Hawkeyes Hope to Keep Rolling at Illinois

Iowa Going for Third Quad 1 Win in a Row Saturday in Champaign

Iowa's Tony Perkins (11) looks for an open teammate while being guarded by Illinois' Terrence Shannon Jr. on Feb. 4, 2023 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. (Rob Howe/HawkeyeNation.com)

Iowa’s men’s basketball team is on another February run.

The Hawkeyes are 34-14 in February since 2018, and they’re having another big month.

Iowa is 4-2 this month and takes a two-game winning streak into Saturday’s game at No. 12 Illinois.

The Hawkeyes (16-11 overall, 8-8 Big Ten) are trying to stack enough wins to improve their NCAA tournament resumé, and after wins over a ranked Wisconsin team and a road win against Michigan State could use another road victory against the Illini (19-7, 10-5).

February can be a cruel month to college basketball teams, given the length and the depth of the season. But coach Fran McCaffery’s recent teams have gotten through what can become dog days.

“There’s a lot of factors there,” McCaffery said during his media availability on Friday.

McCaffery cited the character of the rosters during this current stretch of success.

“Those teams that you're referencing, and we can go through the rosters, but if those teams had really good people,” he said.

Plus, he said, it comes down to knowing when to push your team and when to back off.

“It’s knowing and understanding that, OK, you get back at 3 a.m. from Maryland, and you’ve got Wisconsin in two days,” McCaffery said. “We're not going to have a 3 ½-hour practice. We're going to cover what we have to cover, and we're going to stretch and maybe get a lift in, lock into the game plan and get ready to play the next game. I mean, it's a long season.”

Health of a team is also important.

“You have to endure injury and sickness,” McCaffery said. “Somebody's going to get the flu. Somebody's going to have the sniffles. You get sprained ankles and you hope it's nothing more serious than that. Our training staff or strength conditioning staff, our coaching staff, and our players truly understand what's important and how hard to push. And you’ve got to stay healthy if you're going to do anything in February. You need your guys.”

McCaffery’s team is healthy and is playing what could be considered its best basketball of the season.

Iowa is coming off Tuesday’s 78-71 win at Michigan State. Payton Sandfort scored 22 points, and Ben Krikke added 18 points and 14 rebounds.

Krikke had scored just 21 points and had seven rebounds in his previous three games.

“I’m not surprised,” McCaffery said of Krikke’s play. “Ben is an awesome young guy. He’s incredibly competitive, very talented. You know, when I challenge somebody I don't ever challenge them to do what they can't do. I challenge them knowing what they can do and what they're capable of. And I told them what we need more from him, and he responded it's exactly what I expected to happen.”

The Illini, though, provide a difficult challenge, especially at home. They’re 13-2 at the State Farm Center.

Four players average in double figures, led by Terrence Shannon Jr.’s 22.1 points per game. Marcus Domask averages 15.5 points, Coleman Hawkins averages 12.3 points and Quincy Guerrier averages 10.4.

“It’s a very veteran oriented group,” McCaffery said of the Illini. “They are extremely athletic. They have multiple scorers. I think they're not only one of the best teams in our league, but one of the best teams in the country.”