Uthoff, Jok guide Hawkeyes past Gophers

IOWA CITY — Iowa forward Jarrod Uthoff was held scoreless for the game's first 17 minutes but when his No. 5 Hawkeyes needed him, he came through big time.

The 6-foot-9 senior missed his first seven shots for Big Ten leader Iowa (20-5, 11-2 Big Ten), everything from a drive to the rim and four 3-point attempts. Then it all clicked, just like it did for his team.

Uthoff scored Iowa's final nine points in the final 3 minutes, 2 seconds of the first half, finished with 24 overall and guided the Hawkeyes to a 75-71 win over rival Minnesota Sunday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

'It was really big,' Iowa point guard Mike Gesell said. 'We kind of break the game up into segments. Going into the half we wanted to make a run, and Jarrod really stepped up and played really well in that segment.'

'It was a big momentum changer,' Uthoff said. 'I think it was important for us, just from a confidence standpoint to get them on their heels more.'

In a tougher-than-expected game against Big Ten cellar-dweller Minnesota (6-19, 0-13), Uthoff's surge was far from cosmetic. The Gophers had a four-point lead with four minutes left in the half. After Peter Jok sank a 3-pointer to cut Iowa's deficit to one, it was Uthoff who shaped the rest of the game.

Uthoff drove to the rim for a layup to put the Hawkeyes back up at 27-26. At the defensive end, Uthoff blocked Minnesota guard Nate Mason and then scored again at the rim to put Iowa up 29-26. Two possessions later, Uthoff drilled a 3-pointer from about 30 feet. With 11 seconds left in the half. Uthoff scored inside to give the Hawkeyes a 34-28 lead.

'He's a match-up problem,' Minnesota Coach Richard Pitino said. 'He shoots it from like half-court and makes it. He'll drive by you, he's an NBA basketball player. It's difficult. A lot of his rebounds are just length, he's tall and he just reaches over you. He's a very good player, and that's what very good players do. That's a challenging match-up, I think, for anybody.'

Uthoff hauled in 15 rebounds and blocked six shots in 37 minutes. It was a stat line recorded in the Big Ten only three times in the last 20 years. Yet it was his early struggles that left a mark with him after the game.

'It frustrates you when you miss a couple of open 3s like that,' Uthoff said. 'You normally don't get that many open of looks. You've got to make them, so it frustrated me. I tried to drive to the basket, get something going that way.

'Seeing the ball go through the basket changes your confidence level, gets you back in the flow offensively.'

Minnesota didn't go away until the very end. The Gophers were within 66-64 after a pair of Joey King free throws with 2:58 left. Iowa guard Peter Jok, who led all scorers with 27 points, pushed Iowa's lead to five on a 3-pointer from the corner. Uthoff then iced the game on a dunk and followed with a free throw.

Mason led Minnesota with 14 points and six assists.

The Hawkeyes now are all alone in first place after Maryland (22-4, 10-3) lost to Wisconsin on Saturday, and Indiana (20-6, 10-3) was blasted 88-69 at Michigan State on Sunday.

l Comments: (319) 339-3169; scott.dochterman@thegazette.com