Columbus Ohio — 10 seed Iowa downed 7 seed Cincinnati 79-72 in their NCAA men’s basketball tournament opener Friday. The Hawkeyes found themselves down 36-31 at halftime and outscored the Bearcats 48-36 in the second half to earn the win and advance to the second round.
After trailing most of the way, the Hawkeyes rallied late for their first NCAA Tournament win in four years . Jordan Bohannon’s three point play with 1:07 left put Iowa up 73-64, and the league’s most accurate foul shooter made one of two with 18 seconds left to help finish off Cincinnati.
Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery said his players stayed confident despite trailing early.
Luka Garza led Iowa with 20 points. He was joined in double figures by Joe Wieskamp with 19 points and Jordan Bohannon with 13 points.
Cincinnati had three players in double figures as well getting a game high 21 from Justin Jenifer, 18 from Jarron Cumberland and 11 from Nysier Brooks. Cincinnati ends the season at 28-6.
With the win the Hawkeyes move on with a 22-11 record. Iowa faces No. 2 Tennessee with an 11:15 tip off Sunday morning . The Vols won their opener against Colgate 77-70. Iowa is 2-2 all-time with Tennessee winning their most recent game, 78-65. That was in the 2014 First Four in Dayton.
