The Fighting Illini hosted Iowa on Tuesday night, and they finally looked back to normal as they cruised to an 81-61 win. Illinois came into this game having lost three games in a row, so this is a nice momentum builder ahead of the final stretch of the regular season.

It seems a foregone conclusion Cooper Flagg of Duke will become the top pick in this year’s NBA draft. Illinois coach Brad Underwood has a different idea.

Cooper Flagg has certainly lived up to the hype. So it seems a foregone conclusion the freshman phenom from Duke will become the top pick in this year’s NBA draft.

The 43-point defeat for Illinois was the most lopsided loss in school history, and left Illini coach Brad Underwood with no other choice but to heap praise on Duke star Cooper Flagg, who scored 16 points, while adding seven rebounds and five assists in 23 minutes of action.

Duke basketball star Cooper Flagg is urged to stay in school by a rival coach. Illinois basketball coach Brad Underwood is in awe of Flagg.

The ACC is down and few teams have offered Duke a challenge this season. But hammering Illinois, 110-67, at Madison Square Garden certainly helped the Blue Devils’ case.

On Saturday night, the Illini (17-10, 9-8 Big Ten) will suit up against No. 3 Duke (23-3, 15-1 ACC), marking the third consecutive season the Illini have played at MSG and the fifth time overall during Underwood’s tenure. So far, Underwood has compiled a 3-1 record, including three straight top-25 wins at the Garden.

On Saturday night, college basketball will be treated to something that was commonplace for decades but has become the exception to the rule over the past 15-or-so years: a marquee February nonconference game between two high-major programs.