Iowa (26-9, 12-8 Big Ten) rolls into the NCAA Tournament after capturing the program’s first Big Ten Tournament title since 2006 after downing Purdue, 75-66, in the championship game. It was the third tournament title in program history and it capped off an incredible run to the crown.
In the process, the Hawkeyes became the only school to win a Big Ten Tournament championship twice by winning four games in four days. Iowa accomplished that same feat in 2001 when it won the tournament title as the league’s No. 6 seed.
Sophomore forward Keegan Murray was named the Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Player after averaging 25.7 points per game on 55.8 percent field goal shooting. Murray made 8-of-10 3-point attempts in Iowa’s 80-77 semifinal win over Indiana and finished the tournament shooting a blistering 53.8 percent on 3-pointers.
Murray was joined on the Big Ten’s All-Tournament Team by redshirt senior guard Jordan Bohannon. Bohannon averaged 13 points per game and connected on 43.3 percent of his 3-point tries in the Big Ten Tournament.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever been more proud of a team than this group, how they worked and sacrificed and incredible unselfishness. But I have to say we played a tremendous team today, incredibly well-coached team who had a great year and anything short of the effort that we put forth today, you know, we would not have won. They were committed to the game plan, they were committed to each other, and there’s no better feeling as a coach than to watch them celebrate the way they were able to celebrate after the game for the Big Ten championship,” Iowa head men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery said after the Hawkeyes’ win over Purdue.
Now, Iowa looks to keep the momentum going as the No. 5 seed in the Midwest Region. The Hawkeyes are set to battle Richmond (23-12, 10-8 Atlantic 10), who earned the No. 12 seed after topping Davidson, 64-62, in the Atlantic 10 Tournament championship game.
Here’s when you should tune in to see the game:
- Date: March 17
- Time: 2:10 p.m. CT
- TV Channel: truTV
- Live Stream: fuboTV (watch here)
Iowa vs. Richmond injury report:
The great news is that both teams enter the NCAA Tournament with a good bill of health. Neither Iowa or Richmond have any injuries to report according to the USA TODAY Sports injury database.
Players to watch:
Iowa:
- Sophomore forward, Keegan Murray: 23.6 points per game, 8.6 rebounds per game, 2.0 blocks per game, 55.5 percent field goal shooting, 40.5 percent 3-point shooting
- Redshirt senior guard, Jordan Bohannon: 11.1 points per game, 1.8 assists per game, 38.9 percent field goal shooting, 38.5 percent 3-point shooting, 88.9 percent free throw shooting
- Redshirt sophomore forward, Patrick McCaffery: 10.3 points per game, 3.6 rebounds per game, 1.6 assists per game, 42.2 percent field goal shooting, 31.2 percent 3-point shooting
- Sophomore forward, Kris Murray: 9.9 points per game, 4.2 rebounds per game, 48.6 percent field goal shooting, 40.6 percent 3-point shooting
Richmond:
- Junior forward, Tyler Burton: 16.3 points per game, 7.7 rebounds per game, 46.7 percent field goal shooting, 37.7 percent 3-point shooting
- Senior forward, Grant Golden: 14.1 points per game, 6.1 rebounds per game, 2.8 assists per game, 51.5 percent field goal shooting
- Senior guard, Jacob Gilyard: 13.3 points per game, 3.4 rebounds per game, 5.4 assists per game, 36.4 percent 3-point shooting