Fran McCaffery reveals his halftime message to Iowa in Big Ten Tournament vs. Ohio State

Iowa didn’t jump out to the hot start it was hoping for in its opening game in the Big Ten Tournament. Just four minutes into the game, the Hawkeyes trailed Ohio State 10-2. Nonetheless, Iowa didn’t allow the deficit to dampen its spirits.

Another four minutes later, Iowa tied the Buckeyes at 15 points. During the halftime break, Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery revealed how his team mounted a comeback early in the first half.

“I felt we did a good job moving the ball. I thought we got good shots,” McCaffery said. “I think they made eight 3s. So, we got to do a better job there. [We need to] help and recover, close out on the 3-point shooters, and at least make them make tough 2s.”

Ohio State was red-hot in the first half, shooting 8-11 (72.7%) from beyond the arc. Iowa was no slouch from deep, either. The Hawkeyes connected on 5-of-their-9 (55.6%) attempts from downtown.

Ohio State typically isn’t a high-level threat from outside. The Buckeyes are only shooting 34% from 3-point range this season. Fran McCaffery isn’t allowing 20 minutes to rattle his team. Before heading into the locker room, he divulged his halftime message.

“We just got to stay the course,” McCaffery said. “We got to keep rebounding and keep running. I think our defense has to be a little bit better, but our ball movement has been pretty good.”

At halftime, Iowa trails OSU 43-38. Tune into the Big Ten Tournament matchup on the Big Ten Network. The Hawkeyes will need freshman standout Owen Freeman to step up in the back half of the contest. He recorded seven points and five rebounds in the first half of the game.

Owen Freeman makes history for Iowa

On Tuesday, Freeman was named the Co-Big Ten Freshman of the Year by the league coaches along with Indiana’s Mackenzie Mgbako (Freeman was the sole honoree by the league media). The Moline, Illinois, native is the second Hawkeye in program history to earn the distinction, joining Jess Settles in 1994.

Freeman was also selected to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team — Iowa’s first honoree since 2020 and seventh in the Fran McCaffery era — and Krikke was tabbed as Iowa’s Big Ten Sportsmanship Award recipient.

Freeman has been the Big Ten’s best rookie, leading the league in rebounds (203), blocks (56) and double-doubles (5), while ranking second in steals (30) and field goal percentage (.636) and third in scoring. Freeman is averaging 10.6 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game. He has been in double figures in 15 games with two 20-point contests.

Over the course of the season, Freeman earned nine Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors, which are the second-most all-time in Big Ten Conference history.