By Dallas Jones

IOWA CITY, IA – The Iowa Hawkeyes continued their big week against the Northwestern Wildcats Tuesday night. The Wildcats  came in 15-5 on the season and in sole possession of second place in the Big Ten conference.

On top of that, it was a night in celebration of former Hawkeye Chris Street.

Iowa’s high powered offense matched up against Northwestern’s staunch defense. The game had many ups and down till it concluded in a 86-70 victory for the Hawkeyes.

Here are my takeaways and postgame words from the team.

Sharing is caring: In recent years and much of this season, Iowa has been a team with one true point man when it comes to scoring.

Having a go-to guy is key for any great team, but versatility is something that every team needs to have as the season progresses.

The Hawkeyes showed just that in their win over Northwestern as five different Hawkeyes found themselves in double figures.

Kris Murray brought in the most attention from the Wildcats and finished with 16. Filip Rebraca and Payton Sandfort led the way with 20 from each. Rebraca added ten rebounds to his performance and Sandfort hit five threes.

Tony Perkins and Connor McCaffery rounded out the high scoring Hawkeyes in double figures.

Dix emergence and Patrick’s return deepens the rotation: Patrick McCaffery could very well find himself back in the starting lineup soon. For now he is coming off the bench and providing greta minutes for the Hawkeyes second unit.

Along with Josh Dix and Payton Sandfort, Patrick McCaffery has solidified an eight-man rotation for the Hawkeyes.

Sandfort knocked down two threes, grabbed two rebound and tallied four assists in the first half alone.

Sandfort took over the game in the second half with another hot scoring stretch. He put up 14 points in the second half alone, including a six-point possession after a four-point play plus a Northwestern technical.

Make them play your game: Iowa came into Tuesday night first in the Big Ten in points per game at 81.3, while the Wildcats only average 69.9. With that being said, they only allow 61.1 ppg, third best in the Big Ten.

In matchups of opposing styles of play, it is important to get the other team to play your game at your tempo.

Iowa succeeded with that in the first half as they put up 39 points on 14-24 (58.3%) from the field and 5-10 (50%) from deep.

Credit to Northwestern for adjust as the Wildcats matched the high pace scoring from the Hawkeyes with 39 of their own in the first half, while also shooting above 50% from the field.

The Hawkeyes continued that surge in the second half and the Wildcats just could not keep up.

Iowa posted 47 points in the second half, a pace that Northwestern is just not built to keep up with.

They finished the game 29-52 (55.8%) from the field, 10-21 (47.6%) from three and 18-22 (81.8%) from the line. Those splits would be hard for any team in the country to keep pace with.

This home stand is proving to help the Hawkeyes immensely as we are full force into the back half of the season.

BIG road still ahead: A clean sweep in a week filled with three conference games is a tall task for any teams. That was the challenge ahead for the Hawkeyes this week and after a big win against Rutgers Sunday afternoon, momentum was on their side.

Now they Hawkeyes have knocked off two teams in the top half of the Big Ten in three days. With the win today, the Fighting Illini are now propelled into second place in the Big Ten.

Going into Sunday, Rutgers was tied for second in the conference, Iowa knocked them off. Then Northwestern came in Tuesday second in the BIG, they too fell. Will the trend continue when the Illini come to town Saturday? Only time with tell.

To see what both head coaches and Hawkeye players had to say postgame, check here: