IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa men’s basketball team fell to No. 7 Purdue, 90-81, on Tuesday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes move to 4-7 in Big Ten play and 13-9 on the season.
The Hawkeyes got off to a strong start, opening the game on a 10-3 run in under four minutes, making four consecutive field goals to start the game. Purdue, behind a 7-0 run, would take its first lead, 18-15, at the 12-minute mark.
The Hawkeyes responded with an 18-6 run to retake the lead and were up on the Boilermakers, 33-27, with just under three minutes to play in the first half. Over that span, the Hawkeye defense held Purdue to just 1-of-8 from the field.
After 20 minutes, the game was tied 36-36. The Hawkeyes shot 14-of-28 from the field and 6-of-12 from beyond the arc. Senior Payton Sandfort led Iowa offensively in the first half with 13 points. Junior Josh Dix added nine first half points.
Purdue started the second half on fire, making 8-of-9 field goals and five straight 3-pointers to build a 12-point lead just under five minutes in. The Hawkeyes refused to go away keeping the game within striking distance for the remainder of the half.
After trailing by 12, the Hawkeyes used an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to three with just over two minutes remaining in the game. Over that stretch, Purdue made just 1-of-9 field goals and had a 3:24 scoring draught. The Boilermakers held off the comeback effort and knocked down free throws late to protect their lead.
Dix led Iowa with 27 points on 10-of-16 from the field, while grabbing four rebounds and securing three steals. Payton Sandfort poured in 23 points on 9-of-17 from the field, including 5-of-11 from beyond the arc. Sophomore Brock Harding rounded out the Hawkeyes in double digits with 11 points.
The Hawkeyes finished the game shooting 30-of-58 (51.7 percent) from the field and 11-of-30 (36.7 percent) from 3-point range. Purdue was led by Braden Smith, who scored 31 points on 11-of-15 shooting from the field.