Jan 12, 2026
3 min read
Expert review and analysis of Iowa Hawkeyes NCAAM game Jan 11, 2026 vs Illinois Warriors Illini on ESPN.
I-Illinois Fighting Illini @ Iowa Hawkeyes
No. No. 16 Illinois built a big early lead, then held off No. 19 Iowa, 75-69
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- — Keaton Wagler scored 19 points, Andrei Stojakovic and Keelan Boswell had 17 each and No. 16 Illinois continued its Big Ten Conference winning streak with a 75-69 win over No. 19 Iowa on Sunday.
The Illini (13-3, 4-1) won their fifth straight game and are tied for third in the conference.All three of Illinois' wins in conference play have come on the road — the Illini also won against Ohio State and Penn State.
Illinois led 58-41 with 11:25 left when the Hawkeyes (12-4, 2-3) started to rally.They got within four points four times in the final two minutes of the game, including 71-67 with 55 seconds left with a chance to cut the lead even further, but Iowa's Bennett Stirtz missed a layup.
Iowa was almost completely without Stirtz, the season's leading scorer with 18 points per game.Stirtz picked up his fourth foul with 11:36 left in the match and went to the bench for seven minutes.The Hawkeyes outscored the Illini 18-10 at halftime.
Tevion Banks led Iowa with 16 points.Tate Sage had 13 points, Stirz had 12 points and Cooper Koch had 10 points.
Illinois controlled the first half.The Illini took an 8-0 lead after the first three minutes, getting a free kick as Iowa struggled on the other end of the field.The Hawkeyes had four missed shots and a turnover on their opening five possessions.
Illinois' largest lead of the first half was 29-11 with 7:34 to go to Iowa.The Hokies hit back-to-back 3-pointers late in the half, but failed to close within single digits at halftime, missing their final five shots.
Illinois: Wednesday at Northwestern.
Iowa: At No.5 Purdue on Wednesday.
For top-of-the-line updates on the AP Top 25 over time, click here and here (AP News mobile app).AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
Iowa City, IA
| TAGHICAF | GB | OVR |
|Nebraska |5-0 |- |16-0 |
|Purdue |5-0 |- |15-1 |
|Michigan| 4-1 | 4-1 1 | 14-1 | 14-1
|Michigan State |4-1 |1 |14-2 |
|Illinois |4-1 |1 |13-3 |
|Indiana |3-2 |2 |12-4 |
|Wisconsin |3-2 |2 |11-5 |
|UCLA |3-2 |2 |11-5 |
|Minnesota |3-2 |2 |10-6 |
|Ohio State |3-3 |2.5 |11-5 |
|CEC |2-3 |3 |13-3 |
|Iowa |2-3 |3 |12-4 |
|Washington |2-3 |3 |10-6 |
|Rutgers |2-4 |3.5 |9-8 |
|Oregon State |1-4 |4 |8-8 |
|Penn State |0-5 |5 |9-7 |
|Northwest |0-5 |5 |8-8 |
|Maryland |0-5 |5 |7-9 |
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