By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – With Tuesday’s 92-64 victory over Southern Utah, the Iowa men’s basketball team extended its winning streak to three games and climbed above .500 for the first time since late November.

But have the 7-6 Hawkeyes turned the corner from being mediocre to a team on the rise?

That remains to be seen because there just isn’t enough proof to make that claim at this stage.

Iowa’s modest three-game winning streak has come against Southern University, Drake and Southern Utah, hardly what would qualify as a major accomplishment because Iowa should have its way with those three teams under any circumstance.

Iowa’s seven victories this season have all come against opponents that leave much to be desired. But the level of competition will improve on Friday when Iowa faces Colorado in Sioux Falls, S.D.

So maybe with a victory on Friday, junior forward Nicholas Baer would be willing to say that Iowa has turned the corner because he stopped short of saying that on Tuesday.

“I think we’ve definitely been playing well this last week or so for sure,” Baer said. “We’re going to see some more competition coming up here and I’m really looking forward to our game on Friday. I think that will be a good testament to see where we are.”

Baer then referred to Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz’s approach to getting better.

“Just like coach Ferentz says, it’s a process and we’ve just got to stick with it,” Baer said. “So we’re just going to continue to get better and keep working.”

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AoTgRk_Y9AM" frameborder="0" gesture="media" allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

The Hawkeyes bolted to a 13-3 lead against Southern Utah and the outcome never seemed in doubt after that.

Iowa led 51-31 at halftime and more than doubled the Thunderbirds on the boards with a 27-13 rebounding advantage in the first half. Iowa also expanded the lead to 30 points in the second half.

“I thought defensively right off the bat we were really good,” said Iowa coach Fran McCaffery. “

Iowa also excelled on offense pretty much from start to finish, shooting over 50 percent in both halves and assisting on 25 of 35 made shots.

“We did a good job sharing the ball,” McCaffery said. “I thought we attacked the zone well. We didn’t shoot it great. But I thought we worked it well and got good shots.”

McCaffery was referring to Iowa having only made 6-of-22 attempts from 3-point range.

But that had no impact on the outcome because Iowa was vastly superior in virtually every other phase of the game, especially on the boards where Iowa had a 48-27 advantage.

Iowa had three players who scored in double figures, led by freshman Luka Garza’s 17 points off the bench, and eight players who scored at least five points.

Iowa also had seven players who grabbed at least four rebounds.

“We know we’re a really good offensive rebounding team,” Garza said. “In practice we’re always grabbing rebounds and it’s hard to box out. We’ve been struggling with that earlier in the year so we really made it a point to get to the glass.”

Sophomore forward Tyler Cook scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds, but he also had zero trunovers after having six in the 90-64 victory over Drake last Saturday in Des Moines.

"I like that better," Cook said. "I just checked it actually. I think my pace was a lot better today. I was able to get the ball in better positions and make the right plays."

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XRtlI6iERBY" frameborder="0" gesture="media" allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VoSMyugqEag" frameborder="0" gesture="media" allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

The only real concern for Iowa on Tuesday was the health of junior forward Ahmad Wagner and junior guard Brady Ellingson. They both suffered right ankle injuries in the first half and didn’t return.

“They both turned their ankles stepping on a guy’s foot,” McCaffery said. ”They were identical. I’m not one-hundred percent, but I think Ahmad’s might be a little worse.

“Hopefully, they can both make a quick turnaround.”