Only four games into its 2020-21 season, the No. 3 Iowa men’s basketball team has a signature victory. Iowa defeated No. 16 North Carolina, 93-80, Tuesday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

Behind sharp shooting from Joe Wieskamp, Jordan Bohannon, and C.J. Fredrick, the Hawkeyes went out to an early lead against the Tar Heels. Fredrick hit a 3-pointer off of a pass from Wieskamp at the 17:03 mark of the first half to push Iowa’s lead to 8-0.

Iowa led 43-31 at halftime. Fredrick drained a shot from deep with only a second remaining in the first half. The Hawkeyes hit 11 of their 22 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes of game time. Fredrick and Wieskamp both had four 3’s, while Bohannon had three in the first half.

Star center Luka Garza was held to only six points on 2-of-9 shooting in the first half.

North Carolina hit four shots in the first 90 seconds of the second half cut into Iowa’s lead.

With 9:52 remaining in the second half, a pair of free throws by R.J. Davis put North Carolina on top 66-65. It was the team’s first lead of the game. On Iowa’s next possession down, Iowa point guard Joe Toussaint hit a layup to give Iowa the advantage again. The two teams would trade the lead for a stretch of the second half.

Eventually, the Hawkeyes pushed their lead back to double digits behind high-percentage shooting on the perimeter and Garza heating up on the inside. Iowa responded to any scoring runs by the Tar Heels when it needed to and defeated North Carolina to move to 4-0 on the season.

Four Hawkeyes finished the game in double-digits scoring wise. Bohannon had his best game of the season, scoring 24 points, hitting seven 3’s, and dishing out five assists.

Fredrick finished with 21 points, followed by Wieskamp with 19. Both players hit five shots from beyond the arc. Garza scored 16 points on 6-of-20 shooting, while tallying 14 rebounds and blocking four shots. As a team, Iowa hit 17 3’s compared to North Carolina’s six.

Garrison Brooks led North Carolina with 17 points.

The Tar Heels hadn’t competed at Carver since 1989, and the two teams hadn’t played since Iowa defeated No. 12 North Carolina at the Dean Smith center in 2014.

Iowa’s next game is Friday against Iowa State at Carver. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m.