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Josh Dix’s last-second bomb lifts Hawkeyes over Northwestern, 80-79
Dix scored 22 points, the last three coming at the last second from 30 feet to give Iowa its first win in a Big Ten-opener since 2020.
Dec. 3, 2024 8:53 pm, Updated: Dec. 3, 2024 9:41 pm
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IOWA CITY -- It was the wisest timeout Payton Sandfort has ever called. It was the biggest shot Josh Dix ever made.
It was the best Big Ten-opener the Iowa men’s basketball team has played, at least in the last four years.
Junior guard Josh Dix made a last-second, 30-foot 3-pointer to give the Hawkeyes a stunning 80-79 victory over Northwestern. It was Iowa’s first win of a league-opener since 2020 and first win of a December Big Ten game in its last eight tries.
The Hawkeyes are 7-1 overall, Northwestern 6-3.
Iowa called timeout with eight-tenths of a second left, with the ball in the frontcourt and the Hawkeyes trailing 79-77. More specifically, Hawkeye senior forward Payton Sandfort called it.
“It didn’t look good with what we had going,” Sandfort said.
“Honestly, I thought we had more time, but we didn’t need more time, so we’re good.”
Six-foot Iowa guard Bryce Harding, hounded by Wildcat 7-footer Keenan Fitzmorris, in-bounded the ball near the scorer’s table. First-option Owen Freeman was well-covered in the pain, so Harding got the ball to Dix, who spalshed in the fallaway shot from about 30 feet.
“From where I stood,” said Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery, “it looked good right when it left his hand.”
“It felt good,” Dix said. “I didn’t know if it was short, though. It felt maybe like it was short, but it felt like it was straight-on.”
He said he doesn’t work on deep fadeaway jumpers in practice. “I think Fran would probably be mad at me if I did.”
The shot closed a Jekyll-and-Hyde kind of game. Iowa played a fine, upstanding game in the first half, making 65.4 percent of its shots and building a 45-34 halftime lead that had been as much as 17 points.
It was something more gruesome in the second half as Northwestern played its tempo, got great looks at the basket, and battered Iowa on the boards. Brooks Barnhizer, Nick Martinelli and Ty Berry, all key players on the Wildcats’ 2024 NCAA tournament team, combined for 36 second-half points and 60 total.
Northwestern led 74-68 with two minutes left, but couldn’t avoid losing here for the 10th-straight time.
Berry had made 1 of 2 foul shots to put the Wildcats up 79-77 with 7.4 seconds left. Iowa called a timeout, then another. Then Harding got his eighth assist when he found Dix flashing open.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had a game-winning (shot) at the buzzer like that,” Dix said, “so that was great.”
It was reminiscent of when Jordan Bohannon made a 3-pointer here off a sideline in-bound pass with six-tenths of a second left in 2019 to give Iowa ... an 80-79 win over Northwestern. Eerie.
“Same play,” Sandfort said.
“It's not easy. That's the simplest way to put it, but he's one of the best players I've ever played with, and he made it look easy.”
Dix had 22 points, Sandfort 20. Harding made two baskets in the last 43 seconds to keep the Hawkeyes afloat.
Iowa scored 18 seconds into the game, jumped to a 13-3 lead, and grew it to 36-19 in the first half.
It didn’t hold up. The Wildcats, who trailed by 15 points early in the second half, improved their shot-selection while Iowa’s shooting tailed off an it got sloppier with the ball.
Northwestern used a 10-0 run to pull within 53-50, then kept coming. It took its first lead with 10:40 left, and led from the 5:12 mark until the fatal last second.
“Big Ten basketball 2024,” said Northwestern Coach Doug Collins.
“Just heartbroken for my guys. Give Iowa credit in the first half and give them credit for winning the game.
“That’s how this league is. We won one for 39 minutes, 59 seconds, and point-2. But you’ve got to play that last point-8.”
About that last Iowa timeout, McCaffery said “I was going to let Pryce (Sandfort) shoot it. That (timeout) was Payton. Payton called that.
“It worked out pretty well.”
McCaffery said he gave Sandfort credit in the locker room after the game, “and the guys went nuts.”
Iowa’s players and fans went a bit nuts as they celebrated together after the game.
The Hawkeyes played without injured forwards Seydou Traore and Cooper Koch. Iowa’s next game is at Michigan on FS1 Saturday at 1 p.m., CT.
Comments: (319) 398-8440; mike.hlas@thegazette.com
Iowa men's basketball players celebrate with fans immediately after the Hawkeyes' last-second 80-79 win over Northwestern Tuesday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. (Mike Hlas/The Gazette)
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