Hawkeyes surge late for comeback win over the Badgers
After trailing by double-digits in the second half, Iowa came back to take the lead with under two minutes remaining.
Iowa center Luka Garza rebounds a ball during a men’s basketball game between Iowa and Nebraska at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln on Tuesday, January 7th. The Hawkeyes fell to the Huskers 76-70.
January 27, 2020
The Iowa men’s basketball team took a page out of the women’s team’s playbook and mounted a second-half comeback Monday night against the Badgers.
After trailing by double-digits in the second half, the Hawkeyes took the lead with under two minutes remaining, and would go on to defeat Wisconsin, 68-62.
Iowa couldn’t buy a shot in the first half. The team’s field goal percentage in the first 20 minutes of play was 35.5 percent. The Hawkeyes made only one of their 11 3-point attempts in the first half against the Badgers.
Despite the poor shooting from Iowa, the game was locked at 30-30 heading into halftime.
Iowa was again led by center Luka Garza, but the junior was not as efficient as he has been throughout most of this season.
Garza finished with 21 points on 6-of-17 shooting on the night. He also hauled in 18 rebounds for his 12th double-double of the season.
Redshirt freshman CJ Fredrick was Iowa’s go-to player on offense as Iowa mounted a comeback in the second half. Fredrick finished with 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting for the Hawkeyes.
After being down double-digits, the Hawkeyes roared back to tie the game at 59-59 with under three minutes remaining.
The Badgers took the lead again a few possessions later, but a Joe Toussaint free-throw pushed Iowa ahead and inevitably gave the Hawkeyes the victory.
