Iowa Men's Basketball rolls to season opening win over North Dakota
Clean, cool and comfortable. That about sums up the season opener for the Iowa men’s basketball team. The Hawkeyes brought the energy early, got the lead into double digits and never looked back in their 110-68 victory over North Dakota. The 110-point output is the most in a season opener during the Fran McCaffery era.
“I thought (the early energy) was necessary. I have a lot of respect for that team watching them on film. Got some veteran guys, couple transfers and a really good freshman class. Their a team that makes threes, but they got veteran guys in that starting lineup,” said head coach Fran McCaffery. “It was incredibly important that we set the tone defensively and create some offense with our defense.”
The Hawkeyes did just that. Payton Sandfort got things going on the offensive end of the floor with 13 points in the first five minutes of the game, including three three-pointers. His third three-point make, a pull-up in transition, put Iowa ahead 21-9 just 5:32 into the game. Sandfort said that after a uninspiring start in the exhibition against Quincy, they were looking to get off to a fast start.
“We came out really flat against Quincy, and we had to make a change, so that’s all we’ve been emphasizing in practice and I was really proud of our effort…we were talking about how we wanted to come out and punch them in the mouth. I was focused. I had some of those first game nerves, but was able to channel those into just becoming really ready to go and really focused.”
Up 26-14 around the midway point in the first half, freshman Owen Freeman checked into the game for his first career regular season game as a Hawkeye. He wasted no time making an impact on the game, scoring six points and grabbing a pair of steals in his first three minutes on the floor. That allowed Iowa to go on a 9-0 run and inflate their lead to 35-14.
“He’s special. He can run, he’s active. I want to see him be a little more aggressive blocking shots, but he’s got good ball skills, handling and passing. He moves it, he’s quick in the post, he makes moves, he can finish over the shoulder and he’s big, strong and powerful,” said Fran McCaffery. “He’s a guy that’s just going to keep getting better.”
In the final four minutes of the half, it was Dasonte Bowen who stepped up and made an impact to allow to increase their lead that had dropped down to 15. Bowen put up four points, two steals and two assists in the closing minutes of the half, including a steal and assist to Tony Perkins for a thunderous dunk to end the half. He finished the game with 12 points, five assists and no turnovers. Iowa went into the break with a 56-32 lead.
“He was spectacular tonight and I feel like his performance at the end of the first half was a game changer,” said McCaffery. “That game could have gone (into the half) at 18, but instead it went to 24. That’s a big difference…his decision making and his stamina playing defense the way he does and he always sticks his nose in there and rebounds, so really impressed with him.”
The story of the first half was the turnover battle. After turning the ball over just six seconds into the game, the Hawkeyes took care of the ball and went the last 19:54 without a turnover. Defensively, Iowa was able to force North Dakota into 13 turnovers, which turned into 21 points.
“We came out punching. We wanted to have a lot of ball pressure. They have a lot of good shooters, so we had to be in their space early and really close out hard,” said Sandfort. “With that ball pressure, came with them just being a little rushed and our of their game, which is what we want to do.”
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In the second half, it was Valparaiso transfer Ben Krikke that was able to get the ball rolling with 11 points on 5/7 shooting. He finished the game with 18 points and six rebounds on 8/13 shooting. Fran McCaffery said as soon as he saw tape of Krikke while he was in the portal, he knew that he was the one they wanted.
“Matt Gatens told me that Ben was available and he had coached against him and knew him well and Billy Taylor coached against him and just raved about him. We started watching him on film and said, ok, that’s the guy,” said McCaffery. “You could see pretty easily that he would fit perfectly into what we do and that’s what we identified. Lot of good players in the portal, but who fits and there could not have been a better fit.”
After his hot start, Payton Sandfort ended up finishing with 21 points, nine rebounds and two steals. Owen Freeman added 14 points on 7/8 shooting, while Patrick McCaffery (11 pts, 5 reb) and Tony Perkins (10 pts, 6 reb) scored in double figures. On the night, six Hawkeyes scored in double figures and four pulled down 5+ rebounds.
The Hawkeyes had near identical halves, scoring 56 points in the first half and 54 points in the second half. They shot 40/75 (53.3%) from the floor, including 61.8% in the second half and made 12 of 24 from behind the arc. Iowa outscored North Dakota 27-3 in transition and 31-6 in points off turnovers.
“Every day we start up practice with a little transition segment,” said Ben Krikke. “We work on sprinting the floor every single day, getting into positions, posted up early and I think a lot of teams struggle with that. They get tired and we just don’t.”
Up Next, the Hawkeyes will welcome Alabama State to Iowa City for non-conference matchup on Friday. The Hornets lost their season opener against Ole Miss 69-59. Tipoff is set for 7:00pm CT on Peacock.
