When Iowa men’s basketball took down Nebraska, 88-78, at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Friday night, it was Tony Perkins’ time to shine.

The sophomore guard entered the starting lineup on Feb. 6, taking over for junior Joe Toussaint. While Toussaint was the Hawkeyes’ point guard, head coach Fran McCaffery moved senior Jordan Bohannon back to the point guard position and put Perkins in an off-the-ball role. 

On Thursday, Perkins bucketed a career-high 20 points against the Cornbuskers, leading the Hawkeyes in scoring. In total, six Hawkeyes finished the game in double-digits.

The Hawkeyes had a slow start against the Cornhuskers — the bottom team in the conference with just one Big Ten win. Nebraska led by as many as seven points in the first half, but Iowa picked up its pace to take a one-point, 36-35, lead going into halftime. 

The Hawkeyes managed an 11-0  run over four minutes in the middle of the second half to lead by double-digits for the remainder of the game.

Big Picture 

The Hawkeyes won at Pinnacle Bank Arena, the home of the Cornhuskers, for the first time since 2015. The Hawkeyes also took their fourth straight victory over the Cornhuskers.

Iowa improved to 20-8 overall and 10-7 in conference play.

Dominating the boards 

Iowa improved to 17-0 on the 2021-22 season when outrebounding opponents. The Hawkeyes outrebounded the Cornhuskers, 35-29, and especially took advantage of the offensive glass.

Iowa grabbed 12 offensive rebounds compared to Nebraska’s six. The Hawkeyes’ offensive boards led to 19 second chance points. Nebraska had five second chance points over the course of the game.

Sophomore forward Keegan Murray led the Hawkeyes with 11 boards, including four offensive. Perkins added five rebounds.

Sixth man impact 

Kris Murray is frequently the first player off the bench for Iowa, and the sophomore had an impactful sixth-man performance against Nebraska.

Playing 19 minutes off the bench, he finished with 12 points off of 50 percent shooting from the field. Kris Murray also contributed defensively with seven rebounds and a block.

Up Next 

Iowa will return to Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Monday for its senior night against Northwestern. The Hawkeyes and Wildcats will tip off at 7 p.m. and the game will be aired on Big Ten Network.

The Hawkeyes will finish the 2021-22 regular season with two games on the road. Iowa will take on Michigan on March 3 and Illinois on March 6 before heading to the Big Ten Tournament March 9-13 in Indianapolis.