Hawkeyes men’s basketball team shoots mostly blanks, gets blasted by Nebraska, 66-50

(This story was written in Cedar Rapids.)

LINCOLN, Neb. — A 20-0 Nebraska first-half run was too much for Iowa to overcome, and the Hawkeyes dropped a Big Ten men’s basketball game to the Huskers Thursday night, 66-50.

The Hawkeyes shot a woeful 26 percent (19-of-73) from the field.

“We got 73 shots up,” Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said. “We got 50 points.

“I’ve never coached a team that took 73 shots, had 17 rebounds, only turned it over six times, and could only muster 50 points.”

Iowa missed 16 straight field goal tries in that 20-0 run, which was one second shy of spanning nine minutes as Nebraska (8-6, 1-2 Big Ten) compiled a 29-8 lead.

“We got open looks that just didn’t fall for us,” said Iowa’s Kris Murray. “We can’t let that hinder us at the defensive end.”

“You take Filip (Rebraca) and Kris out, we’re 5-for-42,” said McCaffery. “We’ve got good shooters driving and kicking, taking good shots. But we’ve got guys struggling right now to make a basket.

“I’m not just talking about 3s, I’m talking about 2s, runners, short layups. I feel bad for the guys. They’re clearly frustrated. But it’s hard to win when seven of your key guys are going 5-for-42.”

The Hawkeyes (8-5, 0-2) were 3-of-28 from the field at one point. They rallied to close within nine points twice in the first half. Juwan Gary banked in a 3-pointer with three seconds left in the half for a 38-26 Nebraska lead. The Huskers shot 50 percent in the half.

Nebraska wasted little time building a larger lead after halftime. Gary scored on a runner, a reverse lay-in, a 3-pointer and a dunk off a baseline drive in the first five minutes of the second half, as the Huskers opened a 52-30 advantage.

Epitomizing the night, Rebraca scored for Iowa with 15:23 left and yelled “Foul!” at the officials. The two points were erased when Nebraska’s Emanuel Bandoumel made both free throws on the technical foul assessed to Rebraca.

The Huskers went from the 12-minute mark of the second half to the 5-minute mark without scoring, yet lost just six points off what had been their largest lead, 58-34.

“At one stretch in the second half we got nine stops in a row,” McCaffery said. “We made a little run. Not a substantial run.”

Murray returned after a four-game absence. He played 36 minutes and had a game-high 17 points. He was 6-of-15 from the field. Two of his 3-pointers were air balls.

“I need to find my rhythm a little bit,” Murray said on the Hawkeye Radio Network postgame show. “I kind of rushed a few things early on. I know I’ll find it eventually.”

“I think he took good shots,” McCaffery said. “A pretty good first game back for Kris.”

Rebraca had 16 points and a season-high 13 rebounds. “No question, the star of the game for us,” said McCaffery.

No other Hawkeye topped five points.

Iowa’s Payton Sandfort suffered an apparent shoulder injury with 12:05 left and did not return to the game after going 0-of-9 from the floor. Hawkeye starters Tony Perkins, Ahron Ulis and Patrick McCaffery combined for just six points and shot a combined 2-of-19. McCaffery made a 3-pointer for the game’s first score and Iowa’s only lead.

The Hawkeyes entered averaging a Big Ten-best 83.8 points. They have been outscored by 35 points over their last three halves, starting with their Dec. 21 loss to Eastern Illinois. This was the first game of the season in which Iowa’s opponent made more free throws than the Hawkeyes.

Nebraska had a 54-40 rebounding edge, including 14 offensive boards. All five Husker starters scored between 10 and 14 points. Sam Griesel had 12 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

Iowa had averaged 95.3 points in its last three games against Nebraska, all wins.

“They’re playing like a team,” Fran McCaffery said. “They’re playing for each other. Nobody’s going for themselves.”

Iowa’s next game is Sunday at 4:30 p.m. (CT) at Penn State (10-3, 1-1).

“We’ll keep grinding,” said McCaffery. “We’ll get them ready for the next one.”

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