It was a game that featured lead changes, scoring runs, sloppy defense, and the pace of a track meet, but the Iowa men’s basketball team found a way to cross the finish line on top, securing an 95-88 victory over Utah in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on Saturday night.

Fourth-year forward Payton Sandfort led the way with 24 points and eight rebounds, but third-year guard Josh Dix stole the show, chipping in 15 crucial points, four assists, and three rebounds in the win. Second-year center Owen Freeman also had a nice game despite foul trouble, contributing 16 points, six rebounds, and two assists.

First Half 

It was an Iowa-heavy crowd in Sioux Falls, and the Hawkeyes treated them with tremendous defense in the early going. Utah had trouble running anything resembling an offensive set, and it was often forced into late shot clock situations, recording two shot-clock violations. 

Iowa responded by jumping out to a 14-8 advantage thanks to a plethora of inside scoring, especially from Freeman. Freeman recorded six points, and the Utes didn’t seem to have an answer for him. 

But even after taking an early punch in the mouth, Utah kept fighting back, scoring 19 points over the next four minutes to take a lead of their own. They were gifted by plenty of defensive lapses from the Iowa defense, which disappeared after a stellar first few minutes. The Utes were simply running the classic pick-and-roll play on each possession, but the Hawkeyes still couldn’t string together stops. 

The Hawkeyes failed to gain any traction on offense, often taking rushed three-pointers in transition instead of running successful offensive sets. In all, Iowa went 38 percent from beyond the arc and 44 percent from the field, a far cry from its sizzling numbers against New Orleans on Dec. 15. 

An easy Utah dunk to end the half was the breaking point for Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery and the coaching staff, and the Hawkeyes went to the locker room down 40-36 with 20 minutes to play.

Second Half

Iowa came out of halftime exactly how it finished it, giving up an easy dunk on defense. Utah took advantage, nailing a few perimeter jumpers to build a comfortable 10-point lead early in the period.

But just as the crowd at the Pentagon fell into a silence, Freeman woke up.

The sophomore collected a a pair of tough and-ones to reenergize not only the crowd, but also the entire Hawkeye entire team. Despite missing each ensuing free-throw, the spark proved to be enough to get Iowa back into the contest.

Tuff Man. 💥@_OwenFreeman x #Hawkeyes

📺: @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/ImFqZgd5pB

— Iowa Men’s Basketball (@IowaHoops) December 21, 2024

Second-year forward Ladji Dembele provided some nice minutes off the bench, chipping in a clutch triple and baby hook to tie the game, and the match turned into a track meet from there.

Both teams traded buckets the rest of the way, but the momentum began to turn the Hawkeyes’ way around the five-minute mark. Dix took over this game, scoring on just about every area of the floor. The junior even made a few moves that would make some NBA players proud, highlighted by a pretty ball fake that left a Utah defender wobbling backwards.

Sheeshhh, JD!

📺: @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/mPRk9UEcKY

— Iowa Men’s Basketball (@IowaHoops) December 22, 2024

Dix continued to get buckets, but with Iowa clinging to a five-point edge, it was Brock Harding’s moment. The second-year point guard had his fair share of struggles throughout the game, but delivered a clutch triple to push the lead to eight.

Utah never closed the gap after that, and the Hawkeyes celebrated a big victory.

Up next 

The Hawkeyes will have some time off for Christmas before returning to action on Dec. 30 against New Hampshire. It will be the final non-conference game of the season before Big Ten play resumes on Jan. 3.

Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. on Big Ten Network.