Three stars from Iowa basketball’s thrilling 97-87 overtime victory vs. Nebraska

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Following a disastrous performance against the Wisconsin Badgers on Friday, the Iowa men’s basketball team (11-4, 2-2 Big Ten) roared back from a rather disgruntling first half to secure a resounding overtime victory vs. Nebraska (12-3, 2-2 Big Ten).

Aside from junior guard Josh Dix scoring 16 points on 6-of-9 (66%) from the field, including 4-of-6 (66%) from beyond the arc, the Hawkeyes‘ first half was marred by turnovers and lack of offensive production.

Despite shooting 12-for-28 (42.9%) from the floor, including 7-of-16 (43.8%) from deep, the combination of sloppy play and almost no secondary scoring outside of Dix allowed the Cornhuskers to quiet the Carver-Hawkeye Arena crowd while leading 34-31 at halftime.

Nebraska proceeded to build a 52-37 lead at one point early in the second half.

Then, a completely different Hawkeyes team appeared on the court as Iowa’s offense found a groove thanks to senior forward Payton Sandfort erupting with 30 points after halftime.

While Nebraska tied the game at 76 on a buzzer-beating 3-point shot, Iowa never took the foot off the gas as they outscored the Cornhuskers 21-11 in the overtime period to claim a spectacular 97-87 victory.

Iowa finished the game shooting 29-for-61 (47.5%) from the floor, 17-for-35 (48.6%) from long range, and 22-of-25 (80%) from the charity stripe. The Hawkeyes also forced 21 turnovers, including seven steals and six blocks.

As Iowa escapes with a victory, here are three stars that contributed to the team’s performance against Nebraska.

Josh Dix

Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

Dix had a career-high 31-point performance, making 10-of-14 field goals, including a career-high 7-for-10 (70%) from deep and 4-for-4 (100%) from the charity stripe. He also had a career-high-tying seven assists, six rebounds, four steals, and one block in 45 minutes of action.

Tuesday night’s performance is the third 20-point game of the season and the seventh of the blossoming guard’s career.

Dix was specifically critical in running the…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/three-stars-iowa-basketball-thrilling-130045569.html

Author : Hawkeyes Wire

Publish date : 2025-01-08 13:00:00

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