Resilient Hawkeyes top Gophers on the road

MINNEAPOLIS - The Barn nearly collapsed on top of the Iowa Hawkeyes, but this time they salvaged their belongings before the place burned to the ground.

After a 17-point lead evaporated before an incredible barrage of Minnesota shooting, the Hawkeyes rallied late to pull out a 77-75 win at Williams Arena last night.

Iowa also needed a miracle. After Jarrod Uthoff drilled a 17-foot jumper to give Iowa its late advantage with 6.1 seconds left, Minnesota Coach Richard Pitino called timeout. The game was delayed when a side clock carried by official Kelly Pfeifer on his hip inadvertently was shut off. After a video review, the officials changed the time to 3.5 seconds left, and the Gophers took the ball out of bounds under Iowa's basket.

Minnesota inbounded the ball to point guard DeAndre Mathieu, who drove the length of the floor. He released the ball off the glass, just past Iowa forward Aaron White's hand and the shot went in. Raucous Williams Arena was sent into a frenzy.

Then, the officials checked the monitor. The ball didn't leave Mathieu's hand until the clock expired and official D.J. Carstensen, an Iowa City native, waved it off.

'I was upset with how we guarded the play,” Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said. 'I wasn't really thinking was it good or not good? He's pretty fast. It's typically three dribbles and a shot. I think he took more than three dribbles.

'The kid made a heck of a play. You've got to give him credit. We tried to put two guys on him. That's how difficult he is get under control.”

'I'm pretty certain it wasn't good because I could see it,” Uthoff said. 'It looked like it was still in his hand.”

The win kept Iowa (12-5, 3-1 Big Ten) tied atop the Big Ten standings, while Minnesota fell to 11-7 (0-5 Big Ten).

Uthoff set a career high with 22 points. He also had four assists, four blocks and five rebounds. He's the first Big Ten player with that statistical line since Minnesota's Joel Przybilla against Iowa in 2000, according to Stats, Inc. Uthoff was 7 of 10 from the field in 34 minutes and scored Iowa's last seven points.

With the score tied 75-75, Uthoff was whistled for charging, giving the ball back to Minnesota. Then Gophers forward Carlos Morris had his shot blocked at the other end by Iowa's Gabe Olaseni. Minnesota forward Joey King attempted a 3-pointer, which missed. Iowa guard Anthony Clemmons grabbed the rebound, and Iowa went up the court.

On Iowa's possession, Uthoff beat Minnesota guard Andre Hollins from the wing to the top of the free-throw line. Clemmons passed the ball to Uthoff, who pulled up and knocked down a jumper to give the Hawkeyes the last lead.

'The reality is, somebody has got to make that shot,” McCaffery said. 'You can set any kind of play, but somebody has got to make a shot. Jarrod Uthoff made a big, big basket there.”

'Coach had faith in me to knock the last shot down, and he called a play for me,” Uthoff said. 'Luckily it went in.”

Five days removed from a double-digit first-half lead and a bitter second-half collapse against Michigan State, Iowa nearly failed again in more dramatic fashion. Minnesota sank 13 shots in a 15-attempt stretch to rally from a 17-point deficit to take a three-point lead with 5:26 left. Minnesota hit four consecutive 3-pointers, including on three possessions in a row to take the lead.

'You knew this is a very good 3-point shooting team,” McCaffery said. 'Sooner or later they were going to hit some 3s. Once they got the momentum, they were drilling them. It's tough when you're trying to stop the run and they were coming at us. Those kids kept coming. They were sharing the ball. It was different guys. We obviously got enough stops to win, but we didn't get a lot.”

'We basically had everything cooking, up 17,” Iowa senior forward Aaron White said. 'It was dead quiet in there, which is what you want on the road, hitting our shots, playing pretty good defense, they were missing. Then they kind of turned it up, which we knew they would; they wouldn't go away.”

Iowa once again struggled to identify shooters in transition. But when all seemingly fell apart, Iowa fought back. King put the Gophers ahead 67-65 with a 3-pointer. Uthoff tied the game with a step-back jumper. Then Morris gave the Gophers a 70-67 lead with another 3-pointer. Iowa's White countered with two free throws to draw closer.

Two Minnesota possessions later, King buried another 3-pointer to put the Gophers up 73-69. Then Uthoff took over. He hit two free throws after an Adam Woodbury free throw, then nailed a 3-pointer with 1:58 left to push Iowa back ahead 75-73. Mathieu knotted the score with a reverse layup.

Iowa couldn't miss in the first half. The Hawkeyes shot 61.9 percent from the floor, easily their best shooting half of the season.

The Hawkeyes scored on their first six possessions and connected on nine of their first 11 shots from the field to build a 20-12 lead. Iowa maintained its lead throughout the first half but never could completely pull away. A Josh Oglesby 3-pointer from the corner gave the Hawkeyes their biggest first-half lead at 36-25. They kept the 11-point halftime margin with a layup from Clemmons.

Early in the second half, Iowa extended its lead to 17 points with consecutive 3-pointers by Mike Gesell and Peter Jok. It seemed destined for an easy road win.

Peter Jok, who finished with 13 points, had 10 points for Iowa by halftime, including two 3-pointers. The Hawkeyes blocked five Gopher shots in the first half alone. White finished with 13 points, four assists and six rebounds.

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