The Iowa men’s basketball team resumed conference play with an 82-73 loss on the road to the No. 21 Wisconsin Badgers. The defeat dropped the Hawkeyes to 8-6 overall and 0-3 in Big Ten play for the second consecutive season, as late-game play put the contest out of reach.
Iowa fourth-year guard Tony Perkins led the team in scoring with 25 points, while also adding four rebounds and two assists. Owen Freeman also chipped in 14 points and 13 rebounds.
Iowa wasn’t able to buy a bucket from the field — until Patrick McCaffery scored on a three-point play to break the ice. A few possessions later, Ben Krikke knocked down a three-pointer from the corner, and Payton Sandfort hit from deep to give the Hawkeyes some momentum heading into the first media timeout.
Iowa ramped up the defensive effort over the next few minutes, forcing three Wisconsin turnovers. However, the Badgers responded by forcing three Hawkeye turnovers, including two from Sandfort that led to easy buckets on the other end. Despite the turnovers, Iowa maintained a 16-12 lead.
Both teams traded dunks to begin the next frame, including a thunderous one-handed jam from Wisconsin center Steven Crowl that finally got the Kohl Center crowd into the game. After a lull in scoring, Perkins knocked down a pair of free throws that seemed to jumpstart the Hawkeyes. Sandfort struck once again from deep to cut the Badger lead to one.
Near the end of the first half, a Perkins three gave the Hawks a 32-26 lead. But, Wisconsin showed its resilience and fight by forcing several Iowa mistakes and when the halftime buzzer sounded, the Hawkeye lead had evaporated and the game was tied at 32.
Both squads swapped buckets to open up the second half, but Krikke picked up his third foul of the game, and Wisconsin began to play more around the rim and it jumped out to a four-point advantage. Krikke’s return sparked the Hawkeyes, and his three-point play cut it down to 53-52 heading into the under 12 minutes..
The game changed after Iowa failed to grab a defensive rebound on a missed free throw attempt, and the shift in momentum led to a 12-3 run for Wisconsin — including a sensational dunk by guard AJ Storr. Perkins continued to keep the Black and Gold alive with two tough buckets to make it a 65-59 game with under eight minutes to play.
More Hawkeye mistakes led to easy buckets for the Badgers, and Iowa fell into a quick 10-point hole. But, Iowa continued to fight, and a couple of baskets from Perkins and guard Dasonte Bowen cut the lead down to seven with under four minutes to go in the game.
Even still, Wisconsin shut down the Iowa offense over the final three minutes and won its seventh straight game at home.
Up next
Iowa returns to the friendly confines of Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Jan. 6 for a matchup against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, who are 8-4 on the season. The Knights play Ohio State on the road Wednesday evening ahead of their matchup in Iowa City.
Forward Aundre Hyatt leads Rutgers in scoring with 12.3 points per game, while 6-foot-11 center Clifford Omoruyi shuts down anything around the rim, with 3.4 blocks per contest.
