No. 21 Wisconsin Holds off Hawkeyes

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa men’s basketball team fell to No. 21 Wisconsin, 74-63, on Saturday afternoon inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes drop to 4-8 in Big Ten Conference play and 13-10 on the season.

The Hawkeyes, behind a hot start from three-point range, jumped out to an early 11-5 lead in the first five minutes. Wisconsin would go on a run to tie the game, which was a resemblance of the entire first half. The Hawkeyes responded to take the lead, 19-13, with 11:23, which would be the biggest lead of the half by either team.

Both teams continued to exchange leads and struggled to pull away from each other the remainder of the half. The first half featured eight ties and five lead changes, in which Iowa never trailed by more than one possession. At the half, Iowa led Wisconsin, 39-37, after sophomore Pryce Sandfort nailed a long two at the buzzer to give Iowa the halftime lead.

Pryce Sandfort provided 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting in the first half off the bench. Junior Josh Dix added 10 first-half points on 4-of-8 shooting. After 20 minutes, the Hawkeyes shot 16-of-36 (44.4 percent) from the field and 5-of-13 (38.5 percent) from deep. Iowa outrebounded the Badgers 19-18 in the first half.

The Badgers and Hawkeyes would continue to battle in the second half, with the game continuously staying within a couple possessions for either team. Senior Payton Sandfort increased the Iowa lead to 50-46 with just under 14 minutes remaining after knocking down a pair of free throws. For seven minutes, the game never got over a two-possession game as Iowa led Wisconsin 59-58 with seven and a half minutes to play.

Wisconsin would take the lead from Iowa and the Hawkeyes would go on to trail for the rest of the game. Over the final eight minutes, the Hawkeyes scored just seven points including just two points over the final four and a half minutes. Wisconsin converted free throws late to protect its lead.

Pryce Sandfort led the Hawkeyes with 14 points to go along with four rebounds. Pryce shot 6-of-9 from the field. Dix added 13 points, while grabbing five rebounds. Graduate Drew Thelwell rounded out the Hawkeyes in double digits with 11 points, four rebounds, and three assists. Payton Sandfort led the team on the glass with eight rebounds.

The Hawkeyes finished the game shooting 24-of-63 (38.1%) from the field and 8-of-25 (32 percent) from beyond the arc. Iowa shot 7-of-9 (77.8 percent) from the charity stripe. Wisconsin was led by John Tonje with 22 points, six rebounds, and four assists.

HEAR FROM HEAD COACH FRAN MCCAFFERY
"Really impressed with the fight we’ve shown. We have to play a little bit better towards the end. I thought we got a little bit sped up today. I think that’s the learning process with a new group. It was a two-possession game, three possession game with four to five minutes to go. We were rushing and we were fouling, you can’t do that.”

GAME NOTES

• No. 21 Wisconsin rallied from a two-point halftime deficit to down Iowa, 74-63, on Saturday in front of 12,693 in attendance inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
  • The Hawkeyes were held to two points over the final 4:29 of the game.
  • The Hawkeyes scored seven points over the final eight minutes.
• Iowa had three players finish in double figures: Pryce Sandfort 14, Josh Dix 13, Drew Thelwell 11
• Pryce Sandfort scored 11 of his 14 points in the first half to lead all scorers.  He went 6-of-9 from the floor. 
  • The 14 points were Sandfort’s highest point production since scoring 16 points at Michigan on Dec. 7.
• Sophomore Ladi Dembele scored seven points off the bench – his highest point output since scoring 12 points against New Hampshire on Dec. 29.
• The Hawkeyes led 39-37 at the half courtesy of Pryce Sandfort’s buzzer-beating jumper. 
  • Iowa is now 10-3 when leading at the half this season.

UP NEXT
Iowa begins a two-game East Coast trip Wednesday, traveling to Piscataway to face Rutgers at 5:30 p.m. (CT) from Jersey Mike's Arena.  The game will be televised on BTN.