Hawkeye Hoops Remains Unbeaten

Iowa Moves to 6-0 with Lopsided Win Against Portland State Friday

Iowa forwards Keegan Murray, left, and Kris Murray try to grab a rebound against Portland State's Marlon Ruffin (22) and James Jean-Marie, right, during a NCAA non-conference men's basketball game, Friday, Nov. 26, 2021, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. (Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen/USA TODAY NETWORK)

IOWA CITY, Iowa - Kris Murray is used to this by now.

His twin brother, Keegan, is leading the nation in scoring, and the first six games of Iowa’s season have been punctuated by his hot starts.

So, by the time Kris gets in the game — he’s one of the Hawkeyes’ top reserves and he usually checks in about eight minutes into the game — his brother has already made an impact.

“I’ll sub in, and he’s, like, at 20 points,” Kris joked after the Hawkeyes’ 85-51 win over Portland State on Friday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Keegan Murray had another one of those starts in this game, scoring 14 of Iowa’s 16 points. He would finish with 23, but what was crucial for the Hawkeyes (6-0) was what they got from everyone around him in the second half.

Keegan, who played all 20 minutes of the first half, played just 7:02 of the second half. Iowa scored 54 points, but he only had two.

Kris Murray had eight of his 13 points in the second half. Patrick McCaffery had all of his 14 points for the game in the second half. Tony Perkins had eight of his 10 points in the half.

“It’s a lot of fun,” McCaffery said. “We’ve got a lot of guys who can do a lot of different things with the ball. We need guys like us to play like we did today. Step up.”

“I think it’s important I didn’t go back to (Keegan),” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said. “Once we got the big lead, I didn’t want to go back to him. I wanted to get out of this game and get him ready for Monday (when the Hawkeyes play at Virginia in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge).”

The Hawkeyes struggled in the first half. They had nine turnovers and shot just 36.4 percent.

McCaffery thought the Hawkeyes were getting good shots.

“I thought we took four bad shots,” he said. “When you turn the ball over nine times, and you have four bad shots, that’s 13 opportunities they have to run it back at you. It puts a lot of pressure on your transition defense. I thought in the second half, our ball movement, our shot selection, was infinitely better.”

“We just needed to settle down,” Kris Murray said. “It was a little unlike us in the first half. We just had to come out, just be who we are.”

Patrick McCaffery had missed the last two games with a leg injury, and his father thought the impact from the absence showed in the first half. That’s why he advised his son to be more aggressive in the second half.

“The game is all about confidence,” Fran McCaffery said. “It’s making plays and understanding how to impact the game. When you don’t play for two games, and you haven’t really practiced, you’re going to be a little sideways. And he was.”

Patrick was 5-of-10 from the field, with two dunks, in the second half.

“I felt a little rusty,” he said. “I think it was just getting my legs back. It took me about a half to get the rust off.”

Kris Murray had a similar game — going 2-of-6 in the first half, 3-of-3 in the second half.

“I liked him in both halves,” Fran McCaffery said. “He had more success in terms of getting it in. I just want him to be aggressive. He’s got the ability to be aggressive on the glass, in passing lanes, contesting at the rim, driving the ball, shooting the ball.

“Just like his brother. That’s exactly how I want him to play.”