Sandfort’s 26, Perkins’ 24 help hot-shooting Hawkeyes overpower Michigan in 88-78 win

IOWA CITY — Iowa men’s basketball moved back in the win column on Saturday and did so in very Iowa fashion.

An extremely efficient scoring barrage fueled the offensive-minded Hawkeyes’ 88-78 win over Michigan, snapping their brief two-game losing skid.

Payton Sandfort and Tony Perkins were virtually unstoppable, scoring 26 and 24 points, respectively.

Sandfort tied his career-high, which also came against Michigan, while going 10-for-14 from the field and 6-for-8 from deep. All but five of Sandfort’s points came in the second half.

It was a big bounce-back for Sandfort after he scored a season-low six points on 3-of-9 shooting in Wednesday’s loss against Maryland.

Perkins, meanwhile, finished with 24 points on an efficient 9-for-12 clip. It was his third consecutive game with 20-plus points. He was 2-for-4 from long range and had five assists versus two turnovers.

Perkins also became the 52nd Hawkeye to surpass 1,000 career points.

While Sandfort and Perkins’ performances took the spotlight, they were certainly not the only Hawkeyes to put together solid showings.

Freshman forward Owen Freeman flirted with a double-double, racking up 15 points and nine rebounds. He also had three blocks.

Iowa overall shot 53 percent from the field and is now 9-1 this season when shooting 50-plus percent. It also went 18-for-18 from the free-throw line and had a 34-26 advantage in points in the paint.

The Hawkeyes’ perimeter shooting was much improved in Ann Arbor. After going 3-of-14 against Maryland, they went 8-of-16 against Michigan.

It was a back-and-forth game earlier in the evening, with 11 lead changes and five ties. Iowa held onto the lead for much of the second half, though, and eventually pulled away for a comfortable win.

Iowa’s growing lead coincided with improved defense. After allowing Michigan to shoot 58 percent from the field in the first half, Iowa held the Wolverines to a mere 28 percent in the second half. In the last 10 minutes of the game, Michigan made only one field goal.

It was Iowa’s first win after trailing at halftime. It also was the Hawkeyes’ second road win of 2023-24 after losing four of their first five away games.

Iowa will have another road test on Tuesday as it travels to Indiana. The Hoosiers are coming off a 70-62 loss to No. 10 Illinois.

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com