LINCOLN, Neb. – The University of Iowa men’s basketball team fell at Nebraska, 66-50, on Thursday night at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Iowa moves to 8-5 on the season and 0-2 in conference play.
Junior Kris Murray finished as the game’s leading scorer with 17 points in his return to the Hawkeye lineup after missing the last four games due to injury. Murray finished with eight rebounds, three blocks, two assists and a steal against the Cornhuskers.
Fifth-year Filip Rebraca dished out his fourth double-double of the season with 16 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Rebraca and Murray combined for 66 percent of Iowa’s scoring production.
Iowa shot 26 percent (19-of-73) from the floor and 7-of-25 (.250) from behind the arc. Nebraska won the rebounding battle, 54-40, to help snap a four-game Hawkeye winning streak in the series.
HEAR FROM HEAD COACH FRAN MCCAFFERY
“I would have hoped [an inflection point] would have happened after the last game. We had two really good practices before we came up here. I thought we were really good in terms of being locked in and focused, which you would have expected coming off of a tough loss. We have got to do a better job of managing those situations where everybody is frustrated because you have four, five, six or seven possessions in a row where you feel like it is not that bad, but you can’t get anything to drop. They hit a couple threes, and all of the sudden you look up and you are down 12, 13 or 15. At the end of the day, you have to play the game with a greater sense of urgency defensively. Especially when the ball is not dropping.”
HAWKEYE NOTABLES
- Nebraska snapped a four-game losing streak to Iowa with tonight’s win.
- Forward Kris Murray returned to action tonight after missing the last four games (lower body injury). Guard Connor McCaffery also returned to action tonight after missing Iowa’s last game (wrist sprain).
- Senior Filip Rebraca posted is fourth double-double of the season, scoring 16 points and grabbing a game and season-best 13 rebounds.
- Junior Kris Murray registered game bests in points (17) and blocks (3), while also clearing eight rebounds in 36 minutes of action.
- Iowa was held to season lows in points (50), field goal percentage (.260), and free throws made (5) and attempted (8).
- Iowa missed 25 of its first 28 field-goal attempts; Nebraska went on a 20-0 run spanning 8+ minutes in the first half.
- Iowa falls to 1-1 in true road games this season.
UP NEXT
Iowa (8-5, 0-2) will continue league play on Sunday at Penn State (10-3, 1-1). Tipoff is scheduled for 4:31 p.m. (CT) at the Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, Pennsylvania.
