Hawkeyes finish non-conference with fifth straight win

IOWA CITY — The Hawkeyes needed to get to Big Ten play on a winning streak.

They needed to show signs that the defensive improvements made last week carried over into the final two non-conference games. They needed to get through it all unscathed.

Save for a few hiccups and one controversial ending, mission accomplished for the Iowa men's basketball team. The Hawkeyes dominated a road-weary Delaware State team, 89-57, to finish non-conference play on a five-game winning streak.

'Considering where we were, yeah (I like how we finished),' Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said. 'We've really been going hard, from the tournament to games coming quickly.

'They definitely have shown signs of improvement. We played so poorly in that stretch of games defensively, they know we have to be better. It's one thing to demand they be better, but you've got to show them. … They have been really a lot better in terms of anticipating what's coming.'

The Hawkeyes were led by Peter Jok, who finished with 17 points and two rebounds in just 15 minutes of action. Ahmad Wagner added 12 points and four rebounds, Isaiah Moss had 10 points, and forward Cordell Pemsl added eight points and three rebounds. Freshman guard Maishe Dailey had a career night with eight points and seven rebounds while playing a season-high 21 minutes.

The game was never really in doubt, with the Hawkeyes (8-5) going on a 21-1 run during the middle part of the first half — aided greatly by the Hornets (3-11) going 0 of 17 over that stretch.

Iowa did get a bit of a scare midway through that long scoring run. While attempting to reach for a loose ball on a steal, Jok landed hard on his left hip and was down until referees could stop play. He left for several minutes with a trainer, but returned to the bench before the end of the half. The Big Ten's leading scorer to date played the first few minutes of the second half, scoring five more points, before taking a seat for the night.

McCaffery said Jok is 'pretty sore,' but after he got his points in the second half it was a no-brainer to sit him.

Foul trouble for Moss and Jok's injury paved the way for Dailey to get that extended run — and into the game earlier than he had all season.

Dailey was active on both ends, going for career-highs in points and rebounds. He shot just 3 of 8 from the field, but made the most of his time on the floor — which had been limited to 7.5 minutes per game in just six games of action so far.

The freshman just smiled, though, when asked if he gave coaches something to think about with how he played, saying, 'that's up to them.'

'I think every time I go out on the court I try to make the most of it,' Dailey said. 'I think I played OK tonight — I could've played a lot better. I had a couple sloppy turnovers, a couple rebounds I should've gotten and a couple shots I should've drove on or passed up.

'(I showed) just that I can do whatever he needs me to do, whether that be rebound (or) guard whoever he needs me to guard.'

Iowa was again without forward Tyler Cook, who was tentative to see some action in the final two non-conference games, but ultimately sat out both after participating in warmups. McCaffery said in a teleconference on Monday that the team was going to take an extra-cautious approach with bringing him back from the surgery to his broken right index finger.

While Cook sat out the Delaware State game to make it seven straight, McCaffery said he would be back for the Hawkeyes' next game — their Big Ten opener at Purdue on Dec. 28.

With what Iowa has been able to do without him — and the steps forward the Hawkeyes have taken — McCaffery said it won't be as simple as inserting Cook right back into the starting lineup. Whether he starts or not, McCaffery did make it clear that Cook will play starter's minutes starting with Purdue and going forward.

'We've thought a lot about it. Obviously the first inclination is to insert him back into the starting lineup, but this group has really played well, so I'll think it through and talk it over with him,' McCaffery said. 'It's almost irrelevant, to be truthful, because he's going to play starter's minutes.

'The hardest thing is just going to be, for him, just settling down and playing with confidence and at his own pace. He's going to be anxious to do maybe too much. I want to make sure he understands that we don't expect too much. We expect him to be Tyler Cook.'

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