IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — John Groce spent the off-week with his team focused on toughness and togetherness. It's already paying off.
Malcolm Hill scored 21 points and hauled down eight rebounds and Illinois held on for a 70-66 win over Iowa on Saturday. The Illini took the lead in the final minutes on a Hill layup and fended off several Iowa chances late to win their second true road game of the season.
"We gave great effort," Groce said. "It took every ounce of that effort to come out of here with a win. They showed great mental and physical toughness. That's what I'm most proud of."
Michael Finke, Jalen Coleman-Lands and Te'Jon Lucas each scored 12 points for the Illini (15-12, 5-9 Big Ten).
Lucas blocked Jordan Bohannon's go-ahead layup attempt in the final two minutes to protect Illinois' 62-61 lead, and then Coleman-Lands knocked down a corner 3-pointer with 1:32 left.
Peter Jok had 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead Iowa (14-13, 6-8). The Hawkeyes have lost three straight.
Iowa had plenty of chances late. The Hawkeyes missed five of their six shots in the final 1:45 and had a nearly seven-minute stretch without a field goal earlier in the second half.
"It usually comes down to a mistake or two," Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said. "We did so many good things, and we did some things that obviously weren't as good, and they capitalized on those."
Tyler Cook had 14 points and Bohannon added 11 for Iowa.
UP NEXT
Illinois returns home on Tuesday to face in-state rival Northwestern (7 pm on BTN). The Illini knocked off the Wildcats earlier this month in Evanston, 68-61.
ILLINOIS POSTGAME NOTES
• The win completed a regular season sweep of Iowa for the Fighting Illini. Illinois beat the Hawkeyes in Champaign, 76-64, on Jan. 25.
• Illinois leads the all-time series vs. Iowa 85-71 and has won three straight over the Hawkeyes.
• Senior Malcolm Hill scored 21 points to bring his career total to an even 1,700, moving past Illini great Eddie Johnson (1,692) and into seventh place on the Illinois career scoring list.
» It was Hill's 10th game of 20+ points this season and the 30th of his career. He has scored in double-figures in 21 straight games.
» Hill led the Illini in rebounding with eight boards and also added four assists and two steals.
• Freshman guard Te'Jon Lucas scored a career-high 12 points, marking his third straight game in double figures. He scored 11 points in each of the last two games (at NW and vs. PSU).
