The Iowa men’s basketball team earned a thrilling 88-86 overtime victory over No. 20 Wisconsin. Despite trailing by 11 points early in the first half, the Hawkeyes clawed their way back into the contest, and fourth-year Tony Perkins won the game with a scrambling layup with only seconds left in the extra session.
Never Back Down, Never What?#Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/LST7UlBlTM
— Iowa Men’s Basketball (@IowaHoops) February 17, 2024
The victory marks Iowa’s first win over a ranked team this season.
“That wasn’t the way we drew it up, but I’m just happy I had the ball in my hands,” Perkins said in postgame media availability.
“[Perkins] didn’t start off the game well, but he showed a lot of character at halftime, and I’m really proud of him,” head coach Fran McCaffery added.
Owen Freeman led the team in scoring with 20 points and 12 rebounds – his fifth double-double this season – while Perkins chipped in 18 points and four boards. Earlier this week, Freeman was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week for the eighth time this season.
“He’s a beast,” Perkins said of Freeman. “He can score, knock down free throws and grab rebounds. That’s just the type of player he is.”
“I knew that I had to step up, and the other guys have really given my confidence a boost,” Freeman said.
Though not usually known for its three-point shooting, Wisconsin knocked down three triples in the early going to give themselves a quick 11-4 lead. Even after an Iowa timeout, the Badgers didn’t miss a beat and extended their lead to 11 points, and the sold-out crowd at Carver-Hawkeye Arena sat in stunned silence.
After a media timeout, forward Payton Sandfort gave the Hawkeyes a small spark with a turnaround jumper and three points from the foul line to trim the deficit to six. But, the Iowa defense struggled to get stops, and Wisconsin led by nine with 12 minutes to play in the first half.
Over the next few minutes, the Hawkeye offense seemed to hit a brick wall, and the Badgers continued to get uncontested buckets at the rim. A Dix three reignited the Iowa offense, and Owen Freeman completed a three-point play to cut it to eight. After a Wisconsin miss, guard Brock Harding splashed from beyond the arc, and suddenly, the Hawks were only down five.
Both teams continued to trade baskets, but Harding’s big minutes fired up the rest of the Iowa squad, and the Badgers led, 47-43, at halftime.
The Hawkeyes opened the second half on a 6-0 run to take their first lead of the game, aided by a couple of jumpers from Perkins. From there, it was a back-and-forth affair, and Iowa led, 55-54, at the under-16 minute media timeout. In a game where the squad shot 28.6 percent from three, the Hawkeyes became automatic from mid-range and turned up the defensive intensity to grab a three-point lead with under 12 minutes to go.
Following a sensational spinning layup by Freeman, Dix knocked down yet another mid-range jumper to stretch the lead to six, forcing a Badger timeout. Iowa continued to score, but Wisconsin kept the deficit under 10 points heading into the under-eight timeout.
After Wisconsin cut the Hawkeye lead to four, Freeman was assessed a technical foul for slamming the ball after he was fouled on the rebound, but the Badgers missed both free throws. In response, Freman missed both of his foul shots, and the Iowa lead remained at four. Wisconsin took advantage and tied the game at 74 apiece with three minutes to play.
Freeman gave the Hawks the lead with a reverse layup, but the Badgers responded with a second-chance bucket to tie the game again. After an Iowa miss, Wisconsin snatched the lead back, and it was up to the Hawkeyes to come through. Perkins scored on a driving layup to tie the game again with 28 seconds left.
The Badgers missed their next field goal, but Perkins couldn’t finish with contact at the rim, sending the game into overtime.
Wisconsin’s Tyler Wahl began the extra session with two easy buckets, but Sandfort responded with a three to make it 82-81 in favor of the Badgers. Two possessions later, Wahl fouled out of the game, and Dix tied the score at 84 with a jumper.
Grind time.#Hawkeyes
— Iowa Men’s Basketball (@IowaHoops) February 17, 2024
The second-year Hawkeye guard finished the contest with 17 points on 8-of-11 from the field. For McCaffery, Dix’s performance shined beyond just the box score.
“He’s special,” McCaffery said of Dix. “He’s our best defender, and he did a great job guarding [Wisconsin guard] AJ Storr and affecting the game tremendously.”
Following two Wisconsin foul shots, Sandfort tied the game with two free throws of his own.
Both squads weren’t able to generate anything over the next minute, and Iowa would get one final look to win it in overtime with the score tied at 86. With the rock in his hands in the clutch again, Perkins attacked the cup off a Freeman handoff. After the ball was initially knocked away under the basket, Perkins grabbed the loose change and finished at the rim with 1.3 seconds to go.
Wisconsin’s desperation full-court heave was intercepted by Sandfort, sealing a huge rivalry win for the Hawkeyes.
“They’re coming together,” McCaffery said of the team’s chemistry. “It’s a team that didn’t have an established leader at the start, but it’s a different team now.”
Up next
Iowa hits the road again on Feb 20 for a matchup against Michigan State, who is 16-9 on the season. The Spartans take on rival Michigan tonight ahead of Tuesday’s contest.
Guard Tyson Walker leads the team in scoring with 18.4 points per game.
