Hawkeyes Knock Down Buckeyes, 79-77

IOWA CITY, Iowa. — The University of Iowa men’s basketball team defeated Ohio State, 79-77, on Friday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Mediacom Court. The Hawkeyes advance to 13-9 on the season and 5-6 in Big Ten Conference play.

Senior Tony Perkins led all scorers with 20 points knocking down 8-of-9 free throws. Perkins has been on a tear, scoring 20+ points in five consecutive games. Perkins also led Iowa on the boards pulling in seven. Perkins dished out four assists and had a steal.

Junior Payton Sandfort scored 15 points and knocked down two from deep. Sandfort played a team high, 37 minutes. Sandfort tied a career high with two blocks as well as tying another career high with two steals.

Sophomore Josh Dix scored 15 points on an efficient 7-of-10 shooting. Dix scored 10 points in the second half of action. Senior Patrick McCaffery rounded out the Hawkeyes in double digits with 10 points.

Balanced scoring was the key to Iowa’s first half with seven different players scoring. Sandfort led the Hawkeyes in the scoring column in the first half with nine points on 4-of-6 shooting. Iowa shot 15-of-29 from the field in the first 20 minutes of action and trailed the Buckeyes, 38-36 going into the break.

The duo of Dix and Perkins combined to score 22 of Iowa’s 43 second half points. No team was able to pull away from the other as the game remained within five points the entirety of the game. Free throws from Patrick McCaffery and Sandfort helped ice the game for the Hawks.

Iowa shot 29-of-53 (54.7%) from the field and just 3-of-10 from deep. The Hawkeyes took advantage of their trips to the free throw line knocking down 18-of-22 (81.8%).

HEAR FROM HEAD COACH FRAN MCCAFFERY

“Yeah. You know, I had the feeling that a lot of games in this league this year are going to be like that. You have some teams that have lost, sort of a lot of games in a row. It’s a really good team we just beat. Chris has done a great job. Indiana, same thing that game was in the balance. Maryland was in the balance. It always hurts when you lose but that’s what you face. There is no easy game in this league.”

GAME NOTABLES

• Friday’s game featured 15 ties and 10 lead changes.  Neither team led by more than five points in the contest.
• The Hawkeyes improve to 9-3 inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena this season.
• It is Iowa’s third game decided by seven or fewer points – first win this season (1-2 record).
• Senior Tony Perkins finished with 20 points, seven rebounds and four assists, making 6-of-12 field goals and 8-of-9 free throws.
  • It is Perkins’ fifth straight 20-point game and his eighth of the season. 
  • Perkins did not commit a turnover in the game.
  • Has reached double figures in 20 of 22 games this season, including all 11 Big Ten contests.
• Junior Payton Sandfort finished with 15 points, making 6-of-11 field goals and two 3-pointers.
  • Has made two or more 3-pointers in 18 games this season.
• Sophomore Josh Dix finished with 15 points, making 7-of-10 field goals.  Ten of his 15 points came in the second half.
  • It was his second straight game in double figures and fifth contest this season.
• Senior Patrick McCaffery scored 10 points, going 8-for-8 from the free throw stripe, including four in the final minute.
  • It’s his 10th game in double figures this season.
• Freshman Ladji Dembele tied a career-high six rebounds.
• The Hawkeyes shot 54.7 percent from the field – the 11th game shooting 50+ percent this season.
  • Iowa is 10-1 when shooting at least 50 percent from the floor.
  • The Hawkeyes attempted a season-low 10 3-point field goals.
• Iowa committed 10 turnovers in the game – the 12th game with 10 or fewer this season.

UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes return to action Thursday, traveling to University Park for a road game at Penn State beginning at 6 p.m. (CT).