Iowa men’s basketball team to play Purdue in Big Ten Tournament Championship Game on Sunday
The Boilermakers defeated the Michigan State Spartans in the semifinals to advance.
Iowa forward Keegan Murray shoots a layup during a men’s basketball game between No. 5 Iowa and No. 9 Indiana in the Big Ten Basketball Tournament Semifinals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Saturday, March 12, 2022. The Hawkeyes defeated the Hoosiers, 80-77. Murray led the team in scoring with 32 points, going 11-17 from the field. (Dimia Burrell/The Daily Iowan)
March 12, 2022
INDIANAPOLIS — The Iowa men’s basketball team will play Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament Championship Game at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Sunday.
Iowa advanced after beating Indiana, 80-77, in the semifinals thanks to a game-winning 3-pointer from Jordan Bohannon with 1.1 seconds remaining. Purdue beat Michigan State, 75-70, in the second Big Ten semifinal game. The third-seeded Boilermakers went 2-0 against the fifth-seeded Hawkeyes during the regular season. A fourth win in four days would provide Iowa with its first Big Ten Tournament title since 2006, which is also the last time the Hawkeyes appeared in the game.
“Same thing we’ve been doing, keep the course, continue to put our head down and work,” Bohannon said. “We obviously have had short preps in these last three games, but I know I’m not worried just because of the guys we have in that locker room. We like to have fun, but we’re also — when game hits, we’re locked in no matter what happens and that’s shown all-year long. There’s not many games that we haven’t fought from the beginning of the games to the end.”
“You have to have a special group that knows and understands how to process a game plan,” Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery added. “Our guys have been incredibly professional and diligent, they lock in, they read the report, they study it, they’re aware. We play (Purdue), we’ve already played them, so we have familiarity with personnel and style, but we have to adjust.”
Iowa was without Keegan Murray in the first meeting against Purdue.
The Big Ten Tournament Championship Game is scheduled to tip off at 2:30 p.m. CT on Sunday. The game will air on CBS.
