Iowa basketball: Back-to-back buzzer beaters cap incredible week

Just six days after the Iowa basketball teams’ improbable comeback vs Northwestern, the men beat Rutgers on a Joe Wieskamp buzzer-beating three pointer.

Last Sunday’s victory over Northwestern was truly incredible and with the Iowa basketball team clinging to a 2-point lead late into yesterday’s game against Rutgers, I found myself hoping the Hawks could just close it out so I didn’t have to suffer through the anxiety of will they or won’t they make this last shot.

Sophomore guard Geo Baker had other plans though as he hit a step back three-pointer to give Rutgers the lead with just over three seconds left in the game.

Enter in the anxiety as I sat there hopelessly waiting during an Iowa basketball time out to see what Fran McCaffery would draw up for the last shot of the game.

Considering Jordan Bohannons’ late-game heroics just a few days earlier, I fully expected Rutgers to be keying on him. It looks like Fran thought the same thing as he drew up a play that, in retrospect, was not necessarily the best play design. Regardless of how great the play design was, the execution was flawless as freshman sensation Joe Wieskamp hit an incredible buzzer-beating corner bank shot three-pointer to give the Iowa basketball team a 71-69 win.

Most people looking at this game on the surface level are going to question the Hawks ability to win on the road or to consistently win the winnable games, but give credit to Rutgers because they had an outstanding defensive game plan that gave the Hawks fits throughout the contest.

It also didn’t help that Ron Harper Jr decided to have a career performance against Iowa, much like it seems most bottom-dwelling Big Ten teams do (e.g. Northwestern’s Vic Law, Penn State in general).

Rutgers’ size and defensive acumen were impressive and because of it, the Iowa basketball team had to work a little harder than normal to create a resumblance of a shot. The Hawks shot just 46% from the field and 38% from three, but they got the points when it mattered.

Led by the backcourt duo of Jordan Bohannon and Isaiah Moss, who had 18 and 17 points respectively, the Iowa basketball team had their third lowest scoring performance of the season (the other two were both losses to Michigan State), but in the end they got their 20th win, all but solidifying their March Madness dreams.

The Hawks look to continue their winning ways when they take on the #24 Maryland Terrapins Tuesday evening at Carver Hawkeye Arena.