The Illinois basketball team needed to turn things around, and they did just that on Sunday against Penn State.

IOWA CITY — Iowa men's basketball lost to Illinois 75-69 on Sunday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes battled back from an 18-point deficit. Tavion Banks was Iowa's leading scorer with 16 points despite battling an illness.

It is never easy to play in March, but the Illinois basketball team has a juicy road in the latest NCAA tournament prediction.

Ben McCollum meets with media after Iowa basketball's 75-69 loss to Illinois. Tyler Tachman. More Videos. Iowa State basketball coach TJ Otzelberger on getting teams' best shot

Illinois Fighting Illini men’s basketball announced it had signed Andrej Stojakovic on April 28, 2025. Stojakovic said former Pac-12 rival Kylan Boswell was key to recruiting him to Champaign. Boswell played two seasons at Arizona before transferring to Illinois.

See why I’m backing Ben McCollum and the boys with my Illinois vs. Iowa predictions and college basketball picks below. Illinois vs Iowa prediction. Illinois vs Iowa best bet: I

Keaton Wagler scored 19 points, Andrej Stojakovic and Kylan Boswell each had 17 and No. 16 Illinois continued to win on the road in the Big Ten Conference, holding off No. 19 Iowa 75-69.