Iowa basketball (7-3, 1-1 Big Ten) suffered a crushing 89-80 loss from Carver-Hawkeye Arena Thursday night vs. No. 3-ranked Iowa State (8-1, 0-0 Big 12) in the 2024 Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series.
While the Hawkeyes roared out to a 44-37 halftime lead on 58.6% from the field, a dominant Iowa State surge coupled with a troublesome Iowa second-half shooting performance allowed the Cyclones to escape from a sold-out Carver-Hawkeye Arena victorious.
In addition to the poor second-half shooting by the Hawkeyes, being out-rebounded 29-18 by the Cyclones in the final 20 minutes certainly did not help their cause.
As a team, Iowa shot 28-for-63 (44.4%) from the floor, 11-for-28 from three-point territory, and 13-for-15 (86.7%) from the free-throw line. On the defensive side, Iowa collected 34 rebounds (26 defensive) in addition to five steals and four blocks for a combined nine forced turnovers.
While the cold second-half performance doomed the Hawkeyes, here are Iowa’s three stars from Thursday’s game that were difference-makers on the court.
Owen Freeman
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Freeman led the team in points with 16 on 5-for-8 (62.5%) from the field, including a rare 1-for-1 (100%) three-point shooting night. The sophomore forward also converted on 5-of-7 (71.4%) attempts from the charity stripe while recording five rebounds, three steals, and two assists in 26 minutes.
While Freeman was expected to have a bigger role against the Cyclones, his stat line was still more than respectable, especially against a very skilled Iowa State lineup.
Brock Harding
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Harding had another decent showing Thursday night by finishing with 10 points on 4-for-10 (40%) from the field to go along with eight assists, two rebounds, and one steal in 31 minutes.
Although Harding’s stat line does not necessarily pop off the box score, his ability to effectively facilitate the ball throughout the night proved to be well-appreciated by the Hawkeyes, especially in the first half.
Ladji Dembele
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Despite only playing 14 minutes against Iowa State, Dembele had the best shooting night of his Hawkeyes career and tied his season-high in points.
The sophomore forward finished with 11 points off 4-of-4 from the floor, including 3-of-3 from beyond the arc. In addition to his perfect shooting night, he also recorded four rebounds and one steal to round out his night.
Dembele’s ability to inject offense off the bench is one that the Hawkeyes will certainly look to utilize moving forward as the schedule becomes more rigorous later in the season.
Iowa will remain home for their next game on Sunday, Dec. 15, vs. New Orleans (2-6, 0-1 Southland Conference) from Carver-Hawkeye Arena at 1 p.m. CT.
The game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network as well as through the radio on the Hawkeyes Radio Network.
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