By Tyler Devine

DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake men’s basketball team probably is tired of playing against Nicholas Baer in Wells Fargo Arena.

The 6-foot-7 Bettendorf native set career highs in rebounds (14) and steals (five) and added 11 points and five assists in Iowa’s 90-64 victory over Drake on Saturday in the first game of the Big Four Classic.

The 26-point victory improved Iowa's record to 6-6 and extended its winning streak to six games against Drake.

Wells Fargo Arena was also the site of Iowa’s last victory over Drake in 2015 in which Baer set an arena record with six blocks. 

The spark that Baer provided in that game two years ago proved to be his breakout performance as an Iowa player. The spark he provided on Saturday was another example of how valuable Baer is to his team.

“I’ve always enjoyed playing here,” said Baer, who was named the Big Ten's Sixth Man of the Year last season. “It’s a unique atmosphere, the Hy-Vee Classic, you’ve got all four schools here. I was really happy with the Iowa turnout, the Iowa fans were really great today.”

Baer also did something on Saturday that no Hawkeye had done in 17 years.

Baer became the first Iowa player to record over 13 or more rebounds, four or more assists and four or more steals since Reggie Evans did it on the same date in 2000 against Missouri and recorded his fourth career double-double.

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Baer’s leadership on and off the court is palpable and much-needed with a young team said Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery.

“Very reminiscent of when we played them here two years ago,” McCaffery said. “He was really the reason we won’t that game, that was a very close game. When he’s playing like that we’re a different team. We need that kind of veteran leadership out on the floor and he’s been like that in particular in practice as well. I’ve been really impressed.

“When you lose a few you get a little sideways with a young team and you need those veteran guys to step up and do what they do and then back it up with their performance and that’s what he did.”

Even though Baer admits that he enjoys the atmosphere of the arena, he believes there also are other factors in play.

“I think it’s more indicative of where we are as a team every year when we come here,” Baer said. “This is mid-December and at this point we should really be starting to put things together. I think that’s more of an indication of where we’re at collectively as a team and when we’re playing well as a team it allows players like myself to have better games.”

It’s no secret that Baer’s energy and emotion rubs off on his teammates, and that was certainly the case again on Saturday when the Hawkeyes needed a boost.

Once Baer got involved defensively, Iowa’s transition game began to flow, and with it came more productivity on offense.

Baer ran the point of Iowa’s full-court press, helping the Hawkeyes force 19 Drake turnovers, including back-to-back turnovers late in the first half in the middle of a 13-0 Iowa run to help take a seven-point lead into the half.

Sophomore guard Jordan Bohannon saw Baer get his legs under him for the first time since returning from a broken pinky finger that sidelined him for Iowa’s first six games.

“Obviously he’s always been a spark on our team,” Bohannon said. “He was able to get a lot of steals in the first half to get us going. We got our transition game going and a lot of that had to do with stops on the defensive end and he’s a big part of that. 

“He had close to a triple double and the past couple of games he’s been trying to get his feet back under him since that injury and I think he’s starting to get back to normal and he’s a big part of what we’re trying to do later in the season.”

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