Iowa blasts Rutgers

IOWA CITY — Smiles and laughter were plentiful in a club area across from Iowa's locker room Thursday night.

A 81-47 pounding of Rutgers provided just the right flavor for the Hawkeyes after a two-game losing streak. Although tempered in their enthusiasm, their relief was telling. So were their youthful celebrations after one of the game's pivotal moments.

With Iowa leading 10-5, Iowa junior center Adam Woodbury had a clear lane to the basket. He drove through the paint with nary a defender in his face, and he slammed a two-handed dunk that sent the sparse crowd into a frenzy and his teammates to their feet.

Woodbury, who stands 7-foot-1, rarely dunks so that moment was cherished.

'The lane opened up,' Woodbury said. 'I was kind of surprised it was so open. They kind of just let me get to the rim. It was almost like a drill when the lane opened up for me. I was able to dunk it I guess.'

Iowa senior Aaron White recalls the dunk as much for Woodbury hanging on the rim as for the basket itself.

'I have never seen anything like that in my life,' White said. 'I have played with him for three years, and I have never seen him hang on the rim like that. He must have been feeling himself or something. I'm happy for him. A lot of people knock him but he's a pretty athletic dude for being 7 foot. I can't wait to watch that on film.'

In a game where the atmosphere was more reminiscent of a December non-conference tuneup than a Big Ten monster, Iowa took care of league newcomer Rutgers like it was an initiation ritual.

The Hawkeyes (16-10, 7-6 Big Ten) dominated the Scarlet Knights (10-17, 2-12) in every phase. The game was virtually over nine minutes into the competition. Iowa scored on seven of eight trips up the floor and led 23-8 with 11:50 left in the first half. It was an 18-3 run that began with a Jarrod Uthoff 3-pointer and was punctuated three possessions later with a lob pass from Peter Jok to Aaron White for a power dunk. One trip later, Woodbury drove in for his two-handed slam that led to a Rutgers timeout.

Iowa refused to let up. Gabe Olaseni scored inside and Uthoff followed with another 3-pointer. Anthony Clemmons scored on a layup, then dished to Uthoff for a dunk. Olaseni ended the run with a reverse layup.

Iowa forced 10 Rutgers turnovers in the first half alone that led to 11 Iowa points. The Hawkeyes committed just one in the first half.

'There was activity,' Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said. 'There were rotations. There was ball pressure.

'It comes down to we got consecutive stops and we got some run-outs, and I thought we executed. I thought our decision making — when to throw it inside, when to drive it, when to move it along, when to jump shoot it — was really good.'

Uthoff led Iowa with 14 points, while White scored 13 and grabbed eight rebounds. Olaseni added 12 points and Jok chipped in with 11. Clemmons had seven assists.

Rutgers committed 18 turnovers that led to 21 Iowa points. The Hawkeyes shot 50.9 percent from the floor.

Iowa next plays at Nebraska (13-13, 5-9) at 2 p.m. Sunday.

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