IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Midway through the second half, an Iowa fan won a half-court challenge with a swish at the buzzer. The Hawkeyes’ hot shooting must have been contagious. Freshman Joe Wieskamp matched a career high with 24 points and No. 23 Iowa shot 68 percent from the field in routing Illinois 95-71 on Sunday for its fifth straight victory.

Isaiah Moss scored a season-high 21 points and Luka Garza added 20 for the Hawkeyes (16-3, 5-3 Big Ten), who shot 34 of 50 from the field to set a record for Carver-Hawkeye Arena. They hit 12 of their first 14 3-point attempts and 15 overall to blow past the young but talented Fighting Illini (5-13, 1-6). Iowa shot 68.4 percent in the first half to jump ahead 39-24. Moss, Jordan Bohannon and Wieskamp then buried consecutive 3s to open the second half, and Moss capped that blistering run with a contested 3 near the Iowa bench to make it a 68-45 game.

Wieskamp and Moss combined to go 10 for 10 on 3s during that stretch. Iowa nearly broke the school record for 3-point percentage in a game, set 21 years ago at 75 percent against Northwestern, but walk-on Austin Ash missed a 30-footer in garbage time. The Hawkeyes finished 15 of 21 (71.4 percent) beyond the arc.

The Hawkeyes, who were languishing in the Big Ten cellar after starting 0-3, have a chance to make a major statement when sixth-ranked Michigan State visits on Thursday. Given how well Iowa has been playing lately, the Spartans should have cause for concern — even though they blasted Iowa 90-68 on Dec. 3. Beating Illinois won’t do much for Iowa’s ranking, but the Hawkeyes likely will move up a few spots because of losses by other teams at the back end of the poll.

Iowa hosts the Spartans on Thursday.