Despite Iowa basketball (7-2, 1-1 Big Ten) suffering their first conference defeat at Michigan (8-2, 2-0 Big Ten) on Saturday, senior forward Payton Sandfort shared his appreciation for the friendly Wolverines fan base ahead of Iowa’s Dec. 12 clash vs. No. 3 Iowa State (7-1).
Sandfort, who led the Hawkeyes‘ offensive attack with a team-high 19 points on 6-of-20 (30%) shooting from the floor, praised the generous atmosphere in Ann Arbor and noted the kind words of one Michigan fan who complimented Iowa’s play and team cohesion.
“I got a really nice message from a Michigan fan after the game. That’s one of the best fan bases I’ve been around. They were nice to us the whole game. They were complimenting us walking off the floor.
“But I got a really nice message just about how connected he thought our team was. He said he was sitting courtside and talked about just the leadership that I brought and how hard it looked like all of us were playing. So I shared that with the team, and I think people were really happy with that. It’s nice to get some of those messages every once in a while,” Sandfort said.
A Michigan fan reached out to Payton Sandfort following Iowa’s 85-83 loss to the #Wolverines on Saturday.
The #Hawkeyes senior said he thinks the Maize & Blue have one of the best fanbases. pic.twitter.com/z9pjRxOdrx
— Ethan Petrik (@ethan_petrik) December 11, 2024
While Sandfort and the Hawkeyes did not get a desirable result from their trip to Ann Arbor, it’s great to see the team receiving positive feedback and good sportsmanship from opposing fans. These interactions are truly what makes college basketball a place for growth, no matter the result.
Sandfort is off to another solid start for the Hawkeyes this season. The 6-foot-8, 215 pound forward is averaging 16.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game while shooting 38.6% from the field and 31.5% from 3-point range.
Iowa returns to action with its in-state battle versus Iowa State on Thursday night in the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. CT on FS1.
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