A shocker in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Playing without injured leading scorer Kris Murray Iowa ambushed 20th ranked Iowa State with a 26-4 start and rolled to a 75-56 victory.
It was career win number 500 for Iowa coach Fran McCaffery.
Murray was ruled out with what was called “a lower body injury” and McCaffery was pleased with the way his team stepped up.
With Murray out senior center Filip Rebraca stepped up with 22 points and 11 rebounds. He made nine of 11 shots.
After a poor shooting performance in a loss to Duke the Hawkeyes made 12 of 23 from three point range and shot 50 percent from the field.
Iowa State never recovered after the Hawkeyes delivered the early punch.
That’s Cyclone coach T.J. Otzelberger. The Cyclones finished three of 22 from behind the arc and were on their heels the entire game.
Otzelberger says it is a game the Cyclones need to learn from.
It was Iowa’s fourth straight win at home in the series. Both teams are 7-2.
