HawkeyeSports.com — The third-ranked University of Iowa men’s basketball team (6-0) took care of business Sunday afternoon, doubling up Northern Illinois (0-5), 106-53, on Mediacom Court inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
The victory was head coach Fran McCaffery’s 200th career win at Iowa. Iowa’s second all-time winningest coach has 451 career wins as a Division I head coach.
Northern Illinois led 8-6 after the first media timeout, but then it was all Hawkeyes the rest of the way. Iowa outscored the Huskies, 27-4, over the next eight minutes to lead 33-12 with 6:05 left in the first half.
Senior All-American Luka Garza, who finished with 23 points (8-10 FG) and eight rebounds, scored eight straight points to start the run. Garza has topped 20 points in five of six games this season and shot 75 percent or better in four of six contests.
Freshman Keegan Murray also had a personal 8-0 run of his own at the end of Iowa’s scoring run. Murray recorded his second career game in double figures and stuffed the stat sheet with 10 points, five rebounds, two assists, two steals, and three blocks.
Iowa led 51-27 at halftime and that lead quickly blossomed to a 71-33 advantage as the Hawkeyes started the second half on a 20-5 run over the first five minutes.
Junior Joe Wieskamp scored eight straight points during the run, capped off by a two-handed slam. Wieskamp finished with a season-high 20 points on 9-of-13 shooting.
At the under 12-minute media timeout and a 79-35 lead, Iowa emptied the bench. All 16 Hawkeyes saw the court in the win, and 11 individuals played double-digit minutes.
On top of Keegan Murray’s stellar play, freshmen Ahron Ulis and Tony Perkins, produced in their most minutes played as a Hawkeye.
Ulis got some run with the first team in the first half and pushed the pace in the second half. He scored four points and dished out two assists in the win, but there’s more to like about the guard beyond the stat sheet.
Perkins grabbed a personal-best seven rebounds – one shy of a team-high – and scored four points and added two assists.
No. 3 Iowa faces top-ranked Gonzaga (3-0) Dec. 19 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, at the Sanford Pentagon. Tip-off is set for 11 a.m.
