Bohnenkamp: 5 Observations from Iowa's Win Against Western Illinois

Hawkeyes Wrap Up Non-Conference with Blowout Victory

The Iowa Basketball team huddles up before a game against Southeastern Louisiana on Dec. 21, 2021 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. (Rob Howe/HawkeyeNation.com)

IOWA CITY, Iowa - Five observations from Iowa’s 92-71 win over Western Illinois.

BACK IN BUSINESS

The Hawkeyes, who lost three consecutive games to start December, have now won three consecutive to close the nonconference season, and that’s important, forward Keegan Murray said.

"You want to recover the right way, especially going into Big Ten play,” Murray said. “We just reshaped our focus, locked in and took it day-by-day. You saw the results. We’re in the right head space going into Big Ten play."

The Hawkeyes fought back before falling at Purdue, struggled against Illinois, and were out of sync all night in the loss at Iowa State.

But they’ve bounced back well, winning on a neutral court against Utah State, rolling into Christmas break with a rout of Southeastern Louisiana, and now a dominant performance against the Leathernecks, who were 10-3 coming into the game.

“I think we just stayed together,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said. “We lost to three really good teams, two of them on the road. No panic. We stayed together and got really good play out of a lot of different guys. That’s the kind of team we have.”

Iowa scored 53 first-half points on 58.3 percent shooting, then didn’t let the Leathernecks get any closer than 14 points the rest of the game.

“Our effort overall changed the game,” Murray said.

NO MATCHUP FOR MURRAY

Western Illinois guard Trenton Massner didn’t have to guard Murray.

But a first-half dunk by the sophomore showed Massner what was coming.

“He was running down the lane, and they threw him the ball in transition, and he took off from I don’t know where,” Massner said. “I was like, ‘Oh boy, he’s a different athlete.’”

Murray finished with 29 points and 10 rebounds, his third double-double of the season.

“What are you going to do?” Western Illinois coach Rob Jeter said. “If you double him, they can shoot the ball. So you have to make him take tough twos, and he’s got to make them all night.”

Murray was 13-of-20 from the field, adding three assists, three steals and three blocks.

SANDFORT SHINES

Payton Sandfort came off the bench to score 13 points, but the Iowa freshman was especially crucial in a 99-second stretch of the first half.

Sandfort had two 3-pointers and a dunk as Iowa turned a 25-19 lead into a 33-21 margin.

"He’s a really confident player,” Murray said. “When he’s in the game, you want to give him the ball. As a shooter, when your first shot goes in, you gain confidence. You could see that. He gained more confidence as the game went on, hit some big shots and got us on a run. He was big for our game today."

It was the second consecutive double-digit scoring game for Sandfort.

TRANSITION KILLS

Iowa’s quickness advantage showed in the final numbers.

The Hawkeyes had a 31-2 edge in fast-break points.

“I think that was the key,” McCaffery said. “The key is to make them guard at halfcourt and in transition.”

LOSING CONNOR

Guard Connor McCaffery went out with an ankle injury in the second half.

McCaffery had two offseason hip surgeries, and said last week he’s been bothered by a sore back.

“I just feel bad for him because he’s had the ankle issues earlier, then he had the back (problem), now he’s back to the ankle,” Fran McCaffery said. “He was really playing well in practice, was finally 100 percent healthy. So that kind of breaks your heart for him. But he’s tough. He’ll be back.”