Iowa men make a statement by upsetting No. 17 Purdue
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Those assuming this would be a rebuilding season for the Iowa men’s basketball team might have to reconsider that prediction.
The Hawkeyes raised a few eyebrows on Thursday by hanging on to defeat No. 17 Purdue 83-78 before an announced attendance of 10,752 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Iowa prevailed despite missing half of its 18 free throws and despite playing for stretches in the second half with a lineup that had three true freshmen, one redshirt freshman and a former walk-on.
It was Iowa’s youth that caused some to think this would be a rebuilding season. But that same youth answered the challenge on Thursday as the freshmen combined to score 40 points, led by forward Tyler Cook with 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field.
“Wins like this kind of proves that we can do it,” Cook said. “Now it’s just about doing it consistently and coming out with the same effort and intensity for all the game because we didn’t play perfect the whole game.
“But our effort was there. Especially in the second half.”
Iowa improved to 11-7 overall and 3-2 in the Big Ten and now will look to build off the momentum from Thursday’s victory when it faces Northwestern on Sunday in Evanston, Ill. Purdue fell to 14-4 and 3-2 in the conference.
Iowa shot 67 percent from the field in the second half, which more than doubled Purdue’s 32.1 shooting percentage in the second half.
“We got good looks,” said Purdue coach Matt Painter. “We didn’t execute and we put ourselves in a tough position.”
Iowa had something to do with Purdue being in a tough situation.
Several statistics help to explain how Iowa pulled off the upset after losing to this same Purdue team 89-67 in the Big Ten opener on Dec. 28 in West Lafayette, Ind.
Iowa outscored the Boilermakers 40-20 in the paint on Thursday, which is no easy task, considering Purdue’s frontline features 7-foot-2 Isaac Haas and 6-9 Caleb Swanigan. They certainly did their part by combining for 30 points and 14 rebounds, but it still wasn’t enough as Iowa collected another impressive victory at home.
Iowa was led in scoring as usual by 6-6 senior Peter Jok with 29 points, including 17 in the second half. Points were just part of Jok's contribution, though, as he also dished out eight assists and grabbed six rebounds. Jok is the only returning starter from last season and he played alongside at least three freshmen for most of Thursday's game.
“They certainly played like a veteran group in the second half,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said of his team.
Iowa freshman point guard Jordan Bohannon played with the poise of a veteran while scoring 12 points, dishing out nine assists and committing just one turnover in 36 minutes of action. The former Linn-Mar star also made back-to-back 3-point baskets early in the second half, with each giving Iowa a two-point lead after Purdue had led 47-38 at halftime.
“I thought that surge right there with Bohannon and those two threes were huge,” Painter said. “Obviously, Jok got away from us a couple times, but Jok also made some tough shots. Maybe they’re not tough for him, but they’re tough for everybody else.”
Iowa’s struggles from the free throw line ended just in time as Bohannon and forward Nicholas Baer both made two free throws in the final 11.9 seconds to secure the victory.
The 6-7 Baer also grabbed 10 rebounds and made numerous hustle plays to ignite his team.
“Just incredible, first half, too,” McCaffery said of Baer’s rebounding against Purdue’s massive frontline.
The first half saw the Hawkeyes perform some rim-rattling dunks, much to the delight of the fans. But it also ended with Purdue leading 47-38, thanks to an 18-8 scoring run to close the first half.
Iowa was leading 30-29 when Swanigan made a 3-point basket with 6:33 left in the first half. His basket triggered the 18-8 scoring run during which Swanigan scored 10 of his 13 points in the first half.
Iowa only committed three turnovers in the first half and held its own on the boards against Purdue’s gigantic frontline with the Boilermakers only having a 17-16 rebounding advantage at halftime. Iowa kept pounding the boards in the second half and finished the game with a 35-28 rebounding advantage. Iowa had four playes who grabbed at least six rebounds.
Iowa also shot 50 percent from the field in the first half, making 18-of-36 field-goal attempts, but missed all five of its free throw attempts.
Jok came out firing to begin second half, scoring six of Iowa’s first eight points, including a basket that trimmed the deficit to just one point at 48-47 with 16:56 remaining.
The game was physical from start to finish as both teams dove for loose balls and were relentless on the boards. Haas, who weighs nearly 300 pounds, twice fell to the floor while batling an Iowa player for a loose ball. Redshirt freshman guard Isaiah Moss suffered a blow to the back of his head and only played three minutes in the second half.
Junior forward Dom Uhl also injured his thumb on a failed dunk attempt in the second half. He was in noticable pain on the bench as the trainer examined his hand.
"He whacked his thumb on the dunk attempt," McCaffery said. "I don't think it's broken, though. I haven't been told it's broken."
Little-used freshman forward Ryan Kriener provided a spark in the second half by scoring six points in less than three minutes. His third basket tied the score at 66-66 with 9:25 remaining.
“Just going to work every day and doing all I can and when you get your shot, you just have to make the most of it,” said Kriener, a 6-9 native of Spirit Lake.
Kriener didn’t hesitate to shoot when the opportunity presented itself in Thursday’s game.
“That’s something that I’ve always done, I guess, starting with back in high school,” Kriener said. “If I have an open shot I’m going to take it. I obviously have a lot of confidence in my ability to score the ball.”
The Iowa players should have a lot of confidence after defeating one of the Big Ten’s top teams in Purdue.
It still is too early to call Iowa a legitimate Big Ten contender, but this hardly looks like a rebuilding season, either.
Iowa had to replace four senior starters from last season’s team that advanced to the second-round of the NCAA Tournament. So it made sense to think this could be a rebuilding season for a program that has made three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.
But now, the season is showing signs of being much more than that.
“I think we know that we’re close,” Baer said. “If we can play how we did (tonight), especially in that second half, against other top teams in our conference, then we’ll be able to contend for a championship. I think that’s our goal. And we understand it doesn’t get any easier from here and we’re excited for the challenge.”
Baer and his teammates have reason to be excited. And so do their fans.