The Iowa men’s basketball team concluded the 2023 calendar year with a dominating win over Northern Illinois at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Friday. Defeating the Huskies, 103-74, the Hawkeeys concluded their nonconference schedule and will head into Big Ten play with an 8-5 mark.
Iowa grad transfer forward Ben Krikke led the squad in scoring with 20 points while also adding seven boards and three assists in his fifth 20-point effort this season. The Hawkeyes featured six different players who scored in double figures – just the second time they have done so this season, per Iowa Athletics.
Iowa couldn’t buy a bucket the first couple minutes of the game – that was until Krikke scored back-to-back buckets with a rare three and an and-one layup down low to break the ice. Two possessions later, Iowa guard Tony Perkins took a routine inbound pass off a made Husky shot down for an emphatic dunk that had Carver-Hawkeye Arena jumping.
The Perkins dunk brought high energy to the Hawkeyes, shooting 6-of-7 from the field and forcing five Husky turnovers on their way to a 15-3 run over a four-minute span to take a strong 26-14 lead. Northern Illinois responded nicely by making 5-of-7 field goals to keep the game close at 34-29.
Iowa cooled down from their hot stretch but remained consistent on offense with their inside play. On the other hand, the Huskies’ outside shooting brought the game to as close as within three. The Hawkeyes made just two three-pointers until Pryce Sandfort hit consecutive outside shots – one coming off a pullback ankle breaker – right before the break to give them four threes to the Huskies’ eight.
A Payton Sandfort mid-range fadeaway jumper during the final seconds pushed Iowa into halftime with a 54-48 lead. Given the Huskies’ recent history, the Hawkeyes knew to keep their foot on the gas.
“[Northern Illinois] shot 67 percent on threes [in the first half], and it’s not the first time they’ve had performances like this,” Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery said postgame regarding his halftime message. “They were beating Northwestern at halftime, up 20 against DePaul and ended up winning that game. They do this all the time. Very explosive offensive team.”
Payton Sandfort led the charge for Iowa to start the second half, putting up six points in the first three minutes to push the lead to double digits. The Hawkeyes continued to have smooth sailing as they pushed the lead to 19 in just under six minutes.
The momentum continued to be in complete favor of the Hawkeyes on both sides of the ball. Northern Illinois hit just two of 10 shot attempts compared to Iowa’s 12 makes on 16 attempts in the first 10 minutes of the half. What was a six-point Hawkeye lead coming out of the half quickly turned into an 85-58 rout.
The second unit came into the game around the nine-minute mark and did not let up on the Huskies one bit. Both teams struggled to find their footing on offense, but the Hawkeyes continued to outscore the Huskies by double digits the rest of the way.
“We have so many weapons on this team that can go,” Hawkeye center Owen Freeman said on the team’s offensive versatility. “We have so many different guys that we can beat teams with … It’s just a free-for-all. We just care about getting out and putting points on the board.”
Now with its nonconference schedule out of the way, Iowa has something to feel good about heading back into Big Ten play.
“I feel like the last couple games have given us our confidence back,” Krikke said. “We’ll continue to practice hard and address things that we need to address… We’re obviously a deep team. We’re ready.”
Up next
Iowa kicks off the new year with a trip up north to Madison, Wisconsin, on Jan. 2 to take on the Wisconsin Badgers, who are 9-3 on the season. The Badgers have only lost once on their home court this season, falling to then-No.9 Tennessee, 80-70, back in November.
Guard A.J. Storr leads Wisconsin in scoring with 15 points per game while seven-foot forward Steven Crowl ranks second with 12.8 while shooting an eye-popping 64.3 percent from behind the arc on 14 attempts.