By Kyle Mann
[email protected]

BROOKLYN, New York — The No. 7-seeded Hawkeyes did everything they could to be upset by No. 10 Temple on March 18 but were ultimately unable to give the game away, somehow escaping with a 72-70 victory on a last-second tip-in by Adam Woodbury.

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The first half, and really the game as a whole, was representative of Iowa’s 2015-16 season.

The 0-for-4 start from the floor could be the equivalent of an early season loss to Division-2 Augustana; it wasn’t a huge deal, but it wasn’t the way the Hawks wanted to start.

Then, the Hawkeyes got real hot. They went 7 for their next 8 and made 5-of-7 3 pointers, including 3-of-3 by Peter Jok. A 19-9 run had Iowa leading 19-13 at the first media time-out, and Iowa was just getting started.

Jok was the first to find his shooting stroke, but Jarrod Uthoff wasn’t far behind. He had 12 quick points on 4-of-7 from the floor, and a deep 3 up against the shot clock put his team ahead 30-20 with just under nine minutes remaining in the half.

However, that was around the time that the Hawkeyes, as in the regular season, began to fall apart. Iowa was outscored 19-8 over the final 10 minutes of the half, and an 0-of-7 stretch from the floor by the Hawkeyes paired with a 13-0 Temple run allowed the Owls to take a 33-32 lead.

It was a terrible back and forth display of basketball from that point on, as Iowa finished the half 2-of-14 from the floor but was somehow able to hold a 38-37 lead at halftime.

Things didn’t get much better for either team; the second half was a continuation of some absolutely terrible basketball by both teams.

Temple shot 34 percent from the floor in the second half, but alarmingly still shot better than Iowa, which came in at a very chilly 30 percent. The teams were a combined 2-of-19 from beyond the arc in the second half.

The Hawkeyes led by double digits at one point in the half, but again, sticking to the story of the season, suffered a dreadful collapse in the final minutes. With Iowa leading 63-60 in the final minute, Anthony Clemmons fouled Temple’s Quenton DeCosey attempting a 3-pointer.

Sure enough, DeCosey sank all three to tie the game at 63 and send the game to overtime.

Overtime was ugly. There were fouls, turnovers, and with time expiring, a Mike Gesell air ball. Fortunately for the Hawkeyes, it fell directly into Woodbury’s hands who was able to quickly get it back up to the hoop, securing a dramatic 72-70 victory.

Uthoff led with 23 points, Jok had 16, and Woodbury finished with 10.

Iowa will advance to play No. 2 Villanova on March 20.

Follow @KyleFMann to follow the Iowa men’s basketball team through the NCAA Tournament.