The Iowa men’s basketball team’s three-game winning streak snapped Saturday afternoon against No. 2 Purdue, as the Hawkeyes fell to the Boilermakers, 84-70, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Outrebounded, 50-24, Iowa got within single digits late in the second half but couldn’t muster the upset.
Purdue center Zach Edey, the reigning Naismith Player of the Year, led his squad with 30 points and 18 rebounds – his third straight contest featuring a 30-point double-double. Eight of his boards were of the offensive variety, helping the Boilermakers triumph in their third straight game after being upset by Nebraska.
Iowa senior guard Tony Perkins led the Hawkeyes with 24 points – 15 of which came in the second half.
“We had a couple of great shots, for me as well, but it just came down to us getting defensive rebounds,” Perkins said in postgame media availability. “You know, [Purdue is] a great offensive rebounding team.”
“Obviously, it was a huge focal point going into the game,” Hawkeye forward Payton Sandfort added regarding rebounding. “We knew we had to do it and obviously we didn’t execute to the best of our ability. A lot of times we were fighting and just didn’t get bounces, and sometimes that’s the way it goes. But how many people are locked in, more physical, is something we will continue to improve on.”
Even with a six-inch height disadvantage, Hawkeye big man Owen Freeman won the opening tipoff against the 7-foot-4 Edey. Just seconds later, a Freeman pass from down low found an open Josh Dix for three, giving Iowa an early lead.
B1G O! 😏@_OwenFreeman x #Hawkeyes
pic.twitter.com/7XotZYphSv— Iowa Men’s Basketball (@IowaHoops) January 20, 2024
Edey would soon make an impact, as he snagged three offensive rebounds in the opening five minutes as the teams traded baskets. After Perkins stole an errant pass for a fast-break jam to establish a 14-10 lead, the home crowd was on its feet Such enthusiasm would soon dissipate over the first ten minutes of action.
Purdue outrebounded Iowa, 11-5, and the Boilermakers went on a 14-2 run to take a 26-18 advantage, The Hawkeyes went scoreless for over three minutes, including missing a pair of free throws, before forward Ben Krikke knocked down a jumper to get the team within 10 points.
Boilermaker head coach Matt Painter explained how his team’s “unforced errors” to open the contest prevented Purdue from getting settled in on the road amid a hostile crowd. After getting a little “too carried away” at first, the coach said his group got more comfortable balancing between feeding the post and kicking out to open shooters.
The Boilermakers answered right back with points on back-to-back trips – a second-chance layup from Caleb Furst and a triple from Lance Jones. The Hawkeyes relented, going on a 7-0 scoring run to get within seven points, highlighted by a transition block from Perkins.
The Hawkeye big men got into foul trouble down the final stretch of the first half, as Krikke and Freeman were each tagged for two, resulting in more playing time for backups Even Brauns and Ladji Dembele.
When asked about the fouling discrepancy – Edey shot 15 free-throw attempts to Iowa’s 16 – Hawkeye head coach Fran McCaffery kept his opinion fairly blunt.
“Well, I’d like to see my guy, [Owen Freeman], the six-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week six times, get a little more respect,” McCaffery said.
After Dembele hit a jumper to get the Hawkeyes within seven, Edey extended the Boilermaker’s margin with seven points over the final three minutes as his squad took a 47-34 lead into the break.
Over 20 minutes, the Hawkeyes shot 45 percent from the floor to the Boilermakers’ 50 percent mark, including 45 percent from downtown. On the glass, Purdue held a 13-board advantage, including a plus-seven mark on the offensive end.
It was the Perkins show to open the second half, as the senior guard scored six of the Hawkeyes’ first eight points of the period, including a fadeaway layup over Edey. Even still, Edey continued to dominate down low with a dunk and second-chance layup as the Boilermakers pushed the lead to 14.
“Honestly, I think we did the best we could, we tried to box out,” Perkins said. “We didn’t get the over-the-back [calls], we sometimes played excellent defense … [Edey] is a big fellow.”
Painter said both teams were fatigued down the stretch, to which McCaffery agreed, adding that he should have played the Hawkeye bench more often.
An 8-0 Iowa stretch, featuring triples from guard Josh Dix, forward Payton Sandfort, and another Krikke jumper, got the Hawkeyes within 11 – but rebounding continued to haunt them as the Boilermakers followed with a three after two offensive boards.
Perkins hit his 13th point of the half with another layup with 7:31 remaining to cut the lead to 10 and would add two more notches to his total when he took a nifty bounce pass Dix to the cup. Dix’s two free throws put the Hawkeyes within single digits for the first time in the second half.
Now within striking distance, Iowa missed two shots but survived multiple second-chance attempts from Purdue to stay within eight with 2:43 remaining.
“I thought we had pretty decent shots,” McCaffery said. “We ran a play incorrectly, which was unfortunate, but we still think we got a good shot. Guys are really moving the ball … we had the right guys shooting the ball.”
After a missed three from Sandfort, Jones sunk the dagger, faking out Perkins for a three along the wing, crushing the Hawkeyes’ hopes for an upset and a resume-building win.
Lance Jones silences the crowd. 🤫@LanceBuckets x @BoilerBall
📺: FS1/@CBBonFOX pic.twitter.com/eF0RJU25Aq
— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) January 20, 2024
Injury Updates
Iowa forward Patrick McCaffery didn’t play Saturday due to an ankle injury, but was, according to Fran McCaffery, a 50-50 chance to participate the day of the game. He’s “close” to playing again, per the head coach.
Dembele left the game in the second half after taking a hard fall underneath the basket. The first-year laid on the hardwood for a minute before being helped off the court, later returning with crutches and a boot on his left foot.
“I think it’s just a bad sprained ankle,” Fran McCaffery said. “He did X-rays and we don’t think it was broken. We don’t know how long this thing is going to take. Sometimes it’s 3-to-4 days, sometimes it’s two weeks.”
Up next
Iowa will host Maryland on Wednesday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Terrapins sit in sixth place in the Big Ten and sport an 11-7 overall mark as of Saturday. Guard Jahmir Young leads the team in scoring with 20.8 points per game.