The Hot Corner: Iowa-Illinois
Matt Youmans, Review-Journal, 44-41-3 (overall record)
Today’s best bet: Iowa (+2½) over Illinois (Thursday)
It appears there is little fight left in the Illini, losers of eight of their past nine games with coach Bruce Weber on the way out. But the Hawkeyes continue to play hard for coach Fran McCaffery. Iowa (16-15, 8-10) finished two games ahead of Illinois in the Big Ten regular season. Senior guard Matt Gatens, averaging 15.7 points and hitting 42.9 percent of his 3s, must lead the Hawkeyes.