By Dylan Burn

IOWA CITY, Iowa – After two blowout exhibition wins, members of the Iowa men's basketball team were excited to get the regular season started and it showed with their performance on Friday.

The Hawkeyes made quick work of Chicago State in the season opener, defeating the Cougars 95-62 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Iowa was expected to be balanced on offense this season and that certainly was the case on Friday. 

Sophomore forward Tyler Cook and freshman center Luka Garza combined for 28 points and were both perfect from the field. The duo combined to make all 10 of their shots, but they did struggle from the free throw line, making just 8-of-15 attempts. 

"They're both really good," said Iowa coach Fran McCaffery. "They have great court demeanor, they don't rattle, their not mistake guys, and against small teams that are physical and that are switching, everyone has to make plays and those guys can make plays. So, really impressive from those guys."

Chicago State tried to compensate for Iowa's size advantage by double-teaming the Iowa post players, but it didn't work.

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On Iowa's first possession, the Cougars sent a double team at the 6-foot-9 Cook, but he dribbled out of it and found a teammate for an open look. That was a sign of things to come on offense.

Iowa's frontcourt tallied 11 of the team's 23 assists on the night with 6-7 junior Ahmad Wagner dishing out four assists.

"I think it's just making correct reads," Cook said. "We knew coming in that they were going to double us real hard, they sent three at us a couple times, so I think it's just us knowing that it's coming and being ready for it."

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Iowa had six players who scored in double figures players, led by the 6-11 Garza with 16 points. He was just three points away from tying Aaron White's record for most points scored in a Hawkeye debut.

"I think I saw something on Twitter," Garza said about the stat. "He was obviously great here, you look up to a guy like, so it's good to be in that kind of company."

Isaiah Moss, Jordan Bohannon, Maishe Dailey, Jack Nunge and Cook also scored in double figures for Iowa.

The 6-5 Moss scored 14 points in just 13 minutes and showed that he has recovered from an ankle injury that caused him to miss the second exhibition game.

"I was just doing treatment and trying to get it back right," Moss said. "(It felt right) probably earlier this week, it felt pretty good, I just kept practicing on it. I sat out probably the last 20 minutes of practice just to ice it and get some more treatment, but other than that it is good."

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Moss showed signs on Friday of being the player that Iowa needs to help fill the void left by all-Big Ten shooting guard Peter Jok, who used up his eligibility last season.

Moss knocked down 5-of-7 shots from the field and was 4-of 6 from 3-point range. He played with confidence and with poise and credits the coaches for believing in his ability.

"It just came over time," Moss said of his confidence. "I think (the coaches) have always believed in me. As far as having the green light this year, since Pete is gone they've really been telling me to be aggressive, not just scoring, but making plays for my teammates."

Iowa will need to clean some things up during the non-conference portion of the schedule. The Hawkeyes struggled with defending Chicago State's fastbreak, allowing 12 fast-break points in the first half. And they allowed 15 offensive rebounds to a much smaller opponent. 

Iowa freshman point guard Connor McCaffery sat out Friday's season opener because of a sprained ankle. Fran McCaffery, who is Connor's father, said that if Connor doesn't play on Sunday against Alabama State, he likely would play on Thursday against Grambling State.

Redshirt junior forward Nicholas Baer also missed Friday's game due to a broken finger. Baer is expected to miss three to four weeks.

Iowa's game against Alabama State on Sunday will tip-off at 3 p.m. at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

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