The University of Iowa men’s basketball team defeated Washington, 84-74, on Wednesday night at Alaska Airlines Arena to win its fifth straight game. The Hawkeyes improved to 17-5 on the season and 7-4 in conference play.
Washington built an early 18-10 advantage before the Hawkeyes responded with a 7-0 run to retake a 31-28 lead with just under six minutes remaining in the half. Both teams caught fire from the field as the two teams combined to make 17 consecutive field goals as Iowa held a 40-39 edge with just under three minutes remaining in the opening half. The Huskies would then close the half on a 9-1 run as Iowa trailed Washington, 48-41, after 20 minutes. Washington made 11-of-12 field goal attempts to end the half, missing a shot at the buzzer.
Junior Alvaro Folgueiras paced Iowa with 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field. Senior Bennett Stirtz added nine points and four assists, shooting 4-of-7 from the field. The Hawkeyes shot 17-of-28 (60.7 percent) from the field and 3-of-9 from the 3-point line. Iowa converted 4-of-5 shots from the free throw line in the opening 20 minutes.
Iowa quickly erased its seven-point halftime deficit, tying the game, 54-54, with just under 16 minutes remaining in the half. The Hawkeyes would go on to take a 58-56 lead shortly after. Iowa built on its lead behind a 9-0 run, forcing a Washington timeout as the Hawkeyes led, 63-56, with 13 minutes remaining.
Head Coach Ben McCollum talked about his teams shift at halftime. “I thought we picked up the defense. I didn’t think I had a great game plan, going in I thought it was good. We kind of adjusted our ball screen coverage a little bit and obviously that didn’t work very well. We made some adjustments at halftime; I thought we gave more effort after halftime too. Does it matter you’re on the road that long and there’s some concentration things? Yeah, a little bit. Our offense was so good. I thought our offense was really dialed in, really tuned in. Defensively, we just weren’t our best. It’s kind of the road in the Big Ten. [Washington] is a really talented team, I mean they are massive. It’s a good win and certainly ready to go home.”
Washington cut Iowa’s lead to one, before a 3-pointer and a dunk from Stirtz extended Iowa’s advantage to eight, forcing another Washington timeout. The Hawkeyes protected their lead the rest of the game, leading by as many as 13, as Iowa secured an 84-74 victory.
Stirtz led Iowa with 22 points, five assists, and a steal, shooting 8-of-13 from the field and 4-of-8 from 3-point range. Folgueiras added 16 points while senior Tavion Banks and redshirt freshman Cooper Koch added 11 points apiece.
The Hawkeyes shot 31-of-52 (59.6 percent) from the field and 9-of-19 (47.4 percent) from beyond the arc. The Hawkeyes forced 12 Washington turnovers converting them into 22 points, while Iowa committed a season-low four turnovers. The Iowa bench outscored Washington’s bench, 30-11.
The Hawkeyes return home Sunday to host Northwestern. Game time is set for 2 p.m. and can be heard on AM 860/FM 95.1 KWPC. Coverage is brought to you by Muscatine Power and Water and Ed Morse Chevy Buick and GMC.
