By Pat Harty

 IOWA CITY, Iowa – Teams don’t necessarily have to dislike each other to have an intense rivalry, but it sure helps.

Of course, it also helps for both teams to be good, and I bring this up because the Iowa men’s basketball team is preparing to face Illinois on Friday in Champaign, Ill.

It will be No. 7 Iowa’s first game in eight days, and the first time the teams have met since Illinois edged Iowa 78-76 in last season’s Big Ten finale on March 8, 2020.

That game was also played in Champaign, and was emotional and physical throughout, and chippy at times.

Iowa guard Connor McCaffery and Illinois guard Da’Monte Williams had to be separated late in the first half as tempers flared in a packed arena that was pre COVID-19.

Illinois All-Big Ten guard Ayo Dosunmu then described the nature of the rivalry during the post-game press conference.

“Basically, they want to kill us, and we want to kill them,” Dosunmu said. “I mean, there’s a respect factor, but on the court it’s pure hate. We just don’t like each other.”

Nearly a year later, nothing really has changed, at least on the court.

“I don’t really like anybody if I’m being honest with you,” Iowa point guard Joe Toussaint said Wednesday afternoon on a zoom conference. “That’s just how it is in basketball.

“Off court the court, I mean we’re friends. But on the court, I just don’t like anybody at all. So yah, I guess you could say that I don’t like them.”

Away from the court has seen lots of changes caused by the global pandemic, including the absence of fans at sporting events.

That will certainly impact the atmosphere on Friday in Champaign, but the game itself still should be hotly contested and highly emotional, and will be a chance for both teams to get a key conference win.

Iowa will try to avoid losing consecutive games for the first time this season, after having lost to Indiana in its most recent game, while No. 19 Illinois will try to avoid losing at home for the third time in conference play this season.

“I think I look at it like this: Every game in our league is intense, physical, a lot of emotion,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said Wednesday on a zoom conference. “They were two good teams just going at it last year. Both games came down to the last 30 seconds. And we have respect for them, just knowing who they have, and they’ve proven the last couple years that they’re a team capable of winning at this level, and they’re a team that I think no matter who they play is going to have that team’s full attention.”

Iowa and Illinois split their two games last season, with the Hawkeyes winning 72-65 on Feb. 2 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Even with their dislike of each other, there seems to be a level of respect that both teams have earned from having had success.

“I think when it comes to the rivalry, I think it’s just probably because we’re both better than we have been,” said Connor McCaffery, who is Fran McCaffery’s son. “This is like their up-and-coming team in terms of what their fans base thinks. They’re really good.

“Us, we’ve had really good teams. But this is the first time we’ve both kind of been at kind of like a peak, I guess you might say. I think that’s why see all the attention and all excitement heading up to the game.”

Connor McCaffery brings up a good point because it’s hard to get excited about a rivalry between two mediocre teams.

Iowa and Illinois are far from mediocre, and they play at a fast pace and feature some of the conference’s top players.

Iowa and Illinois both were considered Big Ten preseason favorites, but right now, Michigan sits atop the conference standings.

And while the conference race is far from over, the loser on Friday will have less margin for error, especially in the case of Illinois, which already has three losses in conference play.

The Fighting Illini (10-5, 6-3) have struggled with consistency this season, losing back-to-back games at home to Maryland and Ohio State.

But Illinois also enters Friday’s game having won five of its last seven contests, so maybe its problems are being solved.

The Iowa players have had to wait for a nearly a year to get another shot at the Fighting Illini.

The two-point loss on March 8 would prove to be Iowa’s final game as the nation basically was shutdown less than a week later in response to the outbreak of the coronavirus.

Iowa made a spirted comeback in the second half against Illinois last March, only to fall short at the end as Luka Garza had his shot denied by Illinois center Kofi Cockburn.

Garza took an inbounds pass in the lane with 1.6 seconds left, and with 290-pound Cockburn leaning on him. Thinking he had no time to dribble, Garza tried to get a quick shot off from his shoulder, but it was denied by Cockburn.

“Obviously, when your season ends, you always think about the last game because it’s just the last imprint on your mind,” Garza said Wednesday. “And, obviously, that game was a great game. We kind of got down in a hole, but we fought back and got ourselves back in the game. A lot of players made some key plays down the stretch.

“It was a tough one, and obviously, coming down to the last shot and me not being able to get a good shot off. We didn’t have that much time. But it’s definitely something that sticks in your head.”

Iowa could be without sophomore guard C.J. Fredrick whose status is listed as day-to-day by Fran McCaffery because of lower leg injury.

Fran McCaffery said Wednesday’s that he didn’t have an update on Fredrick, who missed the second half of the Indiana game. Fran McCaffery also said there is a chance that Fredrick’s injury could linger, but without being specific.

“A lot of times coaches say day-to-day because they’re trying to duck the questions, but it’s really legitimately day-to-day with him,” Fran McCaffery said.

Freshman forward Keegan Murray started in the second half against Indiana.

With or without the 6-foot-3 Fredrick, Iowa will face a stiff challenge on Friday against a talented team, and on its home court.

The atmosphere won’t be quite as intense without fans, but sometimes, even the visiting players feed off the energy from a hostile crowd.

Iowa and Illinois have something good brewing right now, sort of reminiscent of the late 1980s when the rivalry was tense and competitive.

And that’s ultimately good for the Big Ten.

Iowa vs. Illinois

When: Friday, 8 p.m.

Where: State Farm Arena, Champaign, Ill.

TV: FS1

Radio: Hawkeye Radio Network

All-time series: Illinois holds an 86-76 advantage in the series. The Hawkeyes have won five of the last six over the Illini. The two teams split last year’s two meetings, with each team winning on its home court. The Hawkeyes won in Iowa City (72-65) on Feb. 2, while the Fighting Illini held on in Champaign (78-76) on March 8, 2020. Illinois’ victory over Iowa in last season’s regular season finale snapped Iowa’s five-game win streak over the Illini. Illinois holds a 63-17 advantage in games played in Champaign. Iowa has won three of the last five meetings at the State Farm Center.