By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – It only counts as one loss, but the damage it brings goes far beyond just numbers.

The Iowa men’s basketball team had a chance to get a Quad 1 win on Senior Day, and almost certainly secure an NCAA Tournament bid for the fifth straight season, but then failed to meet the challenge in a deflating 73-61 loss against Illinois on Sunday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Illinois built a 30-11 lead and would go on to hold Iowa to a season low in points and sweep the season series.

Illinois also had a 50-33 advantage on the boards, including 10-3 on the offensive end.

With the loss, Iowa drops to a seven seed in the Big Ten Tournament, and still has some work to do to make the NCAA Tournament.

Iowa will face No. 10 seed Ohio State in the conference tournament on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

Iowa defeated the Buckeyes 79-77 on Feb. 2 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

In Sunday’s loss, junior forward Payton Sandfort led Iowa with 23 points, and sophomore guard Josh Dix finished with 13.

But they were the only Iowa players to score in double figures as senior guard Tony Perkins was held to just two points on 1-of-10 shooting from the field.

Graduate transfer forward Ben Krikke also was held to two points, which came on two free throws.

Senior forward Patrick McCaffery also was held to five points.

Perkins, Krikke, and Patrick McCaffery were all honored before Sunday’s game, and they had combined to score over 4,000 points in college, but were held to just nine overall.

That was just too much to overcome.

Iowa fell behind 17-2 and trailed by as many as 21 points in the first half, but then freshman point guard Brock Harding entered the game after Perkins picked up his second foul, and the comeback was on.

The 6-foot Moline native ignited the offense with his passing and his energy as he dished out six assists in the first half.

But he also scored six points in the first half, which is nearly double his 3.1 per-game average.

Iowa trailed 39-29 at halftime, but it could’ve been much worse.

And with Iowa’s ability to score points in a hurry, the game was far from over.

Illinois landed a huge early blow that staggered Iowa, but it wasn’t a knockout blow.

Illinois guard Terrance Shannon was spectacular in the first half, scoring 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field.

His ability to race from baseline to baseline, and to score in transition separates him from most players, and it also caused fits for Iowa in the first half.

Illinois shot 50 percent from the field in the first half and had a 24-14 rebounding advantage, while Iowa only shot 33.3 percent, including 1-for-6 from 3-point range, but Iowa still managed to chip 11 points off the 21-point deficit by halftime.

Perkins was also held scoreless in the first half, and yet, Iowa still stayed within striking distance.

The Hawkeyes cut the deficit to four points in the second half, but Illinois had an answer.

Iowa finished the regular season 18-13 overall and 10-10 in the Big Ten, and now enters the Big Ten Tournament probably having to win two games to make the NCAA Tournament.

So yes, this was a blown opportunity before a sellout crowd on Senior Day, and with an NCAA Tournament bid on the line.

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The 2024 Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament schedule is as follows:

Wednesday, March 13 (First Round)
Game 1 (#12 Maryland vs. #13 Rutgers) – 5:30 p.m. CT (Peacock)
Game 2 (#11 Penn State vs. #14 Michigan) – 25 minutes following Game 1 (Peacock)

Thursday, March 14 (Second Round)
Game 3 (#8 Michigan State vs. #9 Minnesota) – 11 a.m. CT (BTN)
Game 4 (#5 Wisconsin vs. Game 1 winner) – 25 minutes following Game 3 (BTN)
Game 5 (#7 Iowa vs. #10 Ohio State ) – 5:30 p.m. CT (BTN)
Game 6 (#6 Indiana vs. Game 2 winner) – 25 minutes following Game 5 (BTN)

Friday, March 15 (Quarterfinals)
Game 7 (#1 Purdue vs. Game 3 winner) – 11 a.m. CT (BTN)
Game 8 (#4 Northwestern vs. Game 4 winner) – 25 minutes following Game 7 (BTN)
Game 9 (#2 Illinois vs. Game 5 winner) – 5:30 p.m. CT (BTN)
Game 10 (#3 Nebraska vs. Game 6 winner) – 25 minutes following Game 9 (BTN)

Saturday, March 16 (Semifinals)
Game 11 (Game 7 vs. Game 8 winner) – 12 p.m. CT (CBS)
Game 12 (Game 9 vs. Game 10 winner) – 25 minutes following Game 11 (CBS)

Sunday, March 17 (Championship)
Game 13 (Game 11 vs. Game 12 winner) – 2:30 p.m. CT (CBS)