Quick turnaround, no Kris Murray; no problem as Iowa men crush No. 20 Iowa State
Iowa bolts to 15-0 lead and rolls to 75-56 victory to give Fran McCaffery his 500th career win
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Having to make a quick turnaround after a loss to Duke less than 48 hours earlier in New York City, and playing without its leading scorer and rebounder was the challenge facing the Iowa men’s basketball team against Iowa State on Thursday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
It was challenge accepted and challenge met in impressive fashion as the Hawkeyes built a double-digit lead in the first half and then rolled to a 75-56 victory despite being without junior forward Kris Murray, who missed the game due to a lower body injury.
Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery downplayed any concerns about having to make a quick turnaround following the 74-62 loss to Duke this past Tuesday, and now it seems apparent why as his team was locked in on both ends of the floor.
The Iowa players and coaches didn’t arrive home from New York City until about 5 a.m. on Wednesday, but they refused to use that as an excuse.
“I think we have a special group. They’re very competitive,” Fran McCaffery said. “They were not pleased with how we played the other night and they took responsibility. They were locked in for practice yesterday.”
Iowa jumped on the Cyclones early, bolting to a 15-0 lead and the game never was in doubt from that point on as Iowa State failed to mount any serious rally.
Iowa improved to 7-2 and now faces another quick turnaround with Wisconsin coming to Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Sunday.
Iowa State entered the game ranked 20th nationally and with a 7-1 record, but it never posed much of a threat as the Hawkeyes turned the game into a mismatch from the beginning.
Junior guard Tony Perkins brought the fans to their feet by making a rim-rattling dunk to give Iowa a 59-33 lead with less than 12 minutes to play.
By that point, it was just a matter of how much Iowa would win by as the Cyclones just didn’t have any answers on either end of the court.
Iowa State trimmed the deficit to 17 points late in the second half, much to the displeasure of Fran McCaffery.
But it was far too little and too late.
Iowa compensated for Kris Murray’s loss with a balanced attack as four players scored in double figures, led by Filip Rebraca with 22 points.
Rebraca also had a game-high 11 rebounds in a performance that was similar to how he stuffed the stat sheet in three seasons at North Dakota where he played before transferring to Iowa.
“I felt like at North Dakota I would shoot the ball more, and I felt that I did that tonight,” said Rebraca, who made 9-of-11 shots from the field, including both of his 3-point attempts. “I was always comfortable doing these things, and when I came to Iowa there were players of my caliber or greater, so I just wanted to win. So I did whatever it took.
“But coach needed me to step up and I’m here to do it.”
Rebraca’ performance drew praise from Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger.
“I felt like he was the more physical guy,” Otzelberger said. “He had intent with the way he played.”
Iowa made 12-of-23 shots from 3-point range, while Iowa State missed 19 of 22 shots from 3-point range.
The victory gave Fran McCaffery his 500th career win, and gives his team plenty of confidence heading into Big Ten play.
The Iowa student section chanted “Hawkeye State” and “overrated” in the final minutes to celebrate the lopsided win.
Fran McCaffery shared the praise when asked about his milestone victory afterwards.
“I don’t consider myself having 500 wins,” Fran McCaffery said. “I’m the coach. My responsibility is to put our guys in a position to win. I let them go win the game.
“And I’ve been blessed. I’ve worked for great people.”
Fran McCaffery shared an emotional embrace with his wife, Margaret McCaffery on the court after the game before heading to the locker room where his players were ready to celebrate.
McCaffery had changed clothes by the time he joined the post-game press conference because the clothes he had worn during the game got soaked while the players and coaches celebrated in the lockeroom afterwards.
“Every piece of clothing was wet,” Fran McCaffery said. “I’ll leave it at that.”
As for Kris Murray’s status, Fran McCaffery wasn’t optimistic that he would play against Wisconsin on Sunday, but McCaffery said it was too early to know for sure.
But at least for one game, and against a ranked opponent, Kris Murray’s teammates showed that they could get the job done in convincing fashion.
Perkins made his second 3-point basket of the game to give Iowa a 10-0 lead with 16 minutes, 50 seconds left in the first half.
The quick start helped to energize what was a late-arriving crowd, and sixth-year senior guard Connor McCaffery, who started for Kris Murray, provided even more energy by making another three barely one minute later, expanding the lead to 13-0.
Filip Rebraca then made a basket to push the lead to 15-0 and then Iowa State finally got on the board when freshman point guard Tamin Lipsey made a runner in the lane, cutting the deficit to 15-2 with 14 minutes left in the first half.
Connor McCaffery made his second 3-pointer to give Iowa an 18-2 lead with 12:52 left in the first half and it looked as if the route was on, even without Iowa’s leading scorer and rebounder playing.
The lead grew to 26-4 on two free throws by Connor McCaffery with 9:03 left in the first half and then Ahron Ulis made a three to expand the lead ton29-8 with just over seven minutes left in the first half.
Iowa State answered with back-to-back baskets, but then Filip Rebraca answered with a 3-point basket from the right baseline, giving Iowa a 32-12 lead with under six minutes left in the first half.
Any concern about how Iowa would handle not having Kris Murray on the floor was erased by the point.
Patrick McCaffery made a three to give Iowa a 39-16 lead with three minutes before halftime, which ended with Iowa have doubled up the Cyclones with a 40-20 advantage.
Iowa made 7-of-14 shots from 3-point range in the first half, while Iowa State missed all 11 of its attempts from 3-point range in the first half.
That’s a difference of 21 points for a half that ended with Iowa leading by 20 points.
Iowa also had a 21-12 advantage on the boards in the first half and was led by Rebraca with eight rebounds. He also led Iowa with 11 points in the first half.