Fran McCaffery
Iowa has made a habit of suffering embarrasing losses at the Big Ten Tournament. Thursday was no different. The Hawkeyes roared back an 11 point deficit in the waning moments to tie the game but once again failed to make the key plays in a 68-66 loss to Illinois.
“I was proud of our intensity level and our effectiveness in that sense”, said Iowa coach Fran McCaffery. “When you are a senior I think you should realize tournament play is different. It just is.”
Peter Jok and Jarrod Uthoff combined to score 50 points but needed help and the Hawkeyes finished the game with 18 turnovers.
“You can’t win a tournament game turning the ball over 18 times.”
It is the third straight year that Iowa has lost in the opening round to a low seed.