Hawkeyes Hammer Florida A&M

Iowa Basketball Gets Back on Track Saturday in Des Moines

DES MOINES — Payton Sandfort knows everything about Wells Fargo Arena.

Sandfort played in 12 games in the arena during his high school career — two third-place finishes, a runner-up finish, and then a state championship his senior season.

So when he walked through the tunnel for Iowa’s game against Florida A&M on Saturday, he felt like he was home.

“The sights, the smells, everything,” Sandfort said. “It was good to be back.”

The Hawkeyes could have echoed that feeling after the 88-52 win.

It was good to be back after a three-game losing streak that threatened to shake this team in early December.

Iowa (6-5) blitzed the Rattlers (2-6) with a 15-4 start, a crucial note considering how stumbling the Hawkeyes were in their three double-digit losses to Purdue, Iowa State and Michigan.

“Coming off a tough stretch, we knew we wanted to come out with a lot of energy,” freshman guard Brock Harding said. “We felt like that was a big problem in the last couple of games, we kind of got hit first, and then we're playing behind the rest of the game. So we made a big emphasis to come out with a lot of energy and I felt like our team did a great job of that. Guys were ready to go attack, and you’ve just got to keep that mentality.”

There was a crispness in Iowa’s play that had been lacking. Granted, the competition wasn’t the same, but just to get into a rhythm was important for the Hawkeyes.

“We haven't been playing the connected basketball that we've needed to over that really tough stretch, but there's been a huge emphasis on it and working on it,” said Sandfort, who finished with 13 points, one of four Hawkeyes in double figures. “I'm proud of the way that we started, which is something that we need to do better especially with big games.”

The Hawkeyes held Florida A&M to 30.3 percent shooting, and held a 47-33 rebounding edge.

Iowa coach Fran McCaffery thought his team played a complimentary game, with the offense feeding off the defense.

“Our defense was really good at starting the game,” McCaffery said. “They've got a bunch of drivers. They've got a really good big man (Keith Lamar, who averages 14.3 points). So we were locked into not giving him any easy buckets inside. We were firing off the bounce and getting out in transition and having some space to do something, so it was a really terrific job by everybody executing.”

Iowa freshman Owen Freeman got his first double-double, finishing with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Tony Perkins had 12 points, while Harding finished 10.

Iowa’s biggest second-half lead was 43 points, and McCaffery went deep into his bench, using his walk-ons in the final five minutes.