Gym Illinois 38–19 5 January 24, 1925 Kenney Gym Illinois 23–15 6 February 27, 1925 Iowa Armory Iowa 33–25 7 January 22, 1927 Huff Gym Illinois 40–33 8 February 12, 1927 Iowa Armory Iowa 26–24 9 January 13, 1928 Iowa Field House Iowa 36–30 10 February 24, 1928 Huff Gym Iowa 41–27 11 February 14, 1931 Iowa Field House Illinois 26–23 12 February 28, 1931 Huff Gym Illinois 31–13 13 February 27, 1933 Iowa Field House Iowa 30–27 14 March 4, 1933 Huff Gym Illinois 44–16 15 January 15, 1934 Iowa Field House Iowa 36–14 16 February 26, 1934 Huff Gym Illinois 35–31 17 January 11, 1936 Iowa Field House Iowa 27–26 18 February 10, 1936 Huff Gym Illinois 36–14 19 January 16, 1937 Huff Gym Illinois 42–28 20 February 27, 1937 The Field House Illinois 40–29 21 February 6, 1939 Huff Gym Illinois 34–26 22 March 2, 1940 Iowa Field House Iowa 62–47 23 February 17, 1941 Huff Gym Illinois 56–53 24 January 19, 1942 Huff Gym Illinois 42–35 25 March 2, 1942 Iowa Field House Iowa 46–32 26 January 16, 1943 Huff Gym Illinois 61–41 27 January 18, 1943 Huff Gym Illinois 66–34 28 January 21, 1944 Iowa Field House Iowa 56–51 29 January 22, 1944 Iowa Field House Iowa 53–44 30 January 26, 1945 Huff Gym Illinois 43–42 31 March 3, 1945 Iowa Field House Iowa 43–37 32 December 22, 1945 Iowa Field House Iowa 41–39 33 February 23, 1946 Huff Gym Illinois 57–51 34 February 8, 1947 Huff Gym Illinois 45–36 35 February 9, 1948 Iowa Field House Iowa 70–61 36 February 21, 1949 Huff Gym No. 4 Illinois 80–61 37 February 11, 1950 Iowa Field House Iowa 70–65 38 January 8, 1951 Iowa Field House Illinois 72–65 39 January 20, 1951 Huff Gym No. 14 Illinois 69–53 40 February 9, 1952 Iowa Field House No. 9 Iowa 73–68 41 February 23, 1952 Huff Gym No. 5 Illinois 78–62 42 February 14, 1953 Huff Gym No. 5 Illinois 80–63 43 February 21, 1953 Iowa Field House Iowa 67–62 44 January 18, 1954 Huff Hall Iowa 79–70 45 February 20, 1954 Iowa Field House Illinois 74–51 46 January 17, 1955 Iowa Field House No. 19 Iowa 92–80 47 February 22, 1955 Huff Gym No. 15 Iowa 89–70 48 March 3, 1956 Iowa Field House No. 10 Iowa 92–72 49 January 7, 1957 Huff Gym No. 5 Illinois 81–70 50 January 6, 1958 Huff Gym Iowa 70–68 51 February 22, 1958 Iowa Field House Iowa 83–79 52 January 12, 1959 Huff Gym No. 20 Illinois 103–97 53 February 28, 1959 Iowa Field House Illinois 72–70 54 February 27, 1960 Huff Gym No. 20 Illinois 85–70 55 January 16, 1961 Iowa Field House No. 6 Iowa 78–71 56 February 10, 1962 Iowa Field House Illinois 91–81 57 March 3, 1962 Huff Gym Iowa 88–78 58 January 5, 1963 Iowa Field House No. 3 Illinois 85–76 59 March 9, 1963 Assembly Hall No. 8 Illinois 73–69 60 January 11, 1964 Iowa Field House Illinois 87–70 61 March 4, 1964 Assembly Hall Illinois 90–67 62 February 23, 1965 Assembly Hall Illinois 97–80 63 March 6, 1965 Iowa Field House Iowa 94–84 64 March 5, 1966 Assembly Hall Illinois 106–90 65 February 7, 1967 Iowa Field House Iowa 96–89 66 February 3, 1968 Assembly Hall Illinois 66–63 67 March 2, 1968 Iowa Field House Iowa 61–56 68 February 8, 1969 Assembly Hall No. 10 Illinois 98–69 69 February 25, 1969 Iowa Field House Iowa 74–53 70 February 17, 1970 Assembly Hall No. 11 Iowa 83–81 71 March 2, 1971 Iowa Field House Iowa 92–84 72 February 15, 1972 Iowa Field House Iowa 87–84 73 March 7, 1972 Assembly Hall Illinois 91–84 74 January 13, 1973 Assembly Hall Illinois 80–78 75 March 10, 1973 Iowa Field House Iowa 93–76 76 February 23, 1974 Assembly Hall Illinois 91–84 77 January 4, 1975 Iowa Field House Iowa 95–70 78 March 8, 1975 Assembly Hall Iowa 73–70 79 January 3, 1976 Iowa Field House Iowa 84–60 80 March 6, 1976 Assembly Hall Iowa 82–70 81 January 15, 1977 Assembly Hall Iowa 84–81^OT 82 February 24, 1977 Iowa Field House Iowa 76–64 83 January 26, 1978 Iowa Field House Illinois 70–61 84 February 18, 1978 Assembly Hall Illinois 77–76 85 January 25, 1979 Iowa Field House Iowa 58–52 No. Date Location Winner Score 86 February 17, 1979 Assembly Hall No. 14 Iowa 67–53 87 January 3, 1980 Assembly Hall No. 10 Iowa 72–71 88 March 1, 1980 Iowa Field House Iowa 75–71 89 January 31, 1981 Assembly Hall Illinois 79–66 90 February 7, 1981 Iowa Field House No. 15 Iowa 72–66 91 January 9, 1982 Iowa Field House No. 7 Iowa 56–50 92 March 4, 1982 Assembly Hall Illinois 73–67^OT 93 February 3, 1983 Assembly Hall Illinois 62–61 94 February 12, 1983 Carver–Hawkeye Arena No. 20 Iowa 68–66 95 February 2, 1984 Carver–Hawkeye Arena No. 8 Illinois 54–52^OT 96 February 12, 1984 Assembly Hall No. 8 Illinois 73–53 97 January 5, 1985 Carver–Hawkeye Arena Iowa 64–60 98 March 7, 1985 Assembly Hall No. 14 Illinois 59–53^OT 99 January 4, 1986 Assembly Hall Iowa 60–59 100 March 6, 1986 Carver–Hawkeye Arena Iowa 57–53 101 January 14, 1987 Assembly Hall No. 8 Iowa 91–88^OT 102 February 14, 1987 Carver–Hawkeye Arena No. 4 Iowa 66–61 103 January 21, 1988 Carver–Hawkeye Arena No. 19 Iowa 93–79 104 March 6, 1988 Assembly Hall Illinois 94–81 105 February 5, 1989 Carver–Hawkeye Arena No. 9 Iowa 86–82 106 March 8, 1989 Assembly Hall No. 4 Illinois 118–94 107 January 29, 1990 Carver–Hawkeye Arena Iowa 69–67 108 March 4, 1990 Assembly Hall No. 18 Illinois 118–85 109 January 28, 1991 Assembly Hall Illinois 53–50 110 February 23, 1991 Carver-Hawkeye Arena Illinois 79–74 111 January 15, 1992 Carver–Hawkeye Arena Iowa 74–69 112 February 23, 1992 Assembly Hall Illinois 77–72^OT 113 February 4, 1993 Assembly Hall Illinois 78–77 114 March 13, 1993 Carver–Hawkeye Arena No. 17 Iowa 63–53 115 January 19, 1994 Assembly Hall Illinois 105–90 116 February 19, 1994 Carver–Hawkeye Arena Iowa 83–69 117 February 1, 1995 Carver–Hawkeye Arena Illinois 79–74 118 February 11, 1995 Assembly Hall Illinois 104–97^OT 119 January 18, 1996 Carver–Hawkeye Arena No. 16 Iowa 82–79 120 February 24, 1996 Assembly Hall Illinois 91–86 121 January 29, 1997 Carver–Hawkeye Arena Iowa 82–65 122 February 9, 1997 Assembly Hall Illinois 66–51 123 January 8, 1998 Carver–Hawkeye Arena Illinois 76–64 124 February 22, 1998 Assembly Hall No. 23 Illinois 79–72 125 January 7, 1999 Carver–Hawkeye Arena No. 17 Iowa 84–62 126 February 21, 1999 Assembly Hall No. 20 Iowa 78–72 127 January 26, 2000 Carver–Hawkeye Arena Illinois 69–58 128 February 12, 2000 Assembly Hall Illinois 78–50 129 January 11, 2001 Carver–Hawkeye Arena Iowa 78–62 130 February 24, 2001 Assembly Hall No. 3 Illinois 89–63 131 January 15, 2002 Assembly Hall No. 11 Illinois 77–66 132 January 15, 2003 Carver–Hawkeye Arena Iowa 68–61 133 January 17, 2004 Assembly Hall No. 25 Illinois 88–82 134 February 25, 2004 Carver–Hawkeye Arena No. 23 Illinois 78–59 135 January 20, 2005 Assembly Hall No. 1 Illinois 73–68^OT 136 February 19, 2005 Carver–Hawkeye Arena No. 1 Illinois 75–65 137 January 7, 2006 Carver–Hawkeye Arena Iowa 63–48 138 February 25, 2006 Assembly Hall No. 8 Illinois 71–59 139 January 10, 2007 Assembly Hall Illinois 74–70 140 March 3, 2007 Carver–Hawkeye Arena Iowa 60–53 141 March 1, 2008 Carver–Hawkeye Arena Illinois 58–47 142 February 1, 2009 Assembly Hall No. 19 Illinois 62–54 143 January 5, 2010 Assembly Hall Illinois 59–42 144 February 3, 2010 Carver–Hawkeye Arena Illinois 57–49 145 December 29, 2010 Carver–Hawkeye Arena No. 23 Illinois 87–77 146 February 26, 2011 Assembly Hall Illinois 81–68 147 February 26, 2012 Assembly Hall Illinois 65–54 148 March 8, 2012* Bankers Life Fieldhouse Iowa 64–61 149 March 5, 2013 Carver–Hawkeye Arena Iowa 63–55 150 February 1, 2014 State Farm Center No. 15 Iowa 81–74 151 March 8, 2014 Carver–Hawkeye Arena Illinois 66–63 152 February 25, 2015 Carver–Hawkeye Arena Iowa 68–60 153 February 7, 2016 State Farm Center No. 5 Iowa 77–65 154 March 10, 2016* Bankers Life Fieldhouse Illinois 68–66 155 January 25, 2017 State Farm Center Illinois 76–64 156 February 18, 2017 Carver-Hawkeye Arena Illinois 70–66 157 January 11, 2018 State Farm Center Iowa 104–97^OT 158 February 28, 2018* Madison Square Garden No. 12 Iowa 96–87 159 January 20, 2019 Carver-Hawkeye Arena No. 23 Iowa 95–71 160 March 14, 2019* United Center No. 6 Iowa 83–62 161 February 2, 2020 Carver-Hawkeye Arena No. 18 Iowa 72–65 162 March 8, 2020 State Farm Center No. 23 Illinois 78–76 163 January 29, 2021 State Farm Center No. 19 Illinois 80–75 164 March 13, 2021* Lucas Oil Stadium No. 3 Illinois 82–71 165 December 6, 2021 Carver-Hawkeye Arena Illinois 87–83 166 March 6, 2022 State Farm Center No. 20 Illinois 74–72 167 February 4, 2023 Carver-Hawkeye Arena Iowa 81–79 168 February 24, 2024 State Farm Center No. 12 Illinois 95–85 169 March 10, 2024 Carver-Hawkeye Arena No. 12 Illinois 73–61 Series: Illinois leads 92–77

• *Denotes game played during the Big Ten tournament

Series statistics

• Series Record: Illinois leads 92 to 77
• Current Streak: Illinois, 2 wins
• Illinois when ranked: 30-22
• Iowa when ranked: 24-16
• When both teams are ranked: Iowa leads 11-9
• Illinois when unranked: 61-54
• Iowa when unranked: 52-70
• When both teams are unranked: Illinois leads 50-40
• In overtime games: Illinois leads 6-3
• Neutral site: Iowa leads 3-2
• Longest Illinois W-Streak: 7 (3/1/2008-2/26/2012)
• Longest Iowa W-Streak: 6 (1/4/1975-2/24/1977)
• Longest Illinois Home W-Streak: 17 (2/28/1931-2/14/1953)
• Longest Iowa Home W-Streak: 10 (3/6/1965-2/24/1977)
• Longest Illinois Road W-Streak: 3, twice (last, 3/1/2008-12/29/2010)
• Longest Iowa Road W-Streak: 3 (3/8/1975-1/15/1977)
• Largest Illinois Win Margin: 33 (118-85), 3/4/1990 at ILL
• Largest Illinois Road Win Margin: 23 (74-51), 2/20/1954
• Largest Iowa Win Margin: 25 (95-70), 1/4/1975 at IOWA
• Largest Iowa Road Win Margin: 19 (89-70), 2/21/1955

References

1. "Bruce Pearls memo to the NCAA". Archived from the original on 2006-07-19. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
2. Sherman, Ed (November 8, 1990). "NCAA STUNS ILLINOIS WITH STIFF PENALTIES". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
3. Libit, Dan (March 22, 2011). "Bruce Pearl's First Con, And The World That Created A Monster". Deadspin. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
4. Tupper, Mark (April 2, 2012). "23 years later, Pearl apologizes to Collins". Quad City Times. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
5. HawkeyeSports.com^[permanent dead link‍]
6. Coss, Matt (February 2, 2020). "Juice returns to Iowa-Illinois hoops rivalry". Quad City Times. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
7. Eickholt, David (February 3, 2020). "Connor McCaffery discusses chippy end of Illinois-Iowa". 247Sports.com. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
8. Associated Press (February 2, 2023). "IOWA SNIFFS OUT ILLINOIS STUDENT PRANK AHEAD OF SATURDAY'S GAME". FoxSports.com. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
9. 2019-20 Big Ten Media Guide
10. "Illinois Fighting Illini Men's Basketball School History". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
11. "Iowa Hawkeyes Men's Basketball School History". Retrieved February 23, 2023.
12. "Illinois Fighting Illini Index". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
13. "Iowa Hawkeyes Index". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
14. "Big Ten tournament All-Time Results" (PDF). BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 30, 2022. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
15. "Big Ten Conference Sports References". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
16. "NCAA College Basketball AP All-America Teams". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
17. "Naismith Award Records". NaismithTrophy.com. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
18. "Big Ten Player of the Year" (PDF). BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 30, 2022. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
19. "Big Ten Medal of Honor" (PDF). BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 30, 2022. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
20. "Illinois Fighting Illini Index". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2023-02-23.
21. "Iowa Hawkeyes Index". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2023-02-22.