Albany, New York
One of the most popular upset picks on ESPN brackets (39.7%), never really had a chance. The Big Ten Tournament runner up Iowa Hawkeyes we’re firing on all cylinders, and led by someone other than their POY front runner Luka Garza. While he has been their force all season inside, the Hawkeyes showed just how dangerous they could be from the outside.
An early 14-0 run, fueled by three 3 pointers from Joe Weiskamp gave the Hawkeyes a 26-12 lead with 8 minutes left in the first half. The Flames were able to cut the deficit to 46-37 on a nifty and one by Caleb Homesley with 1:12 left in the first half. But freshman CJ Fredrick one upped him on the ensuing possession, converting a 4 point play on a foul by Elijah Cuffee to send the Hawkeyes to a 50-37 halftime lead.
The 2nd half was more of the same for Iowa, and when Garza hit a 3 pointer at the top of the key with 12:00 left, it pushed the Iowa lead to 71-42. The Flames were never able to get closer than they did at the final horn, when Scottie James drained an 85 foot heave that wowed the remaining crowd.
“What I was really happy about, was the way we rebounded, and the way we distributed the ball” said Iowa coach Fran McCaffrey. Iowa held a 51-33 rebound advantage, while committing only 5 turnovers with 23 assists.
Luka Garza’s 17 points broke his streak of 19 straight 20 points games, although he added 17 rebounds to his stat sheet.
Sophomore guard Joe Weiskamp stays hot with 22 points on 5-7 shooting from behind the arc.
Caleb Homesley led the Flames with 16 points.
Iowa shot 15-33 from 3 point range
What’s next:
Iowa advances to play #4 seed Louisville on Saturday
Liberty goes home and hopefully is never seen again
One of the most popular upset picks on ESPN brackets (39.7%), never really had a chance. The Big Ten Tournament runner up Iowa Hawkeyes we’re firing on all cylinders, and led by someone other than their POY front runner Luka Garza. While he has been their force all season inside, the Hawkeyes showed just how dangerous they could be from the outside.
An early 14-0 run, fueled by three 3 pointers from Joe Weiskamp gave the Hawkeyes a 26-12 lead with 8 minutes left in the first half. The Flames were able to cut the deficit to 46-37 on a nifty and one by Caleb Homesley with 1:12 left in the first half. But freshman CJ Fredrick one upped him on the ensuing possession, converting a 4 point play on a foul by Elijah Cuffee to send the Hawkeyes to a 50-37 halftime lead.
The 2nd half was more of the same for Iowa, and when Garza hit a 3 pointer at the top of the key with 12:00 left, it pushed the Iowa lead to 71-42. The Flames were never able to get closer than they did at the final horn, when Scottie James drained an 85 foot heave that wowed the remaining crowd.
“What I was really happy about, was the way we rebounded, and the way we distributed the ball” said Iowa coach Fran McCaffrey. Iowa held a 51-33 rebound advantage, while committing only 5 turnovers with 23 assists.
Luka Garza’s 17 points broke his streak of 19 straight 20 points games, although he added 17 rebounds to his stat sheet.
Sophomore guard Joe Weiskamp stays hot with 22 points on 5-7 shooting from behind the arc.
Caleb Homesley led the Flames with 16 points.
Iowa shot 15-33 from 3 point range
What’s next:
Iowa advances to play #4 seed Louisville on Saturday
Liberty goes home and hopefully is never seen again
