Video: Iowa takes down Kansas State 91-82, moves on to next round of NIT
By Dallas Jones
IOWA CITY, IA – The NIT is not the goal every team has circled at the beginning of the season, but it can be an incredible experience for a team with a lot of young talent like the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Iowa would not take this opportunity for granted as they jumped on the Kansas State Wildcats as soon as we tipped off in Iowa City and even though the Wildcats fought back, it was not enough as Iowa never trailed in their nine point victory.
Check out how they did it and hear from both teams afterwards here.
1st half: Payton Sandfort has emerged as the engine for Iowa when it comes to the basketball court and the team in general.
After a hard fought loss against Ohio State in the Big Ten tournament, Sandfort made it very clear that any game the Hawkeyes will be ready to play whenever or wherever their next game was.
The sentiment stuck with the Hawkeyes as they came out of the gates blazing Tuesday night, scoring 34 points in the first 13 minutes of gameplay alone. Sandfort led the pack early as he started 5-5 from the field and 4-4 threes on his way to 22 first half points.
2nd half: While the Hawkeyes had control for the majority of time in the first half, the Wildcats had something to say about that in the second half.
Kansas State went on a 10-2 run in the first three minutes of play to start the second half and cut that lead down to just three points.
The Hawkeyes then put their own 9-0 run later in the half to extend the lead to 13.
Ben Krikke played his best half of basketball in an Iowa jersey with 21 points second half on 8/11 (72.7%) shooting.
Payton Sandfort finished the game with a new career high of 30 points on 9/14 from the field and 7/11 from deep.
The second round of the NIT will be played on March 23rd & 24th, the Hawkeyes will await the winner of Utah and UC Irvine tonight.
If Utah wins, the Hawkeyes will travel to Salt Lake City for their next matchup. If UC Irvine wins, the Hawkeyes will host the game on Sunday. Check Hawkfanatic.com for all of the latest Hawkeye news.
Postgame comments from both teams here:
