LINCOLN, NE- As Iowa men’s basketball head coach Fran McCaffery and fourth-year forward Payton Sandfort celebrated a stunning 83-68 upset victory over Nebraska during their Fox TV interviews, something unusual occurred in the middle of their remarks.
Five victorious Hawkeyes suddenly emerged from the locker room to join the party, a sign of how emotional this win was for the team. Iowa, now 16-15 overall and 7-13 in Big Ten play, would have missed the Big Ten Tournament with a loss on Sunday, but its triumph means that it will play at least one more basketball game in 2024-25.
“It’s not about me, it’s about him [Sandfort],” McCaffery said after the game. That’s what he wanted. That’s what he wanted for his brother [Pryce] that’s what he wanted for his teammates, that’s what he wanted to do when he came back to lead this team.”
“We’ve all sacrificed a lot for the season,” Sandfort added. It’s been tough, but we’ve stayed together.”
Sandfort finished his day with a team-high 22 points and eight rebounds, while third-year guard Josh Dix chipped in 15 points and four rebounds. Fourth-year guard Juwan Gary led the Huskers with 24 points and seven rebounds, but he was one of only two Nebraska players to score in double figures, the other being fellow senior guard Sam Hoiberg.
Nebraska entered this game fresh off of a four-game losing streak, and opened the contest with its hair on fire. The Cornhuskers knocked in three of their first four shots from behind the arc, with all of them being wide-open looks. On the flip side, Iowa struggled to settle in to its half-court offense, and Nebraska led 9-2 at the first media timeout.
The Huskers quickly built an eight-point lead, but the Hawkeyes fought back thanks some perimeter jumpers from Payton’s younger brother, Pryce, and Brock Harding. The Harding triple gave Iowa its first lead of the game, and the contest turned into a track meet for the remainder of the first half.
The Hawkeyes continued to scorch the nets from the outside, making 40 percent of their attempts from deep in the period. Sandfort accounted for three of those, recording 11 total points in the half to lead all Iowa scorers.
Leading 38-35 with 28 seconds left in the frame, Iowa head coach McCaffery drew up a beautiful backdoor cut play for Payton, who rattled in a layup in the waning seconds of the half to pad the Hawkeye lead, 40-35, at the break.
Payton Sandfort drives to beat the buzzer 🚨@IowaHoops leads Nebraska, 40-35, at the half.#B1GMBBall on @CBBonFOX 📺 pic.twitter.com/YlZD5REy7d
— Big Ten Men’s Basketball (@B1GMBBall) March 9, 2025
Second Half
The opening of the second half was a carbon copy of how the majority of the first half played out. Both teams traded a few buckets early, but a 7-0 run by Iowa seemed to sway the tide in its favor. The run began with a Drew Thelwell bucket off of a pretty pass from Josh Dix, and Dix closed the stretch with five points of his own, a three from the top of the key and a transition layup, to give the Hawkeyes a 54-45 edge with 14 minutes to go in the game.
“I just kind of let it [the game] come to me a little bit,” Dix said. “And my teammates were playing really well in the first half, and then they kind of looked to me after a little stress in the second half. So I just had to go make some plays.”
Iowa continued to pour it on after that, confusing Nebraska with its high-action cutting and ball screen actions on offense to generate open looks from distance. Not only were the Hawkeyes getting those looks, they were draining them, especially the Sandfort brothers. Payton struggled to find his groove in the first, but a couple of big-time triples midway through the second to help keep the Iowa lead hovering at double digits.
Nebraska attempted several pushes over the course of the half, but the Hawkeyes were able to step up and make crucial plays when they needed them the most. One of those notable examples came with three minutes to go in the game. With the shot clock winding down, Harding nailed a step back triple to extend the Iowa lead to 11.
The Huskers never threatened after that, and Iowa celebrated a stunning victory.
Up next
The Hawkeyes return to action on March 12 for the first round of the Big Ten Tournament against the Ohio State Buckeyes, who are 17-14 overall and 9-11 in league play. Iowa will be the tournament’s No. 15 seed, while the Buckeyes will be a No. 10 seed. It will mark the third consecutive meeting in the Big Ten Tournament for the two programs.
Tip off is set for 25 minutes after the 3:30 game on Peacock from Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana.