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Indianapolis’ Tony Perkins will try to help Hawkeyes top Indiana a 5th-straight time
Perkins is a hot Hawkeye, averaging 22.7 points and shooting very well over last three games. He scorched the Hoosiers at Assembly Hall last season.
Jan. 29, 2024 11:13 am, Updated: Jan. 29, 2024 1:16 pm
Tony Perkins is playing a team from his Indiana home state, which usually is good for his Iowa men’s basketball club.
Perkins had 24 points on Jan. 20 against a team from his backyard, Purdue. One of his best games as a Hawkeye was last Feb. 28 at Indiana when he had 23 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in Iowa’s 90-68 thumping of the Hoosiers.
That was the most-recent of Iowa’s four straight wins against Indiana.
The senior guard from Indianapolis brings a hot hand to Assembly Hall in Bloomington Tuesday night (6 p.m., BTN) when the Hawkeyes play Indiana in a battle of teams trying to get to 5-5 in the Big Ten. Perkins is averaging 22.7 points over his last three games, including 24 in Iowa’s 88-78 win at Michigan last Saturday.
Perkins has been shooting very well, making 57.5 percent of his field goal tries in that stretch. He made all 15 of his free throws in the last two games.
He averages team-highs of 18.2 points and 4.4 assists in conference games. This is the first time in his career he has scored 20-plus in three consecutive contests.
“I just think it's maturity,” Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said Tuesday. “He's an intelligent person, he's an intelligent basketball player. He's able to truly understand what we need him to do what this team needs.
“You know, his role was different last year, the year before. So we've asked him to be a leader and put the ball in his hands and he's accepted the responsibility and he's figured it out. And I'm proud of him.”
Indiana has dropped its last three games after a 4-2 start in the conference. Malik Reneau, a 6-foot-9 sophomore forward, averaged 24.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in the last two, against nationally ranked Wisconsin and Illinois on the road.
“He’s definitely one of the best players in our league,” McCaffery said.
“He’s playing with incredible confidence. … He’s a handful. He creates a situation where you have to pay a lot of attention to him in the defensive end every possession.”
Comments: (319) 398-8440; mike.hlas@thegazette.com
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