Iowa Beats Northwestern, 86-70

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa men’s basketball team defeated Northwestern, 86-70, on Tuesday night on Mediacom Court at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa improves to 14-8 on the season and a winning 6-5 record in Big Ten play. The Hawkeyes celebrated the life and legacy of Chris Street throughout the evening.

Northwestern jumped out to an early lead, but a coast-to-coast layup from freshman Josh Dix tied things up with eight minutes remaining in the first half. The Wildcats would regain the advantage, however, and a step-back 3-pointer would extend the Northwestern lead by nine points with 3:30 left before the break.

Junior Kris Murray immediately answered with a three of his own on the ensuing possession, sparking a comeback that ended with a Payton Sandfort 3-pointer to tie things up at 39 each heading into halftime.

The second half proved to be a back-and-forth battle, until fifth-year Filip Rebraca helped force some distance with eight straight Hawkeye points starting at just under the seven-minute mark. The sequence included a forceful dunk down low and a driving transition layup to give Iowa its first double-digit lead of the game.

The Wildcats responded with a pull-up jumper, but Sandfort answered with a six-point possession following an and-one opportunity on a 3-pointer and an ensuing technical foul assessed to the Northwestern bench, putting Iowa up, 79-65.

The Hawkeyes broke things open from there, as another Sandfort triple put Iowa up 16 with just over two minutes left in regulation.

Rebraca finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and a block to secure his ninth double-double of the year, a team best. He was an efficient 9-of-13 (69 percent) from the floor while leading the Hawkeyes to a, 33-24, rebounding advantage.

Sandfort also posted 20 points, shooting a lights-out 5-of-7 from behind the arc. He notched five assists and four rebounds en route to the fifth 20-point performance of his career.

Five Hawkeyes scored double-digits, with Murray finishing next for Iowa with 16 points and eight rebounds. Junior Tony Perkins had 12 points, while graduate student Connor McCaffery scored 11 points including a pair of triples.

Iowa shot 56 percent (29-of-52) from the floor and 10-of-21 (48 percent) from 3-point range. The Hawkeyes were 82 percent (18-of-22) from the charity stripe and registered 17 assists on 29 field goals.