Things are not going well right now for Iowa men’s basketball and that’s putting it nicely.
The Iowa Hawkeyes fell to 8-6 and 0-3 in Big Ten play after an 83-72 loss at No. 21 Wisconsin. Iowa actually got off to a quick start, jumping out to an 11-4 lead behind a pair of 3-pointers from graduate forward Ben Krikke and junior forward Payton Sandfort.
After senior guard Tony Perkins knocked down a trey with 2:07 remaining in the first half, the Hawkeyes led, 32-26. Wisconsin responded with a 6-0 run to close the first half and send the game to halftime knotted up at 32 apiece.
With 12:02 remaining in the contest, Iowa was right there. The Hawkeyes trailed just 53-52 after Krikke’s and-1 bucket and free throw.
But, things went haywire from that point forward. Back-to-back Iowa turnovers turned a six-point deficit into a double-figure hole in a hurry. That stretch included a highlight-reel alley-oop off the backboard from Wisconsin junior Chucky Hepburn to sophomore AJ Storr that sent the Kohl Center into a frenzy.
Wisconsin enjoyed its highest-scoring half of the season against Iowa, pouring in 51 points after halftime to race away from the Hawkeyes.
There were still some bright spots for Iowa. Freshman forward Owen Freeman continues to turn heads with his play at such a young age. The frosh finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds to grab his second career double-double. The 6-foot-10 big shot 7-of-9 from the floor.
Senior guard Tony Perkins had a really strong night as well, leading all scorers with 25 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including a perfect 2-of-2 from downtown. The Indianapolis native came away with three steals and a pair of assists, too.
While those are several positives, social media was understandably not altogether enthused by Iowa’s showing in Madison, Wis. Take a look at how Hawkeye social media reacted to Iowa’s loss which dropped it to 0-3 in Big Ten play.