Iowa men’s basketball team leads Grand Canyon by 11 points at halftime of first round NCAA matchup

Joe Wieskamp leads the Hawkeyes with 11 points at the break.

© Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports

Mar 20, 2021; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes forward Keegan Murray (15) dunks the ball against the Grand Canyon Antelopes during the first round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament at Indiana Farmers Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports

Robert Read, Pregame Editor
March 20, 2021

INDIANAPOLIS — The No. 2 seed Iowa men’s basketball team leads 15th-seeded Grand Canyon, 42-31, at halftime of the NCAA Tournament first-round matchup between the teams.

Iowa guard Joe Wieskamp leads the team with 11 points at the break, followed by freshman forward Keegan Murray with nine points. Murray has led an aggressive Hawkeye bench unit in the first 20 minutes of play. Iowa’s bench accounted for 20 first-half points.

Wieskamp scored 33 seconds into the game and Iowa has led ever since. Iowa jumped out to a quick 11-2 lead after hitting four of their first five shots from the field.

Luka Garza sat the final five minutes and seven seconds of the half after picking up his second foul.

The Hawkeyes shot 55 percent from the field in the first half and 46 percent from 3-point range. Iowa’s defense forced five Grand Canyon turnovers.

Twitter reactions from the first half