The Iowa Hawkeyes delivered one final impressive performance in 2023.
Iowa (8-5, 0-2 Big Ten) rolled away from Northern Illinois (6-6) after halftime, blowing out the Huskies to the tune of a 103-74 victory. The Hawkeyes outscored the Huskies 49-26 after recess to blow things open.
Six different Hawkeyes finished in double figures and were led by graduate forward Ben Krikke’s 20 points. Krikke shot 9-of-12 from the floor, he grabbed seven rebounds and he dished out a trio of assists. The 6-foot-9, 245 pound big also connected on his lone trey.
Junior forward Payton Sandfort chipped in with 16 points as he knocked down a pair of 3-pointers. Freshman Owen Freeman nearly had another double-double, scoring 12 points and pulling down nine rebounds.
Senior guard Tony Perkins was the other Hawkeye starter in double figures with 10 points. The Indy product added a game-high eight assists as well.
Iowa got terrific bench production in the win, too. Sophomore guard Dasonte Bowen scored 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting. Freshman forward Pryce Sandfort dropped a career-high 12 points as well with three made 3-pointers.
After Northern Illinois shot 66.7% from the floor and 72.7% from 3-point range in the first half, the Hawkeyes tightened the screws after halftime. Iowa limited Northern Illinois to just 29.0% field goal shooting in the second half and forced nine turnovers. The Huskies ended up shooting 46.6% for the game.
After a three-game skid against No. 1 Purdue, Iowa State and Michigan, the Hawkeyes have now rattled off three wins in a row over Florida A&M, UMBC and Northern Illinois.
When it was all said and done, social media liked what it saw from the Hawkeyes in the win over the Huskies.