The Iowa Hawkeyes are 2-0!
Though it was a slow start, Iowa made sure to race away from Alabama State (0-2) in the final 20 minutes to put Hawkeye fans’ minds at ease, picking up a 98-67 win over the Hornets. Along the way, Iowa got a number of performances to feel good about.
As he so often does, junior forward Payton Sandfort had a stretch just before halftime where he caught fire to widen the margin. With the Hawkeyes leading 35-32, Sandfort knocked down a trio of 3-pointers and scored 12 points in less than two minutes of game time. That helped Iowa build a 49-37 halftime lead that the Hawkeyes just kept expanding.
Redshirt senior Patrick McCaffery had a great game as well, scoring a team-high 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting, including 2-of-5 from 3-point range. McCaffery had 12 points by the 11:39 mark of the first half.
Graduate transfer Ben Krikke had another double-figure scoring game, adding 13 points and six rebounds on a 5-of-10 shooting effort. Senior guard Tony Perkins was Iowa’s other double-figure scorer, chipping in with 12 points.
But, none of those were the names that Hawkeye social media left Friday night buzzing about the most. Enter freshman guard Brock Harding, who had Iowa fans feeling some kind of way once again.
Harding had seven assists in just 15 minutes of floor time. Take a look at how Iowa fans took in the win over Alabama State on social media.