IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa men’s basketball team flew past the Omaha Mavericks, 100-64, Monday night on Mediacom Court at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Junior Kris Murray finished with a career-high 30 points, along with seven rebounds, two blocks and one assist to lead Iowa to victory.
Murray posted 25 points in the first half, shooting 11-of-13 (.846) and 3-of-4 (.750) from behind the arc in the first 20 minutes. He finished the game shooting 13-of-17 (.765) from the floor with four three-pointers through 29 minutes of play. Murray led the Hawkeyes with a +/- 33 on the contest.
Redshirt junior Patrick McCaffery was next for Iowa with 16 points, including 7-of-7 shooting from the free throw line. McCaffery posted five rebounds, three assists and three steals against the Mavericks.
Graduate student Connor McCaffery recorded 12 points of his own, shooting at an 80 percent (4-of-5) clip from the field.
Fifth-year Filip Rebraca led the game with eight rebounds to go with eight points, one block and one assist. Sophomore Payton Sandfort tallied eight points and six rebounds.
Freshman Josh Dix scored nine points on three triples, while junior Ahron Ulis and freshman Dasonte Bowen each added seven points to the Hawkeye total.
Iowa shot 12-of-26 (46 percent) from three-point range against Omaha. The Hawkeyes dominated the battle on the boards, 40-29, while converting 20 fastbreak points on the night and tallying 40 points in the paint.
HEAR FROM HEAD COACH FRAN MCCAFFERY
“I think the important thing over these first four games was that a lot of guys get minutes, because we are going to play back-to-back games (later this week) and we are going to need bodies. For the most part everybody has played well. We have locked into the game plan and executed the game plan and that’s critical. As we move forward and play really good teams you have to say with the game plan and execute it, and they have proven that they can do that.”
HAWKEYE NOTABLES
- Kris Murray netted 25 of his game and personal-best 30 points in the first half. Murray was an efficient 11-of-13 from the field, including 3-of-4 from long distance, in the first half. The junior finished the game with a career-high four triples made.
- Kris Murray sank Iowa’s first six field goals of the game and seven of its first eight.
- Murray has scored 22 points or more in each of Iowa’s last three contests. He has totaled 20 points or more five times in his career.
- Patrick McCaffery and Connor McCaffery combined for 28 points. Patrick registered 16 points, making all seven free-throw attempts, while Connor scored a season-best 12 points.
- For a span of 16:17 in the first half (17:13-00:56), Iowa made 18 of its 23 field goal attempts (.732).
- Iowa has scored 83+ points in each of its four games.
- The Hawkeyes have led by double digits at halftime in each of their first four games.
- Iowa was without starting guard Tony Perkins tonight due to injury. Perkins is day-to-day (thigh).
- Iowa has won 80 of its last 85 nonconference home games, dating back to 2012.
UP NEXT
Iowa (4-0) returns to action on Friday against Clemson (4-1) in the semifinals of the Emerald Coast Classic. Tipoff is scheduled for approximately 6 p.m. (CT) at The Arena in Niceville, Florida.
