Iowa took on 14th ranked Minnesota Jan 7 and Iowa 22, Minnesota 10
The Hawkeyes beat the 14th-ranked Minnesota Gophers 22-10, winning seven of 10 matches, Jan. 7.
It was good to see Michael Kemerer (174), ranked second, in his first match of the season, win 9-2, with four takedowns.
Alex Marinelli, Iowa’s only top-ranked wrestler, started the meet with a 6-5 decision.
Abe Assad had a major decision (12-4) at 184.
Austin DeSanto (133), Jaydin Eierman (141) and Max Murin all had decisions for the Hawkeyes as Iowa extended its winning streak to 25, the longest in the nation.
Tony Cassioppi will be glad heavyweight Gable Steveson is in his last year. Cassioppi has never beaten Stevenson, who won the Olympic gold medal last year. Steveson scored a 17-7 major decision over Cassioppi.
True freshman Drake Ayala made his debut at 125, replacing Spencer Lee, who is out with season-ending knee surgery. Ayala lost 8-6 but wrestled hard all seven minutes.
“That’s a team that squeezes a lot for whatever reason and we need to deal with it,” said coach Tom Brands. “I don’t think we dealt with it very well. It has to be a fast match. There is no guarantee that things are going to continue to go your way. You have to make them go your way.”
Iowa 36, Purdue 4
The Hawkeye wrestlers finished the weekend Sunday afternoon, dominating 15th-ranked Purdue, winning nine of 10 matches. Iowa had two major decisions, two techniclas falls and a pin but the feature match was watching Ayala get his first win at 125. He beat the fifth-ranked Purdue wrestler 6-1 with a couple of takedowns. It was good to see Cassioppi come back with a pin after losing Friday.
“We have to get ready to go,” said Brands. “We’re in the middle of the Big Ten season and we have to be ready for Northwestern on Friday.”
Busy week
It was a busy week for the three winter sports I cover. The men’s basketball team hosted Maryland and traveled to Wisconsin. The Iowa women had a home game with Northwestern and traveled to Nebraska.
Hawkeye men
It was important for Iowa to beat Maryland, 80-75, and get their first Big Ten win after starting 0-2.
The nation’s leading scorer, Keegan Murray, had a great stat line — 35 points, eight rebounds, three blocked shots, playing 38 minutes. Murray was 14-of-21 from the floor and 5-of-6 from three. When he is hitting the three-pointers, he might be the best player in the country.
How about Joe Toussaint with nine points, nine assists and three steals? For the season, he leads the team with 54 assists and is tied with Murray with 20 steals.
Filip Rebraca had his best game as a Hawk, with 13 points and eight rebounds.
Iowa shot 49% from the floor, had a 40-34 advantage on points in the paint and 14-5 on fast-break points. With the temp the Hawks play, they had only seven turnovers with 17 assists.
Like I said, it was important for the Hawkeyes to beat Maryland because they had to travel to Wisconsin to take on the Badgers. While Iowa was beating Maryland, Wisconsin took down third-ranked Purdue, 74-69, at West Lafayette.
The Badgers led from start to finish, beating Iowa, 87-78.
The Hawks had four players in double figures led by Keegan Murray with 27. Jordan Bohannon and Kris Murray had 12, while Patrick McCaffery chipped in 10. The Badgers countered with five in double figures and controlled the glass 43-26.
“There were some good things,” said Fran McCaffery. “You don’t think about when you are down by 18 or 19 but you have to learn from it. We can’t miss 31 shots. We have to execute better but there were some good things and we can build on that.”
Hawkeye women
The three-point shot is a great weapon… when you make it. Iowa has been a good three-point shooting team ever since Lisa Bluder became coach. The Hawks have struggled this year behind the arc and it showed up again in their 77-69 loss to Northwestern.
Last year Iowa shot 41% for the season which led the Big Ten. Their top three-point scorers were Gabbie Marshall (47%), McKenna Warnock (45%) and Caitlyn Clark 41%. Against the Badgers Warnock was 4-of-6 but Marshall went 1-of-5, while Clark made only 1-of-8 from three. Clark finished with 30, Warnock 14 and Monica Czinano 20.
For the game, the Hawks were 6-of-26 (23%). For the season, Iowa is shooting 29% from three. Thank goodness the Hawkeyes were 17-of-17 from the free throw line. Iowa lost the rebound battle 42-31 and had 18 turnovers. The Hawks had no bench points, Northwestern six.
Iowa 98, Nebraska 86
That’s a little more like it. Bluder said after the win that the Hawkeyes were playing “Iowa basketball.” It is a lot of fun to watch the Hawks when they are flying down the court on fast breaks, hitting threes and making great passes.
Warnock made her first six three-pointers, finished 7-of-9 from three and led Iowa with 10 rebounds while scoring 23 points.
The Hawkeyes were 11-of-19 (58%) from deep, 37-of-60 (61%) from the floor and 10-of-11 (91%) from the free throw line.
How about Kate Martin? The junior forward was 4-of-4 from the floor, 2-of-2 from three and 2-of-2 from the free throw line.
Clark played all 40 minutes, scored 31 points, 12 assists and eight boards. She is still struggling from three (1-of-6) but her teammates picked up the slack.
Czinano was back on track, shooting 10-of-14 from the floor, scoring 20.
When you have four starters in double figures, you have a good chance to win. Iowa was out-rebounded 41-34 and had only two bench points, so they still have work to do.
“This one feels good,” said Bluder. “This was a very good win against a very good team.”

Gallery • 1 Photos

Stephen Mally • hawkeyesports.com

Hawkeye Tony Cassioppi battles against Purdue’s Michael Woulfe at 285 pounds.