THE SETTING
The Iowa Hawkeyes (9-7, 2-3) travel to Champaign, IL, Thursday to face the Illinois Fighting Illini (4-13, 0-6). Tip-off is slated for 7:05 p.m. in Assembly Hall.
ON THE INTERNET
Hawkeye fans can watch Thursday night’s game for free online at bigtennetwork.com.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Thursday will be the 59th meeting between Iowa and Illinois, with the Hawkeyes boasting a 42-16 advantage. The 42 victories are the most the Hawkeyes have against any other team. Iowa has won 39 of the last 46 meetings, including seven of the last eight. Iowa owns a 17-10 advantage in games played at Champaign, including winning the last four.
The Hawkeyes and Fighting Illini only played once last season, with Iowa coming out victorious (60-58) at Assembly Hall on Jan. 21, 2008.
IOWA, ILLINOIS CONNECTIONS
Illinois second-year Head Coach Jolette Law is a 1990 graduate of the University of Iowa. Law, who was a 1990 all-American, played four years (1986-90) for former Iowa and Hall of Fame Coach C. Vivian Stringer. Law currently ranks 17th in Iowa career scoring (1,137), sixth in steals (205) and seventh in assists (353). The Hawkeyes won or shared four Big Ten championships, reached the Elite Eight twice and helped Iowa win 46-straight home games during her career.
SCOUTING ILLINOIS
Thursday concludes a stretch of playing four of five games at home for Illinois.
After starting the season 3-0, Illinois has fell on hard times losing 13 of the next 14 games, including seven straight after last night’s loss to Ohio State.
Illinois has had difficulty scoring. The fighting Illini have scored 48 points or fewer in five of the last six games, including their last four contests.
Ohio State posted a convincing 67-35 triumph over Illinois Monday night in Champaign. The Buckeyes outscored the Fighting Illini 40-15 in the second half. Illinois yielded 14 fastbreak points and 28 paint points. Jenna Smith and Lacey Simpson paced the Buckeyes, scoring 14 and 12 points, respectively. Simpson also collected a game-high six steals.
The Fighting Illini have a solid front court, paced by Smith and Simpson. Smith averages a team-best 17.5 points and 2.0 blocks. Smith ranks second in rebounds (7.5). Simpson averages a team-best 8.2 rebounds and 3.3 steals. She also ranks second in scoring (11.2).
Illinois has made only 52 triples this season, shooting only 24.8 percent from behind the 3-point arc. The Fighting Illini were 0-8 from long distance vs. Ohio State.
Jolette Law is in her second season as a head coach, both years at Illinois. Her record is 24-28 (.462) on the Fighting Illini sidelines. Last season, Law guided Illinois to the championship game of the Big Ten Tournament.
IOWA, ILLINOIS NOTES
• Ten of Iowa’s 16 games have been decided by 17 points or more (6-4).
• Iowa boasts a perfect 8-0 record when allowing 59 points or less and are 9-1 when shooting a higher field goal percentage than its opponents this season.
• Eight Big Ten teams already have at least two losses. Furthermore, six squads already have three defeats or more.
• Kristi Smith collected her 350th career assist at Indiana. She dished out four assists vs. Minnesota to surpass Nadine Domond for sixth on Iowa’s all-time assists chart. The senior is 10 from passing Steph Schuler and cracking the top five. Smith passed Illinois Head Coach and former Hawkeye Jolette Law on the career assists chart last week.
• Iowa players have corralled double-digit rebounds 13 times this season. JoAnn Hamlin has accomplished the feat a team-best six times, while Kachine Alexander has reached double-digit rebounds five times and Wendy Ausdemore has done it twice.
• Iowa has held eight of the nine teams it has defeated to 58 points or less.
• JoAnn Hamlin and Kachine Alexander lead the team in rebounding, averaging 7.6 and 7.3, respectively. Hamlin ranks eighth in league rebounding, while Alexander ranks 11th.
• Iowa has had six different players lead the team in scoring through 16 games. Megan Skouby has shared or led the squad in scoring a team-best six times.
• Last season, Megan Skouby blocked 23 shots in 32 games; she already has amassed 32 through 16 games this season. She currently sits third on Iowa’s career rejections list with 139. She is only seven blocks from surpassing Toni Foster for second. Skouby has blocked at least one shot in seven-consecutive games.
• Kristi Smith has reached double figures a team-best 11 times.
• Iowa has an RPI rating of 27th in the country and strength of schedule that ranks third. The Hawkeyes’ strength of schedule is tops in the Big Ten. Illinois is rated 105th in the RPI and fourth in strength of schedule. The numbers are based on the report published Jan. 13.
ON THE HORIZON
Iowa returns home to host Northwestern Sunday. Tip-off is slated for 2:05 p.m. inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
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