When his putback fell through the net, Tyler Cook let out a fist-pump in a mix of relief and ecstasy. After the ensuing foul shot, the sophomore forward had brought Iowa’s lead over Illinois to double-digits with just over eight minutes to go. That was more than enough for the 12th-seeded Hawkeyes to cruise past 13th-seeded Illinois the rest of the way for a 96-87 victory in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament at Madison Square Garden.
“I was able to finish through contact,” Cook said, “then I get the and-one, so, those moments in the game, I’m always [feeling] high.”
In the Big Ten tourney’s Broadway debut, Iowa earned a date with Michigan, the fifth seed, on Thursday in the second round. Sophomore guard Jordan Bohannon led the way for the Hawkeyes (14-18) with 25 points and six assists, while freshman forward Luka Garza had 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting along with eight rebounds.
“Obviously anytime you get to play in Madison Square Garden and first time being here and something new,” Bohannon said. “Always want to do when you grow up is play at Madison Square Garden.”
Iowa jumped out to a 17-5 lead with just over 12 minutes to go in the first half, but Illinois (14-18) managed to pull within four points at halftime — about as much as coach Brad Underwood could have asked for earlier on.
“When you’re playing Illinois, they’re going to keep coming,” Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery said. “They fight you.”
The Hawkeyes slammed the door shut with a Bohannon 3-pointer that brought the lead back to seven with 9:55 to go in the game.
“Whenever you see that first shot go in as a shooter, you think the next couple are gonna go in as well,” Bohannon said. “So, whenever you have that mindset keep firing, I was getting open shots from my teammates, so it was big time for us.”
Though Illinois managed to cut the deficit to six with just over a minute remaining, thanks in part to poor free-throw shooting from the Hawkeyes, the comeback simply fell short
“[Losing is] a different feeling,” Underwood said. “I’ve never been done in February before ever.”