Champions! Hawkeyes stifle Purdue 75-66, win Big Ten men’s basketball tourney title

INDIANAPOLIS — It’s officially a storybook season, a tale that seemed far-fetched not long ago.

Iowa has gone from No. 9 in the Big Ten men’s basketball preseason poll to No. 1 in the conference’s tournament. A team that was spinning its wheels at 4-6 in the Big Ten at the end of January roared to its fourth win in as many days here and 12th victory in its last 14 games against conference competition.

Sunday’s capper was a 75-66 title-game triumph over a potent Purdue squad at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Iowa was unranked for most of this season, but is now a championship outfit.

Known for their offensive power, the Hawkeyes defended as well in a game that mattered as they have in ages. Their reward was bringing the first men’s tourney title back to Iowa City since 2006.

The victory catapulted Iowa to the NCAA tournament with a 26-9 record after its 12th victory in their last 14 games. The Hawkeyes will play Atlantic 10 Conference tournament-champion Richmond (23-12) in a 2:10 p.m. (CT) Thursday first-round game in Buffalo, N.Y.

The world — or so it seemed with a tenacious Purdue team and a partisan Boilermakers crowd bearing down on them — was against the Hawkeyes after a 7-0 Purdue run in 45 seconds pulled it within 63-62 with 3:09 left.

Iowa’s 6-foot-5 Connor McCaffery made a shot over Purdue’s 6-10 Trevion Williams and was fouled. He sank the subsequent free throw to make it 66-62 with 2:42 remaining. The Boilermakers never got closer. Iowa’s 7-0 run, helped by three Tony Perkins free throws, made it 70-62.

Throughout the game, the Hawkeyes defended. They had 13 steals and forced 17 Purdue turnovers, while committing a mere six turnovers themselves.

“We forced them to be uncomfortable and that was kind of what our goal was,” Iowa forward Keegan Murray said.

“I felt all of our guys were active and bought in. We held them to 66 points and they're a really good offensive team, so that helped us win, for sure.”

When the Hawkeyes weren’t swiping the ball they were using their hands to track down loose balls, tie up Boilermakers, and make winning plays in general.

Iowa did that while getting overwhelmed on the boards by the larger Purdue squad, paced by 7-foot-4 Zach Edey and 6-10 widebody Williams, who combined for 25 points and 25 rebounds.

The Boilermakers had a whopping 48-30 edge on the glass. However, Iowa kept battling underneath and held Purdue to 14 second-chance points off its 17 offensive rebounds.

With Kris Murray and Filip Rebraca battling foul trouble, Iowa got minutes out of little-used reserve big men Josh Ogundele and Riley Mulvey.

The Hawkeyes never trailed in the first half. They opened a 21-14 lead on a 6-0 run fueled by steals by Ogundele, Joe Toussaint and Jordan Bohannon within 36 seconds. Each were converted into baskets, one by Ogundele, the other two by backup point guard Toussaint, who had four in the game.

Iowa used 12 players in the half, mainly because forwards Filip Rebraca and Kris Murray picked up two fouls. It was the first extended meaningful game action for either in the last two months. Sophomore Ogundele had four points in the half and played Edey straight-up.

Iowa was ahead 35-32 at the break after leading by as many as eight points. Purdue took its first lead with 17:40 left and there were five more lead changes after that. Keegan Murray sank a 3-pointer with 8:56 left for a 54-51 Hawkeyes edge, one they held to the end.

Murray had 19 points and broke the record for total points in this tourney with 103, the last two on a breakaway jam after a long inbounds pass from Connor McCaffery with 54 seconds left. That gave Iowa a 72-64 lead and put the exclamation point on a performance that deserved one for the Hawkeyes.

Murray was an obvious choice as the tourney’s Most Outstanding Player, and senior guard Bohannon joined him on the all-tournament team.

Iowa freshman forward Payton Sandfort of Waukee made all four of his field goal tries, two of them 3-pointers. He scored 10 points in 15 minutes.

“He hit that first 3 and he was celebrating and obviously there's still a lot of game left,” Bohannon said. “He looked to the bench ... after he came back down the court. I was like ‘What are you doing, why are you celebrating? You're going to hit another one, get ready for your next shot.’

“And the next possession he hit another 3. He stepped up in big moments.”

“That kid, he's just a tremendous player,” Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said. “I think we recognize his shooting because he's such a good shooter, but he's a really good player. He rebounds, he can bring it down, he makes plays for other people, and he's fearless.

“But that's kind of the team we have. Patrick (McCaffery) hits a big 3. Joe Toussaint was so amazing in both halves.”

Purdue guard Jaden Ivey, considered by many to be a candidate to be the No. 1 prospect in the 2022 NBA draft, had 20 points, but was 1 of 8 from 3-point range and had five turnovers.

Iowa was just 8 of 28 from 3-point distance, but that topped the Boilermakers’ 5-of-20. Indianapolis native Perkins had 11 points and four assists for Iowa.

Now the Hawkeyes will shuffle off to Buffalo to face Richmond and, they hope, several more opponents to come.

“We're playing unbelievable basketball right now,” Bohannon said.

“We struggled earlier on this year a little bit and now we're doing really well,” said Keegan Murray. “It's just a great feeling.”

Said Fran McCaffery: “I don't know if I've ever been more proud of a team than this group, how they worked, sacrificed and incredible unselfishness. But I have to say we played a tremendous team today, incredibly well-coached team who had a great year and anything short of effort that we put forth today, we would not have won.

“They were committed to the game plan, they were committed to each other, and there's no better feeling as a coach than to watch them celebrate the way they would celebrate after the game for the Big Ten championship.”