After a series of 7 wins, Illinois took 19th place in the Associated Press poll and took first place in the Big Ten. However, Illini gave up his first match in a month Sunday with a 72-65 loss. In fact, the wild game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena has 14 major changes. The defeat also ended a series of Illinois’ three-game road winning streak, while Iowa won the 10th match in a row at home.
Coaches On Both Sides Lost Their Temper
Illinois assistant coach, Chin Coleman, approached the Iowa coach, McCaffery, who is famous for his temperament, Chin Coleman was upset. McCaffery appeared to answer Coleman while assistant Jamal Walker of Illinois also chased.
McCaffery signaled to entice his players out of the way to shake hands and return to the tunnel. Reporters noticed that players were jawing at each other and some actions were not beautiful.
Both teams seemed to be angry. Joe Wieskamp used the remaining 12 seconds to lead Iowa by 10 points. Ayo Dosunmu appeared to confront Connor McCaffery in an internal match in the final seconds, and Illinois continued to make mistakes and play hard until the referee's whistle sounded.
In the opinion of many people, even if Coleman is not happy with Wieskamp's dunk, he should let it go.
Even if Fran McCaffery dislikes Coleman, he should articulate his dissatisfaction, he should keep his cool.
“It’s the same thing all the time. Any one of those situations, it comes down to, there’s two seconds to go. Why would you? The game’s over. But, you know, they played till the end. You can’t fault them for that. Then there’s pushing and shoving because a guy gets chopped. There’s no reason to get chopped there. Then you just go to the locker room. It’s unfortunate. Nothing major happened.” McCaffery told reporters.
Even if Fran McCaffery dislikes Coleman, he should articulate his dissatisfaction, he should keep his cool, move and shake hands with Illinois players. The coach's impatience has fueled the players' emotions. It is true to say that this could have become much worse.
“I don't know what happened at the end of the game. Appar probably more words than anything else. I haven’t looked at the video yet. ” Illinois coach Brad Underwood told reporters.
Luka Garza May Be Leading Candidate For Big Ten Player of the Year
Iowa went 15 minutes without scoring to start the game. After that, Iowa exploded for 11 points in less than 3 minutes and finished with 25 and 10 rebounds for his 13th brace.
In fact, the 6-foot-11 Garza dominated Illinois with his strength and flexibility. He made four 3-point high shots in his career in nine attempts and achieved 9 out of 16 goals, and he made Illinois giants Kofi Cockburn and Kipper Nichols difficult.
There is no denying that with Cockburn on the bench, both Giorgi Bezh Varvili and Nichols were no match for Garza
Andres Feliz's Contributions Off Bench Are Important for Illinois
The fact of the matter is that Iowa received 61 points from three starters as C.J. Fredrick and Joe Toussaint scored 18 each.
Feliz has been great coming off the Illinois bench. He scored 17 points for the second team in the second match in a row. He had another outstanding performance in Thursday's win over Minnesota. He shot 55% in the last three matches after making 6 of 11 matches against the Hawkeyes.
Both Kipper Nichols and Alan Griffin have scored six goals on the bench. Griffin returned after being banned from playing two matches for stepping on a Purdue player and making two big 3-point shots in the first half.
A Brutal February Provides Opportunity
Illinois may have made some separation in the rankings by beating Iowa. At the moment, Illini is one of three teams with three big losses. Maryland (7-3) was the game out of first. Besides, Rutgers (7-4) and Iowa are one game back while Penn State (6-4) is 1½ games behind
In fact, Illinois needs to win some tough upcoming games. Brad Underwood acknowledged the team's difficulty. He believes his team is ready for it.
“Isn’t that what it’s about. We have been fortunate. We have been able to go on a nice run in hostile environments. This is what we are bred for. This is what we are trying to be about. There is been a softness. We have been the pushover. We are not doing that,” Brad Underwood said.
Source: w88no1.com
