Iowa men’s basketball downs Rutgers late

The Hawkeyes escaped with a big win over the Scarlet Knights late in the game on Wednesday.

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Shivansh Ahuja

Iowa forward Luka Garza dribbles during a men’s basketball game between Iowa and Rutgers at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Jan. 22.

Pete Ruden, Pregame Editor


Iowa picked up yet another ranked win in Carver-Hawkeye Arena as it took down Rutgers, 85-80, on Wednesday.

After a heated first half that saw Fran McCaffery receive a technical foul after the time ticked off the clock, the Hawkeyes came back energized in the second.

Iowa went into the break facing a six-point deficit. That changed shortly after Rutgers’ free-throw attempts to start the second half.

The Hawkeyes fell down by eight early in the half, but Luka Garza hit a 3-pointer to pull within five before Joe Wieskamp hit a layup and an and-one on back-to-back possessions to even it up.

From there, Garza and Wieskamp continued to take over.

Rutgers went on a 10-0 run with just over 3:30 remaining in the game and took a lead, but the Hawkeyes still found a way to close it out.

Garza once again led the Hawkeyes from the floor, dropping 28 points on 11-of-17 shooting. Even when Wieskamp and CJ Fredrick — Iowa’s second and third-leading scorers on the season — were off the floor, Garza kept the Hawkeyes in the thick of things.

Wieskamp poured in 18, including two triples, to help the Hawkeyes’ cause.

In addition to the two leading scorers, Joe Toussaint scored 14 while adding four assists and seven boards. Ryan Kreiner put up a solid performance as well, netting 11 points.

Iowa will hit the floor next on Jan. 27 when it takes on Wisconsin in Carver-Hawkeye at 7:30 p.m.