Iowa Hawkeyes Take First Place Alone in Big Ten After Beating Illinois

Another Sunday game, another win for the Iowa Hawkeyes (19-4, 10-1 Big Ten).  This one was over the Illinois Fighting Illini (11-13, 3-8 Big Ten).  Coming into this one, the Hawkeyes had lost 11 of their last 12 at Champaign, the only win coming the last time they played there in 2014.  So, even though the Illini came in banged-up and coming off of a triple overtime win on the road at lowly Rutgers, the Hawkeyes did not come in thinking that this was going to be an easy game.  It was close early on, with the Hawkeyes leading by nine at the half.  But, the Hawkeyes got up by twenty early in the second half, and the Fighting Illini could never fight their way fully back into this one.
Seniors Adam Woodbury and Jarrod Uthoff came up big with double-doubles. Woodbury had 10 points and 14 rebounds, with five of those being offensive.  Uthoff had 18 points and 12 rebounds, a very quiet double-double if there is such a thing.  For the Illini, Malcom Hill had 14 points and 8 assists, and Jalen Coleman-Lands added 17 points on five three pointers and 1 rebound.
That wasn't the only good thing that happened for the Hawks. On Saturday night, the Indiana Hoosiers lost at an awful Penn State team in Happy Valley, the team that the Hawkeyes beat on Wednesday.  That put the Hoosiers at 9-2, with a brutal week ahead.  Number five Iowa on Thursday, and at Number 10 Michigan State on Sunday.  In total, they play four top ten teams and five ranked teams the rest of the season. 
 Number one Oklahoma Sooners lost at Kansas State, and number two North Carolina Tar Heels lost at Louisville and at Notre Dame.  With the top two teams losing this week, the Hawkeyes will most likely move into the top three, and might get some first place votes.  The top three will probably be Villanova, Maryland, and Iowa.  Those three can be in any order, as Maryland and Iowa were only separated by seven points.
Right now, Maryland is behind Iowa by half a game and has the head-to-head tiebreaker.  So, Iowa will probably need to be 16-2 or 17-1 to win the Big Ten outright, which is very possible, considering their remaining schedule.  I would expect them to win out, or have their only loss be the final game at Michigan.  I think Maryland will lose at Purdue, and finish 15-3.  Iowa has played the toughest schedule of the contenders, and it would be more impressive than any other team winning it.  It'll be a great finishing weeks in the always interesting Big Ten race.