Iowa men's basketball vs. Pittsburgh: Final score, stats, highlights

No. 15 Iowa held off Pittsburgh 69-68 in an ACC/Big Ten Challenge game Tuesday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

The Hawkeyes (6-0) stayed unbeaten while the Panthers fell to 6-1.

Postgame coverage

» Iowa finds defense in second half, hangs on to beat Pittsburgh

» Iowa broadcasters' unsuspecting live-mic criticism gets Gary Barta's attention

» Iowa's Cordell Pemsl to have season-ending surgery

MVP: Iowa freshman Joe Wieskamp contributed a double-double, leading the Hawkeyes with 18 points and 11 rebounds. He made 7 of 13 shots, including 4 of 8 3-pointers.

Turning point: Nicholas Baer was a spark off the bench for Iowa. He scored 11 straight Iowa points during a three-minute stretch in the second half, the third 3-pointer in that run giving the Hawkeyes a 64-62 lead with 6:14 left. They never trailed again.

Key stat: 29.2. That's the Panthers' second-half shooting percentage. After Pitt shot 61.6 percent in the first half, Iowa's defense tightened up in the second half. The young Panthers turned it over 12 times in the final 20 minutes and made just 7 of 24 field goal attempts. Pitt had two shots to win on its final possession, but Trey McGowens missed a reverse layup and Sidy N'dir's desperation heave was off the mark.

Stat Leaders

Points: Joe Wieskamp, Iowa (18); Xavier Johnson, Pittsburgh (18)

Rebounds: Joe Wieskamp, Iowa (11); Terrell Brown, Pittsburgh (6)

Assists: Connor McCaffery, Iowa (4); Xavier Johnson, Pittsburgh (6)

Steals: Jordan Bohannon, Iowa (6)

Blocks: Joe Wieskamp, Iowa (2); Kene Chukwuka, Pittsburgh (1)

[Box score]

ACC/Big Ten Challenge: The Challenge is tied 4-4 with six games left Wednesday. The Big Ten has wins from Nebraska, Penn State, Wisconsin and Iowa.

Up next: Iowa opens Big Ten play Friday at home against No. 22 Wisconsin (6-1) at 7 p.m. (BTN). The Badgers beat North Carolina State 79-75 Tuesday night.