CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The wind whipped at a consistent 25 mph Saturday, making the 37-degree temperature at Illinois Memorial Stadium feel a good 10 degrees colder and making any ball in the air -- punt, pass or kick -- an adventure.But Iowa knows how to handle this kind of game.The Hawkeyes struggled to a 7-0 halftime lead before turning the game over to LeShun Daniels Jr. and the defense on the way to a 28-0 win over the Illini.The shutout was the first for Iowa (7-4, 5-3 Big Ten) since a win over Ball State in 2010. Illinois had just 198 yards of offense, had as many first downs -- 10 -- as punts and never pushed inside the Iowa 30.Watching the defense work motivated the offense to put points on the board on a day when they were tough to come by, Hawkeyes quarterback C.J. Beathard said.Theyve been flying around and hitting guys and getting to the ball the last couple of weeks, said Beathard, who was 9 of 17 for just 80 yards and an interception. Theyve stacked a couple of really good games together defensively.Daniels had 159 yards on 26 carries, including second-half touchdowns of 1 and 50 yards that put the game away.Even with quarterback Wes Lunt back from an injured back and starting his first game since early October, Illinois (3-8, 2-6) struggled to deal with the conditions and the Hawkeyes defense.We dropped the balls when we got it to the receivers. It just wasnt a good day for our offense as a whole -- we couldnt get the running game going, Illinois coach Lovie Smith said.The wind was the only reason McCarron dropped deep on punt returns Saturday, joining Desmond King as a second return man to deal with the unpredictable flight of the ball, Ferentz said. And having McCarron back there paid off late in the first half.Standing at his own 45, he waited for the low, wind-driven punt from David Reisner to find him. When it did, he broke right and found little but open space on the way to a 55-yard touchdown and the 7-0 halftime lead.THE TAKEAWAYIowa: Coming off a big win over Michigan, the Hawkeyes struggled through the first half. McCarrons touchdown looked for a while like it might be the games only points. But Iowas defense kept its foot on the Illini for four quarters, denying them points even off a pair of first-half turnovers and keeping Lunt to 137 yards and an interception on 19-of-41 passing.Illinois: The Illini had first-half chances. But they failed to turn two turnovers and some good field position into points in their last home game of the season. Lost in the final score is a solid effort from a defense that Iowa wore down as the game went on. Iowa had 136 yards at halftime, had turned the ball over twice and, minus McCarrons punt return, hadnt scored.WIND TUNNELThink the stiff wind wasnt a factor? Iowa was so concerned about it that Ferentz chose to play with the wind at his teams back rather than receive the ball to open the third quarter. And the decision paid off. The Hawkeyes forced Illinois into a three-and-out possession to open the half, then comfortably drove 77 yards for Daniels first touchdown and a 14-0 lead.Ferentz remembered making a similar move once, in 2003 against Michigan State.It didnt work out too well up in East Lansing, he said. They promptly drove 80 yards.WHO NEEDS TO THROW?Four times in his career at Iowa, Beathard has thrown for fewer than 100 yards. All four times the Hawkeyes have won, at Wisconsin and Nebraska in 2015 and the past two weeks over Michigan and Illinois.LUNT TO GRANTLunt and Illinois receiver Zach Grant were high school teammates in Rochester, Illinois, just outside Springfield, and won a pair of state titles playing at Memorial Stadium. Grant came into the game with just 17 catches this season, but the connection between the two seniors was one of the few things that worked Saturday. Grant had eight catches for 65 yards and said the connection between the two felt a little like high school again.Now thinking about it, it did a little bit. It was nice to get rolling for sure, he said.UP NEXTIowa: The Hawkeyes close at home against No. 19 Nebraska next Saturday.Illinois: Illinois finishes up at Northwestern next Saturday.---More AP college football coverage: collegefootball.ap.orgFollow David Mercer on Twitter: (at)davidmercerAP Wholesale Nike Free Shoes Free Shipping . The 29-year-old from Port Colborne, Ont., has nothing but good things to say about former U.S. marine Liz (Girlrilla) Carmouche ahead of their co-main event Wednesday on the UFCs "Fight for the Troops" televised card in Fort Campbell, Ky. Cheap Nike Free Shoes Free Shipping . -- Jonathan Drouin gave Halifax the boost it needed to edge host Sherbrooke Phoenix 3-2 in a shootout in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. http://www.nikefreecheap.com/ . PETERSBURG, Fla. Cheap Nike Free Shoes Wholesale . "No difference at all," chirped U.S. roommate and linemate James van Riemsdyk. "Its still the same cranky Phil. Cheap Nike Free China Free Shipping .C. at the helm of the top team in the Eastern Conference. His tenure as the GM in Vancouver was all too brief. Though he led the Canucks to what was then a franchise record-shattering campaign in just his second season, Nonis was gone and replaced one year later. LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Dorian Pickens had 21 points and Reid Travis added 16 as Stanford beat Seton Hall 66-52 Sunday in the fifth-place game at the AdvoCare Invitational.Pickens picked up nine points in a 15-1 surge as Stanford (6-1) grabbed a 43-31 advantage with 12:30 to play.Dorian is so smooth, so confident, so fluid, Stanford coach Jerod Haase said.Pickens averaged 18.3 points in his three invitational games.Our whole thing was how good Pickens is, Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said. Hes really picked it up from last year. Hes just a consistent, solid player.Khadeen Carrington scored 20 points for Seton Hall (4-2). His layup cut the Pirates deficit to 48-42 with eight minutes remaining, but Seton Hall would get no closer down the stretch.Seton Hall shot just 28 percent (7 for 25) in the second half, and 38 percent overall (19 for 50).Stanford made 24 of 57 shots (42.1 percent), and went 16 for 17 from the free-throw line.Travis and Pickens had four points each during an 8-0 run that pulled Stanford even at 26 at halftime.They punched us in the mouth the first 10 minutes and we kind of stumbled back, Haase said. I challenged them. Im so proud of how they bounced back and contained it for the last 30 minutes..ddddddddddddBIG PICTURESeton Hall continues to get strong offense from Carrington, who entered averaging 18.9 points in his previous 11 games, dating to last season. He averaged 21 over the three invitational games, including a 28-point performance in Thursdays 81-76 loss to Florida.Travis had seven rebounds for Stanford and missed out on his third double-double of the invitational due in part to getting his third foul early in the second half. After missing the final 22 games last season with a leg injury, the juniors performance thus far bolds well for the rest of the season.SECOND SESSIONSSeton Hall went 1-2 in the invitational, getting outscored in the second half by an average of 10 points in losses to Florida and Stanford. The Pirates lead Florida by one after the first half and was tied in Sundays game.BETTER TIMESStanford closed out the invitational with two wins after losing 67-53 to Miami in the opening round. The Cardinal beat Indiana State 65-62 for their other win.UP NEXTSeton Hall: Hosts Columbia Thursday night.Stanford: Goes against No. 15 St. Marys at home Wednesday night. 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