No. 19 Iowa men’s basketball drops road contest at Minnesota after second half comeback attempt

MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota laid out a trap for Iowa men’s basketball. The Hawkeyes fell right into it.

The Golden Gophers have had two ranked Big Ten foes enter Williams Arena so far this season. Neither foe survived. First, it was then-No. 22 Indiana.

Now, it’s No. 19 Iowa.

Despite clawing its way back from a 14-point lead in the second half, the Hawkeye offense couldn’t find consistency and Iowa dropped its first Big Ten game since falling to Michigan State — losing to Minnesota, 70-67.

The Hawkeyes’ top four scorers had no points in the first half. Iowa was held scoreless for nearly six minutes, and guard Bennett Stirtz picked up two fouls within the first six minutes of the game.

It was a recipe for a troubling affair against Minnesota.

“I didn’t think that we showed up ready to play,” Hawkeye head coach Ben McCollum said.

This is a McCollum-led program that rarely finds itself in these scenarios — where everything his teams are known for does not work in game.

  Buy Photo

McCollum watched in frustration as Minnesota eliminated Iowa’s first actions, then the second actions and the third. Stirtz, who had two fouls with 14:24 to play in the first half, sat on the bench unable to help.

Iowa’s one first-half lead lasted a handful of possessions, before a 9-0 Minnesota run forced the Hawkeyes back into the hole.

The three-ball well was dry — just seven triples made for Iowa. The Hawkeyes were getting the offensive rebounds they needed to close a deficit, but scored just four second-chance points.

Stirtz returned to the court to play through the rest of the game in the second half, finally scoring his first points 90 seconds in. He finished the game with 21 points after making all but two shots just one game ago.

Minnesota found a way to keep it a multi-score game throughout the second half. It’d get to the free-throw line or find a well-timed turnover — some way to frustrate an already-stagnant Hawkeye offense.

“We just need to be better,” McCollum said. “We need to show up, ready to compete, ready to impose our will. I didn’t think we didn’t play hard, we just didn’t play with intent.”

Guard Kael Combs followed Stirtz with 14 points and two assists, and Isaiah Howard added 10 more to the board.

“I just want to win basketball games,” Howard said. “Whatever that does mean, coming off the bench, giving people a spark, getting stops, whatever it is, that’s what I want to do.”

Meanwhile, Minnesota’s Langston Reynolds carved out a 22-point performance, along with five rebounds. Cade Tyson added 16 more points to go with his five rebounds, and Isaac Asuma tacked on 10 more.

Even with Combs and Stirtz’s efforts, by the time the pair reached double figures, Iowa was knee-deep in its deficit the entire second half. More so, Minnesota was still going to the free-throw line, still finding ways to put points on the board.

And the Gophers weren’t turning over the ball as much, either. Iowa had 13 turnovers, compared to Minnesota’s seven.

With two minutes to play and the Hawkeyes down two scores, a light switch flipped. Iowa had chipped away at the lead slowly, just quietly enough that it never felt like a Hawkeye run.

Iowa closed the gap and retook the lead for one possession. Jaylen Crocker-Johnson crossed into double figures with the game-winning triple right after.

The Hawkeyes still had the chance for three straight attempts from three-point range at the buzzer to send the game into overtime. All three bounced off the rim.

“I always feel like it’s going in before I shoot, and especially after I shot those two,” said Stirtz, who took the first and final shot before the buzzer rang out. “Unlikely, it didn’t go in.”

It was too little, too late for the Hawkeyes to finally sink into their groove. Instead, they’ll have to find it a little bit sooner against No. 16 Illinois on Sunday at 11 a.m.

Comments: madison.hricik@thegazette.com, sign up for my weekly newsletter, Hawk Off the Press, at thegazette.com/hawks.