Iowa 81, Nebraska 70: 3 Takeaways, Highlights

IOWA CITY — The Iowa men's basketball team (14-10, 6-5) won its third straight game Sunday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, 81-70 over Nebraska (10-13, 4-7).

Here are three takeways from the game.

1. Jok muted in return

Iowa's star senior Peter Jok made his return from a two-game absence with a back injury in the Hawkeyes' 81-70 win against Nebraska on Sunday. While he played 30 minutes and didn't look in much pain, he also didn't have the same aggressive style of looking for his shot that has come to define his game.

Jok finished  2 of 7 from the field with 12 points, but affected the game all-around with five rebounds and five assists.

That he was able to return at all is a good sign, and his reintegration into the offense seemed to go well overall.

2. Ellingson emergence

Brady Ellingson had almost become an afterthought a few weeks ago when it came to his impact on the Hawkeyes offensively.

Well, not so much anymore. The sophomore had his second straight game of at least five assists and no turnovers. Oh yeah, and he had 11 points on 4 of 6 shooting, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range.

His 3 from the wing essentially sealed Sunday's win, too. He stepped into a bigger role when Jok went out, and the confidence he got from those two games carried over.

3. Inside presence

Iowa went into the paint early and often against a Nebraska team missing its best big man in Ed Morrow, Jr., and it paid off in many ways.

The Hawkeyes got beat overall in points in the paint, 40-34, and were outrebounded, 41-33, but got Tyler Cook and Cordell Pemsl in a groove and – most importantly – got the Huskers in foul trouble.

Jordy Tshimanga, who had been playing very well coming in, fouled out and fellow forward Isaiah Roby was limited with four fouls. That allowed Iowa much more freedom in the post on both ends, and contributed to being able to mark and (relatively) contain Tai Webster and Glynn Watson Jr.