The Iowa women and men traveled to Indiana last week and came back with two loses.
The 5th ranked Hawkeye women got beat 87-78 to the 2nd ranked Hoosiers and the Iowa men lost 87-73 to top ranked Purdue at West Lafayette last Thursday.
I’ll start with the women.
Hawkeye women play two…at Indiana and at home with Rutgers.
Iowa beat Indiana three times last year including the Big 10 Tournament final.
Monica Czinano averaged 27.6 points and shot 75% (35-48) from the floor in the three wins.
Last week against Indiana, Monica picked up her second foul with 5:29 left in the second quarter. The senior from Minnesota sat out the rest of the half scoring only four first half points.
Monica finished with six points taking six shots and making three.
Hannah Stuelke stepped up with 10 points going 5-5 from the floor but was 0-8 from the free throw line. Hannah came into the game shooting 51% from the charity stripe but with 13,046 fans screaming at you, it was tough on the freshman from Cedar Rapids.
The 13,046 fans are a new record for the Hoosier women.
Hannah is shooting 63% from the floor and is second on the team with 33 offensive rebounds.
The game was tied 11 times and there were 14 lead changes.
Caitlin Clark had her 12th double double with 35 points and 19 assists but the Hawks were 6-23 (26%) from three; Indiana 7-14 (50%).
Iowa 111 Rutgers 57
When your bench outscores the Scarlet Knights 61-9 you have to call it a blowout.
It’s kind of sad in a way because Vivian Stringer just retired and had that program a top contender in the Big Ten.
It doesn’t hurt to shoot 62.9% from the floor, 54.5% from three and have over 13,000 Hawkeye fans there. One of the great parts of taking pictures under the basket is to watch the passing and fast breaks come together, especially when you have Caitlin Clark leading the way.
Caitlin had her lowest point total of the year with 15 but did she dazzle the crowd with her pinpoint passing and 10 assists. The junior All-American had some beautiful half court passes that led to layups and came up with three steals.
“Basketball can be so beautiful, like watching ballet,” said coach Bluder. “I really mean it. It is so graceful and beautiful when it’s played correctly. We shot the ball and defended well.”
Every Hawkeye played and everyone scored.
Hawkeye men
Top ranked Purdue flexed its muscle knocking off Iowa 87-73.
The Boilermaker’s big guy, 7-4 Zach Edey, has really improved from last year. Zach averaged 14 points and 7.7 rebounds as a junior, 22.1 points and 13.2 rebounds this year, and is a candidate for Player of the Year this season. Iowa held Zach to 14 points and 14 rebounds but when the Hawks double teamed him, he dished out four assists.
Kris Murray and Filip Rebraca scored 24 and 17 respectively but Purdue controlled the boards 43-23.
The Hawks were 5-18 (27.8%) from three, Purdue 10-27 (37%).
Iowa 68 Minnesota 56
It was another one of those grind it out Big Ten games with the Hawkeyes coming out on top.
Iowa led for 39:38 and shot the ball 72 times making 27 (37.5%).
I don’t know how many times the Hawks had two- or three-point blank shots on the same possession and not score. Iowa’s one-two punch of Kris Murray (28 points) and Filip Rebraca (16 points) were enough to get the Hawkeyes to 16-9, 8-6 in the Big Ten. Kris had 14 boards; Conner 10 as Iowa won the rebounding battle 44-31 including 17 offensive boards.
That was Kris’s 6th double double of the year. He leads Iowa in scoring (21 ppg.), rebounding (8.5) and is second in blocked shots with 25.
The Hawkeyes had a 42-28 advantage on points in the paint and 10-0 on fast break points.
“I thought our defense early was good,” said coach Fran. “In the second half I thought Kris and Filip were really, really good. So was Conner.”
Hawk wrestling
The Hawks cruised over 9th ranked Michigan last week at Carver 33-8.
The Wolverines not only won the Big Ten Championship last year, but they also finished 2nd in the NCAA tournament last year. The difference between Michigan, Iowa and Penn State?
Penn State and Iowa reload, Michigan had to rebuild.
Michigan did have a couple of starters sit out while Iowa had one starter out.
The Hawks posted seven straight wins building a 28-0 lead before the Wolverines got on the board.
Spencer Lee and Real Woods got majors at 125 and 141.
The more I watch 2nd ranked Woods wrestle, the more I like him to make a run to the finals in the NCAA tournament. Power and control helped Real to a 15-1 win which is his 12th straight victory.
“I like that I put points on the board,” said Woods. “That’s the goal and the focus, especially this time of year.”
Brody Teske (133) and Jacob Warner (197) got tech falls for the Hawks. Jacob scored 16 points in the first period, Brody got his first tech fall and is 6-1 this year.
9th ranked Patrick Kennedy got Iowa’s only pin at 165 winning in the first period.
The match of the night was Cobe Siebrecht getting a 3-1 sudden victory at 157.
“He did what he had to do,” said Tom Brands. “Good job of staying in there.”
Tony Cassioppi, ranked 3rd, lost to top ranked Mason Parris 9-7.
Tony had a 7-5 lead with 1:34 left but surrendered an escape and takedown in the final minute.
Carver was sold out and that is the 6th time the Hawks have wrestled in front of packed house this year.
Hawkeye wrap
It was good to see the two basketball teams bounce back after tough losses.
The wrestlers are getting their lineup ready for the Big Ten championship.
The State of Indiana, not good to the Hawkeyes
February 16, 2023
Molly Davis drives against Rutgers.
