Starters shined, and big freshman Owen Freeman started fast in Hawkeyes’ opener

IOWA CITY — It was all goodness in Game 1.

The score of the Iowa men’s basketball team’s season-opener Tuesday night certainly suggested as much. The Hawkeyes drilled North Dakota, 110-68, before an announced crowd of 7,653 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

For starters, Iowa’s starters played like starters should play. Led by junior wing Payton Sandfort’s 13 points in the first six minutes, the Hawkeyes opened a 21-9 lead.

The starting five — Sandfort, power forward Ben Krikke, forward Patrick McCaffery, and guards Tony Perkins and Dasonte Bowen — all scored at least 10 points, made 3-pointers, had assists, had steals, and were a combined 17-of-19 from the foul line.

Iowa scored 39 more points than UND when Bowen was in the game. The sophomore from Boston made his second career start an exclamation point. He played turnover-free ball, ran the offense with aplomb, and had 12 points and five assists.

“Spectacular,” Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery called Bowen.

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Photos: Iowa men’s basketball vs. North Dakota

“He has a very good grasp of the offense now,” Sandfort said. “He was finding guys. He was getting to the rim. He was phenomenal tonight.”

Sandfort wasn’t bad himself with team-highs of 21 points and nine rebounds in 20 minutes.

“I was focused,” he said. “I had some first-game nerves, but I was able to channel those (to) become really ready to go and really focused.”

Fifth-year senior Krikke, a transfer from Valparaiso, had 18 points and four offensive rebounds.

“If you watched him on film, you would see pretty easily that he would fit perfectly into what we do,” McCaffery said. “There’s a lot of good players in the portal, but who fits? He could not have been a better fit for us.”

Then there were the second five players, four of whom are freshmen. The one who stood out the most was the tallest one, 6-foot-10 Owen Freeman.

Freeman scored 14 points in 15 minutes, making 7 of 8 high-percentage shots including a pair of dunks. He is an element last year’s Hawkeyes didn’t have.

“He’s special,” McCaffery said. “He can run. He’s active. I want to see him be a little more aggressive blocking shots. He came close on a couple.

“He’s got good ball skills, handling and passing. He moves it. He’s quick in the post. He makes moves, he can finish over either shoulder. And he’s big and strong and powerful.”

Are we talking about Iowa’s soon-to-be 19-year-old from Moline, Ill., or Nikola Jokic?

“He’s a great player,” Krikke said, referring to Freeman, not Jokic. “For a freshman, he’s super-strong and super-crafty. He’s got a good left hand. He’s been very impressive.

“Obviously a great defender, too. Shot-blocker, good positioning, long, athletic. He’ll be special.”

Brock Harding, the freshman guard who was Freeman’s teammate on Moline’s state title team, fed Freeman and his own stat line. Harding had six points and seven assists in a little less than 11 minutes.

Harding was on the Carver floor after the fans had gone home, shooting.

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