Hawkeyes Top Chicago State, 93-54

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa men’s basketball team defeated Chicago State, 93-54, on Thursday night on Mediacom Court inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes improve to 5-0 on the season.

After being tied at 13-13, the Hawkeyes would use a 14-2 run over eight minutes to grab a 27-15 lead. Over that span, Chicago State was held scoreless for over five minutes while shooting 1-of-11 from the field. Iowa didn’t allow the Cougars to make a field goal for nine minutes.

Iowa would build off its momentum, ending the half on a 9-0 spurt as they led Chicago State, 40-24 at the break. The Hawkeye defense was dominant in the first 20 minutes, holding the Cougars to 9-of-24 (36.0) from the field while outrebounding them 22-10.

Senior Tavion Banks led the way for Iowa in the first 20 minutes with 11 points to go along with nine rebounds. The Kansas City, Missouri, native was 3-of-4 from the field while going 5-of-5 from the free throw line in the first half.

Iowa would continue to dominate in the second half, building on their lead. With just under eight minutes remaining Iowa led, 75-43. The Hawkeyes would only add to their lead the rest of the way, leading by as many as 43 before winning the game 93-54.

Banks led the way with 16 points to go along with 10 rebounds, collecting his first double-double of the season. Junior Alvaro Folgueiras added 14 points while going 3-of-5 from three-point range. Folgueiras added six rebounds and four assists. Freshman Tate Sage marked a new career high with 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting. Redshirt freshman Cooper Koch rounded out Hawkeyes in double digits with 10 points.

Iowa shot 33-of-58 (56.9) from the field and 12-of-31 (38.7) from beyond the arc. The Hawkeyes shot 15-of-19 (78.9) from the charity stripe. For the second straight game, Iowa’s bench added 50 points.

HEAR FROM HEAD COACH BEN MCCOLLUM
“Minus the wide-open shots we missed in the first half, I thought we played pretty good. It was a simple game plan. We didn’t run a whole lot, we kind of just ran the same thing over and over.

"I thought defensively we were actually locked in at the start. They hit some tough contested twos. Generally, those catch up to you, so we knew it was just a matter of time. We still have a ways to go. I think we have to defensive rebound a little better. We're giving up offensive rebounds and we probably shouldn’t do that. We need to box out a little better and be a little more physical. All-in-all it was a good five-game stretch. We are excited to go out to California and play our best."

GAME NOTES

• Head coach Ben McCollum is the fourth Iowa coach to win the first five games of his Hawkeye career, joining Ed Role, Bucky O’Connor and Dr. Tom Davis.
• Iowa had four players finish in double figures: Tavion Banks (16), Alvaro Folgueiras (14), Tate Sage (13) and Cooper Koch (10). Sage’s 12 points are a personal best for the rookie. Koch netted eight of his season-high 10 points in the second half. Folgueiras has been in double digits in four of the team’s five games. He has made three 3-pointers in back-to-back games.
• Iowa, who leads the nation in field goal percentage, shot 57 percent for the game, including 70 percent in the second half.
• Banks notched his 18th career double-double and first of the season (16 points, 10 rebounds). Banks nearly reached the double-double in the first half, scoring 11 points and grabbing nine rebounds over the first 20 minutes. 
• Kael Combs started for the second time in his career and first time this season. Combs scored three points and tied a personal best with five assists.
• Iowa sank a season-high 12 triples. The Hawkeyes made nine, including eight of its first 11 attempts, in the second half. Seven different players made at least one triple.
• Iowa was a blistering 9-of-15 from long distance in the second half after going 3-of-16 from beyond the arc over the first 20 minutes. 
• The Hawkeyes opened the second half making their first four field-goal attempts and seven of their first eight. 
• Iowa held the Cougars to 2-of-11 (.182) from 3-point range, a season low for 3-point makes by a Hawkeye opponent.
• Iowa limited Chicago State to 24 first-half points, a season low for a Hawkeye opponent, and held the Cougars without a field goal for 9:00 of the first half (14:31-5:31).
• The Hawkeyes scored the final nine points of the first half.

UP NEXT
Iowa returns to the court next week against Ole Miss at the Acrisure Classic in Palm Springs, California. The contest is scheduled to begin at 8:30 p.m. (CT) on Tuesday, Nov. 25.