Takeaways: No. 1 Purdue Bests Hawkeyes

Boilermakers Take B1G Tilt Thursday in West Lafayette

Iowa guard Ahron Ulis (right) defends Purdue's Ethan Morton (25) on Feb. 9, 2023 at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind. (Marc Lebryk/USA TODAY Sports)

BOX SCORE

Iowa Basketball stumbled at the start and couldn't recover Thursday in dropping a 87-73 decision at top-ranked Purdue. The Hawkeyes fell behind 19-4 in the game's first six minutes. 

Here are five takeaways from the contest: 

1. Iowa began the game missing nine of its first 10 field-goal attempts and was called for a shot-block violation on another possession. After falling behind by 15 in the first six minutes, the Hawkeyes closed to within six points of the lead with 5:39 to play in the game. What might have been if not for the sluggish start fueled by leaky defense.  

Road teams have recovered and won games with poor starts, but the odds are heavily against them. Falling behind by 15 doomed Iowa Thursday. 

The Hawkeyes missed some favorable shots during the poor opening but also took some ill-advised attempts. Payton Sandfort and Josh Dix, two of the team's top three-point shooters were sped up on tries early on. 

How teams handle time and score usually factors into the final outcome. It means more when you're on the road, especially when you're playing catch-up early. Empty stretches can sink you. 

2. When you're facing the nation's No. 1 team, concerns are plentiful. It begins with 7-foot-4, 305-pound Zach Edey (22.4 PPG, 13.2 RPG, 2.2 BPG) when talking Purdue. 

The Hawkeyes smartly paid him plenty of attention, limiting him to 14 points and seven field-goal attempts. Problems arose when recovering and rotating after double-teaming the talented big man. That left good Purdue shooters wide-open looks, which they knocked down. 

Again, it's a pick-your-poison scenario, and bothering Edey is imperative. You still have to challenge shooters. 

Iowa improved on help-and-recover, for the most part, in the second half. It came too late, however, and breakdowns still happened after halftime. 

3. Iowa overcame a rebounding disadvantage during Sunday's victory against Illinois. The Illini won on the backboards, 37-26. 

It wasn't lucky enough to do so Thursday. 

Purdue held a 43-23 advantage on the glass. The home team grabbed 13 on the offensive end, matching what Illinois accomplished Sunday. 

The Hawkeyes usually are at a height disadvantage but have held their own in rebounding. The last two games have been too lopsided in that statistic for them and needs to be fixed. 

4. Iowa Front-court performers Kris Murray and Filip Rebraca combined for 41 points, canning 18 of 26 field-goal attempts. The starting backcourt of Tony Perkins, Connor McCaffery and Ahron Ulis struggled.

In addition to poor defensive recovery in the first half, that trio finished the game with 15 points on 6 of 22 shooting from the floor. 

5. With all that negativity out of the way, let's close on a positive note. Instead of wilting away in a hostile environment, the Hawkeyes rallied and showed grit against the top team in the land. 

They busted their butts with full-court pressure defense and made the Boilers work. Purdue turned the ball over 17 times. 

In addition to that, it proved to be Patrick McCaffery's best game since recently returning from a mental-health break. An important piece to Iowa's success, the junior contributed nine points (4 of 6 FG), two rebounds and an assist. He looked locked in and aggressive.