Iowa Basketball: Hawks Battle Back For First Big Ten Win

Iowa was down by as much as 20 points Thursday night against Illinois.  However, the Hawkeyes got after it on defense and Luka Garza had a breakout performance to help them outlast Illinois 104-97 in overtime for its first conference win.

For the first 15 minutes of Thursday night, it looked as though Iowa was going to get run out of the gym and fall to 0-6 in Big Ten play.  With 3:53 left in the first half, Iowa trailed 49-29 but Luka Garza and Jordan Bohannon helped bring the Hawkeyes all the way back for an overtime victory.

The performance early on was reminiscent of many previous games for Iowa.  The defense, especially guarding the 3-point line, was nonexistent and the offense could not hang on to the ball.  In the first half, Iowa was allowing Illinois to shoot 60% from three point range and committed 11 turnovers on offense.  It was ugly.

But Iowa came out looking like a completely different team in the second half.  Thanks to a late surge at the end of the first half, the Hawkeyes only trailed 54-41 at halftime, and a 10-0 spurt in the first two minutes of the second half put Iowa right back into the game.

Illinois came into Thursday night as one of the more offensively challenged teams.  Like Iowa, it struggled with turnovers.  In the second half, that issue came into play for Illinois.  The Illini turned the ball over 9 times in the second half and had a four minute scoring drought that saw an 82-79 lead turn into an 87-82 deficit.

Both teams deserve a lot of credit.  Iowa deserves credit for battling back from being down 49-29 on the road and coming out with a win.  Illinois deserves credit for working its way back from down 87-82 with just over a minute left to force overtime.

Both teams had freshman that starred on this night.  Luka Garza had his best game as a Hawkeye.  Garza finished with a double-double.  He had 19 points and 11 rebounds and was huge down the stretch.  After Leron Black and Kipper Nichols got into foul trouble, Iowa went to Garza possession and after possession and he made the Illini pay.  Most importantly, Garza went 9-9 at the free throw line as well.

For Illinois, Trent Frazier was a difference maker.  Frazier entered play with 16 made three-pointers on the season, and Frazier made 7 threes and finished with 27 points.  Every time Illinois needed a big shot, Frazier stepped up and made it.  Frazier tied the game with a one-legged three at the buzzer in regulation.

In the overtime period, Iowa took control of the game and made sure Illinois would not come back again.  Luke Garza had a three-point play and Jordan Bohannon got a steal and hit a three on the ensuing possession to put the Hawkeyes up 99-90 with 1:45 left in overtime.  They would hold on for the 104-97 overtime win.

It certainly was not perfect.  Illinois is a poor offensive team and Iowa made them look like the Golden State Warriors in the first half.  However, in the second half Iowa showed how dangerous its offense can be when they don’t turn the ball over.  Jordan Bohannon, Tyler Cook, and Luke Garza combined for 68 points and every Iowa starter scored in double figures.

Iowa deserves a lot of credit for continuing to play hard and battling back from a 20 point deficit on the road.  After a wild and crazy game, they will get six days off before its next game.  The Hawkeyes take on Rutgers next Saturday at the RAC in New Jersey.