By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – After failing to score in double figures in two of the previous three games, Joe Wieskamp took his frustration out on Minnesota on Monday.

The 6-foot-6 sophomore from Muscatine scored a season-high 23 points and made 5-of-7 3-point baskets as Iowa defeated the Gophers 72-52 in the Big Ten home opener at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Monday’s game marked the first time that Wieskamp has scored at least 20 points in a game this season. He also scored 11 of Iowa's first 13 points in the game.

"Any time you hit your first shot, it gets you going and gives you confidence," said Wieskamp, who just missed matching his career high of 24 points..

Wieskamp was determined to play well in Monday's game after having struggled on both offense and defense during the 103-91 loss at Michigan this past Friday.

"It was not my best performance at Michigan," Wieskamp said. "I watched a lot of tape on things where I could improve on, both offensively and defensively, and just tried to come out and be aggressive from the get go."

 Junior center Luka Garza didn’t come close to matching his 44-point outburst against Michigan this past Friday, but he still scored in double figures for the 10^th consecutive game this season with 21 points, including 17 in the second half.

Iowa improved to 7-3 overall and 1-1 in the conference, while Minnesota fell to 4-5 and 0-1 in conference play.

"Credit to Iowa," said Minnesota head coach Richard Pitino. "They played well, obviously. They're a great offensive team and they stepped it up defensively."

Wieskamp has struggled at times on offense this season as he adjusts to carrying more of the scoring load with a new roster that doesn’t include former all-Big Ten forward Tyler Cook or former shooting guard Isaiah Moss.

Cook is in his rookie season with the Cleveland Cavaliers, while Moss transferred to Kansas where he now plays as a graduate student.

Combine their absences with Jordan Bohannon being less than 100 percent due to lingering hip issues and Wieskamp has had to shoulder more of the scoring burden, and it’s been tough at times.

Wieskamp was often Iowa’s fourth scoring option last season behind Cook, Bohannon and Moss, so opposing defenses didn’t make stopping Wieskamp a priority as they are this season.

.Wieskamp picked up in the second half where he had left off in the first half by making his fifth trey of the game just seconds into the half.

That gave Iowa its first double-lead of the game at 40-29.

Wieskamp came out on fire to start the game and made three 3-point baskets within the first five minutes.

Wieskamp made a basket to expand Iowa’s lead to 17-10 with 13:30 left in the first half, but the Gophers answered with a 10-2 scoring run and took a 20-19 lead on a 3-point basket by forward Alihan Demir with 10:08 left before halftime.

But then Iowa answered right back with a 9-0 scoring run and led 28-20 on a basket by Garza with 5:33 left in the first half.

The Gophers had cut the deficit to 28-26 when freshman guard C.J. Fredrick made a 3-point basket with 2:30 left before halftime.

Garza followed with a traditional 3-point play that expanded the lead 34-26 with 1:38 left before halftime, and then Wieskamp made his fourth 3-pointer of the first half to give Iowa a 37-29 lead at the break.

Iowa made 6-of-12 shots from 3-point range in the first half, while the Gophers missed on 11 of their 15 attempts from behind the arc in the first half.

Bohannon played 25 minutes in Monday's game, but only attempted four shots and was held scoreless. He made up for his lack of scoring, though, by dishing out 10 assists with no turnovers.

"I thought his defense was good, too,," Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said of his senior point guard. "I thought he really competed."

Thursday’s game at Iowa State likely will be Bohannon’s final game this season as he is expected to shut it down and take a redshirt after having appeared in 10 games.

Bohannon, who had hip surgery in late May, could play in 10 games in the first semester without exhausting his eligibility for next season.

The Iowa State game would be his 10^th appearance this season.

"I'm still taking it day by day," Bohannon said after Monday's game. "I'm trying not to make it much of a drama. I've been someone that cares about the team more than myself."