Hawkeyes Fall to No. 7 Purdue

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.

HEAR FROM HEAD COACH FRAN MCCAFFERY
“I thought the offense moved really well with Riley out there. Evan gave us some great minutes, and then Ladji was great down the stretch defensively. They are all a little bit different, they just have to rebound a little bit better. I thought they were solid.”

“It was a combination of things in the second half. Our offense wasn’t great either. We gave up some transition baskets. We were doubling a little bit, and our rotations weren’t quite what they needed to be. You can’t let them go on that kind of run, they are too good.”

GAME NOTES

• After battling to a 36-all tie in the first half, Purdue used a 54-point second half to post a 90-81 victory over Iowa on Tuesday night inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
  • The Boilermakers shot 54.8 percent from the floor in the second half and made nine 3-pointers.
• The Hawkeyes trailed by 12 points (58-46) with 15:13 remaining.  Iowa closed the gap to 80-77 with 2:42 to play.
• Iowa had three players finish in double figures: Josh Dix 27, Payton Sandfort 23, Brock Harding 11
• It was the fifth time this season the Hawkeyes have had multiple 20-point scorers.
• Dix netted 27 points on 10-of-16 shooting with three 3-point field goals.  It was the second-highest scoring output of his career. 
  • It was Dix’s fourth 20 point game this season and the eighth of his career.
• Payton Sandfort finished with 23 points, six rebounds and five assists in the game, making 9-of-17 field goals with five 3-pointers – one off a season-high.
  • It was his team-leading ninth 20-point game of the season and the 27th of his career.
  • It is the eighth time in Sandfort’s career he has made at least five 3s.
• Iowa finished with 11 3-point field goals, making 11-of-30 attempts from long range.
  • The Hawkeyes have made 10+ 3-pointers in 12 games this season.
• It was just Iowa’s second loss this season when shooting at least 50 percent from the field (9-2).
• Sophomore Seydou Traore and junior Riley Mulvey made their first starts as Hawkeyes.  
  • It was Mulvey’s first career start in his 41st career game.

UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes return to action Saturday, hosting No. 17 Wisconsin at noon inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.