Takeaways and postgame comments after Iowa’s 117-72 exhibition victory over Truman State
By Dallas Jones
IOWA CITY, IA – The defending Big Ten tournament champion Iowa Hawkeyes took the floor together for the first time this season in an exhibition against the Truman State Bulldogs.
The Hawkeyes dominated the game on almost every facet of the game as they prepare for the 2022-23 season to begin. Here are four takeaways I have from tonight and looking ahead for this season.
This team may be small inside, but the length of their wings more than makes up for it:
Compared to much of the Big Ten, Iowa’s Filip Rebraca is a bit of an undersized center, but when you put him in a lineup with 6’9″ Patrick McCaffery, 6’8″ Kris Murray, 6’7″ Payton Sandfort, and 6’4″ Tony Perkins, lack of size may not be a huge problem.
Now the starting lineup and rotations may move around once Ahron Ulis returns, but this five seem to mesh well on both sides of the ball.
Iowa played almost exclusivly man defense and switched much more frequently than normal. Now, this is just an exhibition game, but this lineup has flexibility on defense that we haven’t seen in Hawkeye basketball team in some time.
The Hawkeyes forced 27 turnovers and had 24 fast break points.
Tony Perkins is ready to lead the team on both sides of the court:
The energetic sixth man for the Hawkeyes the past couple of season has a lot of pressure on him to make a leap this season.
Tonight he showed why Coach McCaffery and many Hawkeye fans believe that leap is going to happen sooner than later.
He finished with a line of 18 points (7-8 from the field), five rebounds, four assists and three steals. An efficient and well balanced display as the Hawkeye look ahead to their season opener.
After the game, teammate Kris Murray said, “He’s definitely taken his game to another level.”
Sixth man/Sixth year Connor McCaffery could have one of his most impactful seasons of his career:
Connor McCaffery started Monday night’s exhibition with four straight makes from beyond the arc. For a player who many times would shy away from letting fly at times, this is a more than encouraging sign.
He finished with 12 points, five rebounds, and five assists. Welcoming the sixth man role and leading the young bench unit for the Hawkeyes will be key going forward.
Kris Murray will be a tough matchup for any defensive unit:
The Junior forward showed tonight some of the many facets of his game. The most important was his confidence. He was shooting threes, attacking the basket in the face-up game, and every pushing the ball in transition.
He ended the game with 24 points (9-14 FG) and seven rebounds. A good way for the junior to get warmed up for the season opener next Monday night at 6pm against the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats.
Check out postgame comments from Coach McCaffery and some of the players here: