IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa men’s basketball team never trailed on Friday night as it improved to 6-0 with an 85-51 win over Portland State on Mediacom Court at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
The Murray twins combined for 26 points in the first half to lead Iowa to a 31-20 advantage at the break. Sophomore Keegan Murray recorded 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting in the first half, while sophomore Kris Murray contributed five early points to the Hawkeye effort.
Redshirt sophomore Patrick McCaffery scored all of his points in the second half as the Hawkeyes pulled away in the final 20 minutes. McCaffery shot 5-of-6 from the field in the second period, including 3-of-3 on free throws and 1-of-2 from the 3-point line.
Keegan Murray would finish as the game’s leading scorer, posting 23 points, nine rebounds, two steals and a block in 27 minutes of play.
Kris Murray’s 13 points were the third-most for the Hawkeyes to go along with six rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal. Guard Tony Perkins was next with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting.
Senior Filip Rebraca registered five points and matched Murray for a team-best nine rebounds. The Hawkeyes grabbed 43 off the glass on Friday night while putting up 46 points in the paint.
Iowa got things done in the margins to pull away, including 23 points off turnovers, 17 second-chance points, and 20 fastbreak points.
QUOTING COACH MCCAFFERY
“I liked Kris [Murray] in both halves, but he produced more in the second half. I want him to be aggressive, just like his brother…
We have a lot of guys in new roles and give them an opportunity to grow and play through their mistakes over these first six games. I wanted to look at different combinations and have them play different positions. It’s going to get a lot tougher moving forward.”
OF NOTE
- Keegan Murray, the Big Ten’s leading scorer, led the team in scoring for the sixth straight game to start the season. The Big Ten’s leading scorer totaled 23 points, to go along with nine rebounds, two steals and a block.
- After missing the previous two games with a lower body injury, Patrick McCaffery returned to action tonight scoring 14 points.
- Tony Perkins netted 10 points, reaching double figures for the third time in four games.
- Connor McCaffery dished out a game and season-high seven assists.
- The Murray twins combined for 26 of Iowa’s 31 first-half points. Keegan netted 21 points, while Kris had five points in the first half.
- Iowa has won 76 of its last 81 nonconference home games, dating back to 2012.
- Iowa improved to 87-2 when holding opponents to fewer than 61 points over the last 12 seasons.
- The Hawkeyes had a 10-0 scoring run in the second half. Iowa has had scoring runs of 10-0 or more a combined nine times in six games.
- Tonight was the first meeting between the two teams.
UP NEXT
Iowa (6-0) will play at Virginia (5-2) in the Big Ten/ACC Men’s Basketball Challenge on Monday. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:01 p.m. (CT) at Jon Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia.