Iowa Tops Alabama State, 98-67

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa men’s basketball team defeated Alabama State, 98-67, on Mediacom Court at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Friday night. The Hawkeyes outscored the Hornets by 19 points in the second half en route to their second victory of the season.

With just over eight minutes remaining in the first half, a floater from freshman Brock Harding put the Hawkeyes back on top, 26-25. The Hawkeyes would never look back, leading for the remainder of the game. A barrage of 3s in the final few minutes of the first half pushed the advantage to 49-37 at the break.

The Hawkeyes dominated the second half, as they held Alabama State to just 28.1% (9-of-32) from the field, and 0-for-7 from behind the arc. The Hawkeyes played the entire second half without committing a turnover.

Junior Payton Sandfort posted a double-double, finishing with 17 points and 12 boards, which marked a new career high. Sandfort was the second leading scorer and he knocked down four 3-pointers.

Senior Patrick McCaffery led Iowa in the scoring column, pouring in 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting (58 percent). The forward was 6-of-6 from the free throw line.

Graduate student Ben Krikke displayed a wide variety of post moves as he added 13 points and six rebounds. Krikke was active on the defensive end as well, getting two steals.

Senior Tony Perkins filled out the stat sheet, scoring 12 points, grabbing five rebounds, dishing out three assists and blocking a shot.

Harding dished out seven assists in 15 minutes of play.

Twelve of the 14 Hawkeyes who entered the game scored.

HEAR FROM HEAD COACH FRAN MCCAFFERY

“More, impressively we had none in the second half [turnovers]. I think six is a little too many for 20 minutes. Both teams played fast and were aggressive so it wasn’t a horrible number. But, no turnovers in the second half and 27 assists on 33 field goals, that is who we are.”

“We don’t turn the ball over a lot. Our assists to turnover ratio numbers are always really good. We say all the time that we are going to push it on makes, we are going to push it on misses. But we don’t play crazy and we don’t turn it over.”

HAWKEYE NOTABLES

• The Hawkeyes had four players finish in double figures. (Iowa has had at least four players land in double digits in both games this season.)
• Senior Patrick McCaffery scored a team-high 22 points, making 7-of-12 field goals. It is his sixth career 20 point game.
o McCaffery scored eight of the first 12 and 10 of the first 16 points over the first 7 1/2 minutes.
• Junior Payton Sandfort tallied his first career double-double, finishing with 17 points and a career-high 12 rebounds. He made 5-of-13 field goals and 4-of-10 from 3-point range.
o Sandfort scored 12 points with three 3-pointers (and a four-point play) in a span 1:51 in the first half, turning a 35-32 lead into a 47-37 advantage.
o He has made four or more 3-pointers seven times in his career.
• The Hawkeyes finished with a season-high 27 assists on 33 field goals (81.8 percent). Iowa has 50 assists in two games.
o Dasonte Bowen (five assists) and Brock Harding (seven assists) combined for 12 assists. Harding has 14 assists in 25 minutes this season.
• Iowa committed six turnovers against the Hornets, zero in the second half. The team has 13 turnovers in two games.
• Run & Gun: The Hawkeyes had a 27-11 advantage in fast-break points against Alabama State. The team has a 54-14 advantage in fast-break points in two games.
• The Hawkeyes are 147-29 under head coach Fran McCaffery when scoring 80 or more points.

UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes head to Omaha, Nebraska, for their first road game — a Nov. 14 matchup at nationally ranked Creighton.  Game time is set for 9:10 a.m. (CT) for the Gavitt Tipoff Games matchup.