The Iowa men’s basketball team rode a dominant defensive performance to an 83-58 victory over the visiting Rider Broncs on Tuesday night in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes forced 20 turnovers, two 10-second violations, and one shot-clock penalty in the win.
It also marked the first time the Hawkeyes have held an opponent to under 60 points since the 2022-23 season opener on Nov. 7, 2022. Iowa also held the Broncs to only one three-pointer on the night, the lowest for the program since 2014.
“The main focus today was trying to keep the same intensity we had in that Washington State game, bring it into this game, and bringing on to this game, and just make that our identity,” second-year forward Seydou Traore said after the game.
“I thought we were really locked in defensively,” Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery added.
Fourth-year forward Payton Sandfort led Iowa in scoring with 22 points, six rebounds, and three assists. Second-year center Owen Freeman also had a productive outing, chipping in 19 points, five rebounds, and two assists.
Both teams struggled to score to begin the game, but second-year center Owen Freeman finally broke the seal on a tough layup to give the Hawkeyes an early lead. Building off of their momentum from the previous contest against Washington State, Iowa quickly forced a pair of turnovers that led to transition buckets on the other end.
Despite the hot start, the Hawkeye offense cooled down, going five minutes without connecting on a field goal. Sandfort knocked the rust off with a turnaround midrange jumper from the free throw line, and that seemed to ignite the Iowa offense.
After posting an air ball on a wide-open three-pointer early in the period, Sandfort didn’t miss on his next attempt, giving the Hawkeyes an 18-10 edge. The offense continued a steady pace from there, but it was the Iowa defense who stole the show in the frame, forcing three more Broncs turnovers to build a comfortable 25-12 lead with just over eight minutes to play in the half.
The Hawkeyes went back into an offensive funk over to end the period, but transfers Drew Thelwell and Traore continued to defend at a high level as Iowa went into its full-court pressure defense. Traore capped off the half with a powerful one-handed dunk off of Rider miss, energizing the Hawkeye faithful.
McCaffery had nothing but praise for both players after the game, citing their hard-work on defense as primary factors for their success.
“They’re really athletic, but they’ve got great instincts,” McCaffery said. “Obviously, Seydou has incredible length, but he’s got a knack for getting deflections same with Drew. They can cover a lot of ground.”
“We just want to get steals and not let them score,” Thelwell said.
Seydou brings the BOOM 💪@iamseydou35 x #Hawkeyes
Subscribe/stream on B1G+ https://t.co/r5ldA8AUUm pic.twitter.com/KabGlVjfSK
— Iowa Men’s Basketball (@IowaHoops) November 20, 2024
Despite shooting only 23 percent from beyond the arc, Iowa carried a 40-26 lead into the break.
Iowa began the second half on a sloppy note, committing three turnovers that left McCaffery and the coaching staff befuddled. But the defense continued to pick up the slack, and Sandfort collected a dunk off of a terrific block by second-year forward Ladji Dembele.
The Hawkeyes didn’t have any explosive plays on offense in the next frame, but they continued to put solid pressure on the ball, forcing more Broncs turnovers to build a comfortable 57-40 lead with under 12 minutes to play. Second-year forward Pryce Sandfort, younger brother of Payton, seemed to provide a bit of a spark offensively, collecting from distance and scoring a nice reverse layup off of a pretty find from Thelwell.
Thelwell continued his strong defensive effort with a steal-and-score right after the timeout. The fifth-year found the blindspot of a Rider guard, and picked his pocket for an easy transition layup. Thelwell was also instrumental in forcing a 10-second violation later on in the fame, resulting in a standing ovation from the fans at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Thelwell, a transfer from Morehead State, came to Iowa as the winningest player in the school’s history. Though the senior enjoyed the Eagles’ more structured style of play, he loves the wide-open, fast-paced system that McCaffery runs in Iowa City.
“Everybody sprints and runs, so it makes my life a lot easier,” Thelwell said.
“His attitude, his positivity, is just infectious,” McCaffery added. “And when you play defense like that, you obviously are in the respect of your teammates. And I think the fans have responded to him. So I love that kid. He’s special, and he’s going to keep getting better.”
The Hawkeyes cruised to victory from there, improving to 5-0 on the young season.
Iowa shot poorly from the field in the first half, but improved that number to 45 percent in the second half. Three-point shooting also improved, as the Hawkeyes shot 55 percent in that area.
Injury updates
Third-year guard Josh Dix was sidelined tonight due to a wrist injury suffered during Friday’s victory over Washington State. McCaffery said that Dix is “day-to-day”, and that they hope he is available for Iowa’s next contest against Utah State later this week.
First-year forward Chris Tadjo also didn’t play in the game due to an injury, but McCaffery said that he is “really close” to returning.
Up next
Iowa will return to action on Nov. 22 for a neutral site contest with Utah State, who is a perfect 4-0 on the young season. The game will be held at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri as part of the NABC Hall of Fame Classic.
Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on Big Ten Network.