The Illinois men’s basketball team hit their goal of 21 wins last week, beating Penn State. The Illini are finally getting healthy, and analysts around the country are moving them off the bubble and into the NCAA tournament.

Just don’t ask Bruce Weber about their tournament seeding.

“I’m (still) worried about getting in,” Weber said. “I think if you win Saturday, then you can go into the Big Ten tournament thinking maybe we can find a way to move up seeding-wise.”

Illinois heads to Iowa on Saturday to take on a Hawkeye team that may have just had their own bubble burst. A win there would give the Illini their first significant road victory and, in Weber’s mind, all but lock up a tournament bid.

The Hawkeyes are 8-7 in the Big Ten coming into the game, but they are reeling from an upset loss at Penn State on Wednesday. It would probably take a win over Illinois and several upsets in the Big Ten tournament to give them a shot at an NCAA bid. But the Hawkeyes have been an entirely different team in Iowa City, where only Wisconsin has escaped with a win.

“It’s senior night, so that’ll give them a boost right there,” junior forward Brian Randle said. “They’ve got every reason in the world to be pumped up and ready to play. We expect a high-intensity game, pretty emotional and probably pretty physical.”

Illinois already beat Iowa once, winning 74-70 in Champaign near the beginning of the conference season. It was one of their highest scoring totals in the Big Ten, but also one of their worst defensive performances. Since that meeting, both teams have revamped their defenses, with Illinois clamping down in recent weeks and Iowa all but abandoning the zone that they used early in the year.

Weber compared the game to the team’s narrow loss to Indiana three weeks ago, when the Illini hung close and led until the final minutes. He called that game a “big step” for the team, but said they needed to play even better to finish off a tough road win.

“If we do what we’ve done the last couple weeks . I think we can be in the game,” Weber said. “Now it comes down to execution at the end of the game. Can you make a play or two? We didn’t do it against Indiana, now can we do it against Iowa?”

Smith returns to practice

Although Jamar Smith and Bruce Weber mutually agreed that the sophomore guard would sit out the remainder of the basketball season, Smith has returned to practicing with the team. Smith started working out with the Illini “sometime this week,” sports information director Derrick Burson said Thursday.

Smith, who pleaded not guilty to two felonies last Wednesday, will not travel to Iowa for Saturday’s game, and will also not travel for postseason games. Burson said Smith is “still a part of the team” and has worked out alone and with other players at the Ubben Practice Facility.

Carter receives honor

Senior forward Warren Carter was named to the 2007 Division-I All-District Team, the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) announced Thursday. Carter, who is averaging 13.4 points per game and 6.3 rebounds per game, was selected to the District 11, Second Team. Joining him on the team are Randal Falker (Southern Illinois), Wilson Chandler (DePaul), Kammron Taylor (Wisconsin) and Jerel McNeil (Marquette).

The teams, which recognize the nation’s best student-athletes, were selected and voted on by member coaches of the NABC.

Erin Foley contributed to this report.