Jordan Bohannon comes off deck, sets 3-point record as Hawkeyes flatten Maryland, 110-87

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — People may have gotten to nine when trying to count out Jordan Bohannon recently, but then Thursday happened and he got to 10.

The sixth-year senior swished an Iowa single-game record 10 3-pointers and matched his career-high of 30 points in the Hawkeyes’ 110-87 torching of Maryland Thursday night at Xfinity Center.

Bohannon and the baskets here weren’t exactly strangers before the game. He was 8-of-10 from deep as a freshman here in 2017. He finished 29-of-45 in four games here for a ridiculous 64.4 percent, averaging 22.3 points. His career average is 11.4 points.

This explosion came after Bohannon had made but 17 of 65 3s over his previous 10 games.

“I’ve been struggling with my confidence lately,” Bohannon said after the game. “And when you’re struggling with your confidence, you’re not as aggressive. When you’re not as aggressive, our team is not as best as it can be.

“When I’m able to be aggressive, I’m looking for my shot. I think the floor opens up a lot.”

It opened wider than the Potomac River Thursday. Bohannon made six of the 3-pointers in the first half when Iowa built a 57-41 lead behind 60 percent shooting. That was the percentage the Hawkeyes finished with as they made the game a rout.

The Hawkeyes led 88-54 when Bohannon made his record-breaking 10th triple, that with 10:04 still to play. He was taken out shortly thereafter, and didn’t have to worry about being told he was lousy by strangers on the Internet.

“I know it’s really hard in today’s era especially,” Bohannon said. “You open your phone and there’s 19 thousand-million people saying all different things. In today’s era, I think it’s a lot harder for a lot of athletes to regain their confidence when they’re going through a slump.

“A lot of this is blocking out a lot of noise and going back to work.”

Sophomore forward Keegan Murray also had 30 points for Iowa, on 12-of-14 shooting. It was the first time two Hawkeyes scored 30 in the same game since Bruce King (36) and Scott Thompson (30) in 1976 at Michigan.

“J-Bo was getting hot and everyone else just got more confident from that,” Murray said.

“I just felt like my confidence on the court is unmatched. I just felt if I play at my pace, I’m able to get my shots and I’m able to make good shots from that.

“Obviously, with J-Bo hitting 3s outside, it opened up a lot more for me on the inside.”

Bohannon’s final 3-pointer broke the Iowa record of Chris Kingsbury, who made nine in a game twice in 1994, against Drake and Long Island. Kingsbury’s son, Carter Kingsbury, is an Iowa walk-on redshirting this season.

“Carter shook my hand and he’s like ‘You just broke my dad’s record.’” Bohannon said.

He said he told the younger Kingsbury “I’ve been trying to break his record for four, five, six years now.

“He’s a guy I looked up to. I watched his highlights. I wasn’t alive when he played, but he was one of the greatest shooters to come through Iowa.”

Two games ago, Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery moved Bohannon to starting point guard and had Joe Toussaint come off the bench. McCaffery, back after missing a game while in COVID-19 protocol, said he made the move for Bohannon to “free him up.”

“He’s really good at pushing the ball in the break. He’s got a great feel for it. He did it for five years, parts of five years, anyway. He’s comfortable in that capacity.

“He’s a 3-point shooter, but he has more assists than anybody to play at Iowa.”

Bohannon had five of those Thursday, too.

It was a night full of happy numbers for an Iowa team that climbed to 6-6 in the Big Ten with an imminently winnable home game against Nebraska next, Sunday at 1 p.m. in Iowa City.

The team’s 19 3-pointers were an Iowa record in Big Ten play, topping the 16 the Hawkeyes made here in 2017. They scored 83 points that night. Thursday’s 110 were the most they had tallied in a conference game since getting 116 against Northwestern in 1995.

It was the most points ever allowed by Maryland in Xfinity Center, which opened in 2002.

All of it was paced by two guys from Cedar Rapids-Marion, Bohannon and Murray.

“A lot of good players in Iowa,” McCaffery said, “and not everybody ventures out there to see them. But we obviously do.”