Keegan Murray Leads Iowa Past Maryland

Hawkeye Sophomore Nets 35 Points Monday Night

Iowa’s Keegan Murray (15) shoots over Maryland’s Julian Reese (10) during their game on Jan. 3, 2022 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. (Rob Howe/HawkeyeNation.com)

IOWA CITY, Iowa - It’s this simple for Keegan Murray.

Murray’s 35-point game in Iowa’s 80-75 win over Maryland on Monday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena was another masterpiece for the sophomore forward.

And it’s as easy as, well…

“I saw the first shot go in,” Murray said.

A lot of shots went in for Murray, the nation’s leading scorer. He was 14-of-21 from the field, 5-of-6 in 3-pointers, tying a career high in points.

“Obviously as a shooter, you think when that (first) shot goes, every shot should go in,” Murray said. “I kept hitting shots, kept getting open, and they were falling.”

Murray made his first four shots — a dunk, a putback, another dunk off a Joe Toussaint assist, and then a 3-pointer.

Toussaint went through the Murray checklist of offense.

“He can score from anywhere — from three, mid-range, lobs, layups, dunks,” said Toussaint, who had nine assists to go with his nine points. “You name it, he scores from anywhere.

“It’s really easy when you have someone like that.”

“The thing about him is he never forces anything,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said. “He just kind of plays at his pace. We're going to go to him at times. And at times it's going to come to him naturally. But he wasn't hunting shots. He played defense. He got three blocks, eight rebounds. Got to the offensive glass, obviously a big one late. That's just who he is. He doesn't rattle.”

The Hawkeyes (11-3 overall, 1-2 Big Ten) didn’t rattle. The Terrapins (8-5, 0-2) challenged all night, but Iowa found a way to get its first conference win of the season.

“I think this game was won by toughness,” Murray said. “I thought we were tough down the stretch. We got the stops we needed.”

“I think we maintained our composure,” McCaffery said.

Iowa trailed 51-49 five minutes into the second half, but the Hawkeyes went on a 7-2 run, with a Murray 3-pointer being a key part of that stretch. A 9-0 run put Iowa up 68-58, but Maryland wouldn’t go away.

The Terrapins were within 77-75 with 10 seconds to play after a 3-pointer by Eric Ayala, but three Jordan Bohannon free throws closed the scoring.

“You kind of had the feeling it was going to be a close game,” McCaffery said. “You want to be able to win a close game, execute coming down the stretch, get the stops you need, execute your press offense, make your free throws. We made enough.”

The Hawkeyes also got a season-high 13 points and eight rebounds from Filip Rebraca.

“That's who he is, what you just saw,” McCaffery said. “He's good. He's a talented guy. I think he's tried really hard to fit in. He's such a good person. He wants to win. He wants to be a great teammate. He wants to be coachable.

“And at some point you have to go after it the way he did tonight. His aggressiveness, physicality, was really impressive. I'm happy for him.”

McCaffery was also pleased with the play of Toussaint, who had nine points.

“I thought his activity and his sense of what we needed was really good,” McCaffery said.

Five Terrapins scored in double figures, led by Ayala’s 19 points.