Iowa Wins Non-Conference Finale

Hawkeyes Take Down Visiting Northern Illinois Friday

The work all week for Iowa’s men’s basketball team was centered on defense.

Then Northern Illinois went out and made two-thirds of its shots against the Hawkeyes in the first half of Friday’s game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

It was something coach Fran McCaffery made sure to point out during halftime.

“Coach kind of addressed our defensive intensity,” center Ben Krikke said.

The Hawkeyes listened. They held the Huskies to just 29 percent shooting in the second half on the way to a 103-74 win.

Iowa (8-5) concluded its nonconference schedule with an impressive offensive show, but it was the defense in the second half that carried the game.

The Huskies were 18-of-27 from the field in the first half, 8-of-11 in 3-pointers.

“They shot 67 percent,” McCaffery said. “And they made eight threes. It’s not the first time they’ve had performances like this.”

It’s why McCaffery made sure the Hawkeyes had to adhere to what they had planned for all week.

“We did not get up in their space like we had hoped and we had prepared for,” McCaffery said. “In the second half, we took care of business in that area. We got up in their space and created some misses.”

Other takeaways from Friday’s win:

SIX IN DOUBLE DIGITS: Six Hawkeyes scored in double figures, led by Krikke’s 20 points.

McCaffery didn’t sound greedy, though, when he knew the Hawkeyes could have had more.

Iowa had 23 assists on 42 field goals.

“The bottom line is we share (the ball),” McCaffery said. “We had six guys in (double figures), one guy with nine points (Patrick McCaffery) and another with eight (Josh Dix). We could have had more.”

Payton Sandfort had 16 points. Dasonte Bowen had 15 points. Pryce Sandfort and Owen Freeman each had 12 points. Tony Perkins had 10.

“We had that run in the second half and we’re on pace for 100-something, more than we scored,” Freeman said. “I think we’re all starting to click more on the offensive end.”

PRYCE GETS RIGHT: Pryce Sandfort had the first double-digit scoring game of his freshman season.

Sandfort was 3-of-4 in 3-pointers, and was 3-for-3 in free throws.

“That was huge,” Krikke said. “Not only for the team, but I think there’s confidence knowing he can come in and affect games. Obviously he did a tremendous job of playing his role well, and I thought he did some good things on the defensive end too.

FREEMAN’S NUMBERS: Freeman continues to put up big numbers, but it was some of the ones buried in the box score that showed his impressive night.

Freeman had nine rebounds, but also had four steals and three blocks.

“If you had watched him practice in June, and watched practice every day, you wouldn’t have been surprised,” Fran McCaffery said of how Freeman, a freshman, has adapted to the game.

“You could see it coming. It’s not like he started slow and he was behind, that he couldn't figure stuff out and it was going to be a learning curve. None of that. He jumped right in and was ready to go.”

BOWEN GETS ROLLING: Bowen finished the game two off his career scoring high, but he affected the game in other ways too.

Bowen drew four fouls, the most on the team, and had two assists against one turnover in 13 minutes.