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Hot shooting Hawkeyes down Cornhuskers

On3 imageby:Tom Kakert•01/12/24•

HawkeyeReport

Owen Freeman(2)
Owen Freeman led Iowa with a career best 22 points. (Photo: Dennis Scheidt)

In their last game on Tuesday night, Nebraska knocked down 13 three point field goals on their way to an upset win over #1 Purdue. Three nights later, the tables were turned on the Cornhuskers as Iowa drilled a season high 15 three pointers on their way to a convincing 94-76 win at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

With the win, Iowa moves to 10-6 on the season and 2-3 in Big Ten play. Nebraska drops to 13-4 and 3-3 in league play.

For the second straight game, Iowa came out of the gate blazing from the field. The Hawkeyes and Cornhuskers traded baskets to open the game and then Iowa went on a 15-0 run. That opening burst was led by eight points from Payton Sandoft and Patrick McCaffery, who moved back into the starting lineup, with five points.  Sandfort finished with 19 points, including hitting five three point field goals.

However, on a cold and snowy night in Iowa City, the Huskers steadily carved into the Iowa lead. The initial run was led by freshman Eli Rice, who didn’t even play in the win over Purdue. He scored seven points, including a three pointer to pull the Cornhuskers to within four, 21-17. Brice Williams scored to cut the Iowa lead to just two points, 23-21.

That’s when Josh Dix made his first impact in this game. He immediately drilled one of his five three point field goals to give Iowa a little breathing room at 26-21. Dix finished with a career high 15 points in this game and made 5-7 from three.

The two teams traded buckets down the stretch of the first half. Sandfort and Perkins hit triples to give Iowa a 36-30 lead. Perkins has a double-double in the game. That included a career best 15 assists, which was one short of the Iowa single game record.

Iowa went to the break leading 41-26, but the Cornhuskers were not going to go quietly. Rienk Mast tied the game at 44 on a three point field goal and a drive to the basket field goal by Keisei Tominaga gave the Huskers their first lead in the game at 48-47.

But, Owen Freeman continued his outstanding freshman season. He answered with a paint score to return Iowa to the lead. Freeman finished his night with a career high 22 points and had a double-double with 10 rebounds.

The Huskers were still hanging around until Ben Krikke decided to take over the game. He scored seven straight points for Iowa and helped the Hawkeyes build a 57-52 lead. That was as close as Nebraska would get the rest of the way.

Dix continued to make nearly every shot he took and Perkins, who had 11 points to go with his 15 helpers, capped the night with a three point field goal.

It will be a relatively quick turnaround for the Hawkeyes heading into their next game. Iowa will head north to Minneapolis to face the Golden Gophers on Monday at 5 p.m. The game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.

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