Career days for Joe Toussaint and Ryan Kriener lead Iowa to 93-51 win over Kennesaw State
By Tyler Devine
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Joe Toussaint’s first career start against Cincinnati on Dec. 21, in which he played for just over three minutes, did not go as planned.
Toussaint’s second career start in place of Jordan Bohannon, who had season-ending hip surgery on Dec. 19, was more to his liking.
The freshman point guard made his presence felt on both ends of the court on Sunday in No. 25 Iowa’s 93-51 dismantling of lowly Kennesaw State in a game in which the Hawkeyes led by as many as 46 points and never trailed.
The 6-foot Toussaint set career highs with seven assists and five steals to help Iowa improve to 10-3 heading into Big Ten play.
Toussaint also had six points, all of which came in the first half.
“I think, to be honest with you, he would have settled down in the Cincinnati game,” head coach Fran McCaffery said. “But he got in foul trouble, Bakari (Evelyn) played extremely well, so he kind of was the odd man out coming down the stretch.
“But I think he grew up from that experience. He has had three great workouts in a row. He came back with the right mindset, the right frame of mind. I thought he really controlled the game tonight, really impressed me."
A few of those assists came by way of nifty no-look passes after Toussaint used his quickness to penetrate the Kennesaw State defense.
Toussaint wasn’t the only defensive force for Iowa, as seven different players recorded at least one steal en route to forcing 24 Kennesaw State turnovers.
“I was just playing within myself,” Toussaint said. “(I was) playing confident and playing for my teammates, trying to get my teammates the ball, trying to score the ball but also trying to do a little bit of everything.”
Senior forward Ryan Kriener also had a career day.
The 6-foot-10 Kriener was a perfect 9-for-9 shooting from the field that led to a career-high 20 points.
“Can’t complain about it,” Kriener said. “Didn’t miss a shot, didn’t have a turnover. There really wasn’t a lot to complain about.
“I think our team really got it going early and it really opened stuff up for me. I had some easy ones early that got me going. Once you get a few falling, it’s easy to get in a rhythm.”
The Hawkeyes led 49-30 at halftime, shooting over 61 percent from the field in the first half.
Junior center Luka Garza led all scorers with 23 points, 14 of which came in the first half.
Sophomore forward Joe Wieskamp added 18 points on 8-for-12 shooting from the field.
Iowa will face Penn State on Saturday in Philadelphia at The Palestra.