After a tough rivalry loss to Iowa State on Thursday, the Iowa men’s basketball team was looking for a rebound, and they got just that against New Orleans on Sunday.The Hawkeyes demolished the Privateers, 104-57, improving to 8-3 on the young season. It marked the second time this season Iowa has crossed the century mark, previously doing so against USC Upstate on Nov. 26.

“It’s a professional group,” Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery said after the game. “We lost a tough one. You got to lock in for the next one. We practiced hard. The scout team was terrific and had a very, very professional approach to the game.”

Second-year center Owen Freeman led the team in scoring with 22 points, four rebounds, and two assists. Josh Dix and Payton Sandfort also had nice afternoons, collecting 13 and 15 points, respectively.

Iowa dictated the pace of the play from the start, jumping out to a double-digit lead early in the half. After a dismal 3-of-10 shooting performance against Iowa State, Payton Sandfort began this game making 2 of his first 3 attempts from beyond the arc, delighting the crowd at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. 

The Hawkeyes also played tenacious defense, forcing the New Orleans shooters into difficult shooting lanes while also blocking a few shot attempts. The Privateers struggled to get anything going offensively, frustrating head coach Stacy Hollowell. 

There were plenty of standouts in the period, but point guard Brock Harding may have been the best of them. The sophomore racked up 13 points and five assists in the the half, and it seemed like he couldn’t miss. Harding was scoring from all over the floor, including three triples, an area that he worked to improve in the offseason.

Harding saw few minutes during the second half due to the lopsided score, finishing his afternoon with 13 points and six assists, barely missing out on a double-double.

“He’s got supreme confidence right now in himself and everybody else as well, second-year forward Pryce Sandfort said. “You see what he can do, moving the ball, but also, scoring himself just really, really confident, shooting the ball really well.”

Sunday’s contest also marked the return of first-year forward Cooper Koch to the floor. Koch had been battling an undisclosed medical issue for the last few weeks and was available for Thursday’s game against Iowa State, but finally saw his first action in weeks against New Orleans. 

Shortly after taking the floor, Koch promptly drained a wide-open three-pointer on the wing, earning a loud roar from his teammates on the bench.

“I’m just happy to be be back here, taking it day by day, seeing how the rest of the season goes,” Koch said.

“It’s great to see him [Koch],” McCaffery added. “I mean, he wants it so bad. He’s worked really hard, terrific player, big part of our team, and just rooting for him to continue to stay healthy.”

Fellow first-year Chris Tadjo also saw some quality minutes, recording two points and one block. Near the end of the half, Tadjo appeared to take a hard shot to the chest from a Privateer defender, and was forced to come out of the game. Tadjo’s absence didn’t seem to affect the Hawkeye shooters, as they finished the half on a tear and led 57-29 at the break. 

In total, Iowa shot 67 percent from the field and 57 percent from downtown. Those are figures that will win plenty of basketball games, and it certainly relaxed the mind of McCaffery and the coaching staff. 

Just when everyone in the building thought the score couldn’t get any worse, it continued to get ugly for the Privateers. Even with the lopsided score, the Hawkeyes continued to play strong defense and shoot the lights out.

The highlight of the second half came as the starters were being taken out of the game. Drew Thelwell stole a lazy New Orleans pass and set up a perfect alley-oop to big man Freeman, resulting in the loudest roar of the day from the Hawkeye faithful.

Throw it down then big fella 🔥@_OwenFreeman x #Hawkeyes

📺: @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/luqCWjtkBy

— Iowa Men’s Basketball (@IowaHoops) December 15, 2024

Hollowell and the rest of his Privateer team could only shake their heads in disgust, and Iowa coasted to victory from there.

Injury updates 

Second-year forward Seydou Traore has been battling an ankle injury over the last few weeks, and it sidelined him once again. Traore played during Thursday’s loss to Iowa State, but was “unable to go” against New Orleans, McCaffery said.

Though Tadjo exited the game in the first half, he would later return in the second half. McCaffery later called him a “tough kid” after the game.

Up next 

The Hawkeyes will have a week off for finals week before returning to action on Dec. 21 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to take on the Utah Utes, who are 7-2 on the season. The contest will be held at the 3,000 seat Sanford Pentagon on the outskirts of town.

Tipoff is set for 5:00 p.m. on Big Ten Network.