Move over "Six Pack" because you have company
IOWA CITY, Iowa – The Iowa men’s basketball team now has something in common with Ralph Miller’s legendary "Six Pack" squad from 46 years ago.
Iowa moved into select company by defeating Purdue 83-71 on Sunday before a sellout crowd of 15,400 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The victory improved Iowa’s records to 7-0 in the Big Ten and 16-3 overall.
It marks just the second time in school history that Iowa has been 7-0 in conference play. The "Six Pack" did it the first time during the 1969-70 season and then went on to win the Big Ten title outright at 14-0.
Senior forward Jarrod Uthoff led four Iowa players in double figures with 22 points. Junior guard Peter Jok and senior center Adam Woodbury both scored 13 points, while senior guard Anthony Clemmons finished with 10.
The 6-foot-9 Uthoff has scored at least 20 points in five of the last six games.
Trailing 35-33 at halftime, Iowa scored the first eight points in the second half and never trailed again.
Uthoff made a left-handed dunk in which he drove past several Purdue defenders in the lane to give Iowa a 47-39 lead with 15 minutes, 45 seconds left in the second half.
The Boilermakers answered with a basket by forward Vince Edwards, cutting the lead to 47-41 with 15:10 left to play.
Iowa then answered back with three consecutive 3-point baskets by reserves Brady Ellingson, Nicholas Baer and Dom Uhl. That expanded the lead to 56-41 with less than 14 minutes to play.
Iowa’s lead swelled to 19 points in the second half, but the Boilermakers refused to wilt, cutting the deficit to eight points down the stretch.
In addition to completing a season sweep of Purdue, ninth-ranked Iowa also stayed even with Indiana in the Big Ten standings. Iowa and Indiana are the only Big Ten teams still undefeated in conference play.
Jok scored the first four points in the game and then Uthoff followed with a 3-pointer to give Iowa a 7-0 lead with 18:31 left in the first half.
Purdue then responded with a 13-3 scoring run, but Iowa answered back with a 12-6 scoring run and led 20-16 when Uhl made a 3-pointer with 11:51 left in the first half.
The Boilermakers grabbed the lead again thanks to 12-2 scoring run. Freshman guard Ryan Cline made a 3-pointer to expand Purdue’s lead to 28-22 with 7:36 left in the first half.
Uthoff made a basket for Iowa, but Purdue guard P.J.Thompson answered with one of his three 3-point baskets in the first half, expanding the lead to 31-24 with 5:28 left in the first half.
Iowa closed the first half with a 9-4 scoring run, trimming Purdue’s lead to 35-33 at halftime.
The Boilermakers made 6-of-11 treys in the first half and had 21-14 advantage on the boards.