By Hawk Fanatic

IOWA CITY, Iowa –A 15th-place finish in the Big Ten standings obviously wasn’t the goal for the Iowa men’s basketball team, or for any of the 18 teams in the conference.

But under the current circumstances, Fran McCaffery’s squad probably would take finishing 15th because that would at least be good enough to make the Big Ten Tournament, which only takes the top 15 teams.

The bottom three teams in the conference will be left at home to wonder what could have been.

Iowa, with a 6-10 record in conference play, still has plenty of work to do to avoid being one of three teams that doesn’t make the Big Ten Tournament.

The Hawkeye aren’t alone, however, as there are currently 10 teams in the conference with four to seven wins and each of those 10 teams probably will have to win at least one or two more games to make the conference tournament.

Iowa’s next chance to improve its standing will come on Tuesday when it faces Illinois in Champaign, Illinois.

And while the Fighting Illini have all but clinched a spot in the conference tournament with a 9-8 record, they’re not playing very well right now, having dropped three straight games — all to nationally-ranked opponents — to fall to 17-11 overall and 9-8 in Big Ten play.

Illinois lost at home against No. 11 Michigan State (79-65), at No. 11 Wisconsin (95-74) and a rare late season neutral site game against No. 3 Duke (110-67) in the Sentinel One Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Illinois is 4-7 in its last 11 games. The Illini are 11-4 at home (5-3 at home in Big Ten play).

Iowa, meanwhile, has lost eight of its last 11 games, but is coming off an 85-79 victory over Washington this past Saturday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Senior forward Payton Sandfort scored 20 of his 27 points in the second half against Washington.

The Waukee native tested the NBA draft process last spring before deciding to return for his final season.

Payton Sandfort wanted to play one more year with his younger brother, Iowa sophomore forward Pryce Sandfort, and he wanted to lead Iowa to the NCAA Tournament after falling short last season.

The only chance Iowa has of making the NCAA Tournament would be to earn an automatic bid by winning the Big Ten Yournament.

But first Iowa has to make the Big Ten Tournament before that unlikely scenario could have a chance play out.

“We’ve worked so hard and we haven’t had all the bounces go our way this year,” Payton Sandfort said after the win over Washington. “We haven’t played our best at times. But we’ve stayed together and I’ve always stressed that to everybody. Just stay together and it will give us a chance because you see teams that spiral, they just completely fall apart and they start blaming each other and doing all that.

“But we’ve loved each other and we’ve been with each other through all the tough losses, all the injuries, all the guys that have been out, and it’s hard. I want these guys to see success. I think a lot of these guys deserve it. I’ve seen it here at Iowa. But all I’ve ever wanted for the last two years was for some of these younger guys to see success and have fun with this because it’s fun journey.

“It’s been hard, but that’s what makes days like this rewarding. You stay in the fight and you keep fighting.”

Four Illinois players are averaging in double figures with Kasparas Jakucionis leading the team at 15.5 points per game. The freshman guard also averages 5.6 rebounds and a team-high 4.8 assists, while ranking second on the team with 43 3-pointers and 26 steals.

Tomislav Ivisic is averaging 12.4 points and a team-best eight rebounds and 29 blocks. He also has a team-high nine double-doubles.

Will Riley averages 11.7 points and Kylan Boswell 11.0. Ben Humrichous has a team-best 53 3-pointers for a squad that averages 9.2 3s per game.

The Illini have a productive bench, as the unit combines to average 27.36 points — second most in the conference.

Illinois is the top rebounding team in the Big Ten (43.29) and is second nationally. The squad averages 30.07 defensive and 13.21 offensive rebounds — both tops in the league.

Iowa (15-12, 6-10) vs. Illinois (17-11, 9-8)

When: Tuesday, 8 p.m.

Where: Champaign, Illinois, State Farm Center (15,544)

TV: FS1

Radio: Hawkeye Radio Network

All-time series: Tuesday’s game is the 170th meeting in the all-time series that dates back to 1908 — a 46-36 Hawkeye win in Iowa City. The Fighting Illini have won two straight and seven of the last eight in the series, dating back to March 8, 2020. Illinois swept the season series last season, winning 95-85 in Champaign and 73-61 in Iowa City.

Illinois has won four straight games in the series in Champaign with Iowa’s last win at the State Farm Center coming in 2018 — 104-97 in overtime. Three of the last four meetings in Champaign have been decided by five points or less.

Editor’s note: Hawkeyesports.com contributed to this report