Iowa Star Unveils Bold Message After Shaky Season Opener

This Iowa Hawkeyes star sent a strong message following his team's shaky season-opening win over Texas A&M-Commerce.

Mar 2, 2024; Evanston, Illinois, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes forward Payton Sandfort (20) celebrates the win against the Northwestern Wildcats at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images / David Banks-Imagn Images

The Iowa Hawkeyes won their college basketball season opener by a score of 89-67 over Texas A&M-Commerce on Monday night, but while the result may have looked lopsided, it wasn't actually an altogether impressive effort by Iowa.

The Hawkeyes led by just seven points at halftime and were actually outrebounded in the first half.

Iowa was able to pull things together over the final 20 minutes and pull away with a decisive second half, but there is no question that the team dealt with some adversity.

Afterward, Hawkeyes star Payton Sandfort revealed that he thinks the competitive nature of the game was actually beneficial for the squad.

“I’m glad we battled through some adversity,” Sandfort said, via Tyler Tachman of The Des Moines Register. “We really found our stride. The defense was really good for a long stretch in the second half and I’m proud of the way that a lot of guys contributed. ... We’ll continue to just keep getting better. But it’s good that we had to fight through that and come out on top.”

Sandfort finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists in a brilliant effort, going 7-for-14 from the floor and 4-of-9 from three-point range.

However, as a team, Iowa shot a very modest 45.7 percent from the floor and actually allowed Texas A&M-Commerce to shoot a superior 46.8 percent.

That may work against inferior competition, but it isn't going to be effective once the Hawkeyes' schedule starts getting tougher.

Iowa went 19-15 and missed the NCAA Tournament last year.