The Iowa men’s basketball team suffered another heartbreaking defeat on Wednesday night against the Oregon Ducks, falling in a 80-78 nail-biter at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Fourth-year forward Payton Sandfort led the way with 25 points, five rebounds, and five assists on 9-of-16 shooting. Third-year guard Josh Dix followed with 19 points, two steals, and two assists.
“They [the players] want it [to win] badly and I wanted it badly for them,” Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery said. “We were in a position to get one [a win].”
Though the Hawkeyes didn’t partake in the $2 beer and pretzel student promotion before the game, they came out sluggish and missed their first four field goals of the game. Sandfort knocked the dust off with a floater in the lane, and it was game on after that.
Iowa’s defense down low has struggled since losing sophomore big Owen Freeman to injury, and the Ducks quickly took advantage of his absence early in this one, scoring 20 of their first 28 points of the contest in the paint en route to a six-point lead with eight minutes to play in the half.
Third-year guard Dix provided much of the scoring load, collecting 15 points and two three-pointers in the period. Dix’s scoring kept the Hawkeyes within five or six points throughout the half, but a technical foul on Sandfort after his made jumper seemed to sway the tide back in Oregon’s favor.
The officials said that Sandfort was chirping at his Duck defender after he made the shot, but the Hawkeye faithful and McCaffery didn’t agree, raining a chorus of boos down on the officiating crew. But momentum is still momentum, and the play allowed Oregon to extend its lead to 10.
Dix fittingly closed Iowa’s scoring with a layup, giving the Black and Gold some much-needed energy heading into the second half.
Second Half
The Hawkeyes came out flying out of the gates to open the half, beginning the frame with a 12-4 run to tie the contest at 49. The stretch even brought the small crowd at Carver-Hawkeye Area to its feet, forcing Ducks coach Dana Altman to burn a timeout.
Oregon responded with a couple of treys to build a slight lead, but Iowa bounced back with a run of its own to cut the lead down to a point.
The game turned into a back-and-forth affair from there. The Ducks looked like they would pull away at several intervals, but the Hawkeyes stayed close thanks to major scoring contributions from Dix and Sandfort. While that was expected, the play of fifth-year center Even Brauns was not.
Brauns has played sparingly off the bench for most of the year, but Freeman’s injury resulted in him stepping into a bigger role in the offense. That spot served Brauns well on this night, as his active work in the paint helped Iowa tame its defensive woes down low.
“Credit to my teammates,” Brauns said. “[They] just helped me get good looks.”
“He had every right to be frustrated with his playing time,” McCaffery said. “He had some other guys ahead of him, but he just keeps plugging. He comes to practice, works as hard as you can.”
The lead changed hands over the last five minutes, setting up for a dramatic finish.
Trailing by two with under a minute to play, Sandfort drove in for a layup, but the ball rolled right off the rim, forcing the Hawkeyes to play the foul game. Oregon knocked in both free throws, but a Brauns layup cut the deficit back to two.
The Ducks turned it over on the ensuing inbounds play, giving Iowa a golden opportunity to tie or win the game. Dix had an open layup, but just like Sandfort, his attempt slid right off the front of the basket. Both teams fought for the ball, but Oregon touched it last, and somehow, someway, the Hawkeyes earned one final look to send it to overtime or win the game.
But Dix’s step-back jumper was blocked, forcing Brauns to throw up a last-second heave at the buzzer. It fell short, and Iowa again found itself on the wrong end of another close game.
“I probably should have shot it right when I got the ball, but I was happy with the look,” Dix said after the game.
Up next
The Hawkeyes return to Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Feb. 22 for a matchup against Washington, who is 13-12 overall and 4-10 in league action. The Huskies are currently in the middle of a contest against Rutgers before they head to Iowa City. Senior forward Great Osobor leads the squad with 14.9 points per game.
Tip off is set for 3:00 p.m. on Fox Sports 1.