Early on, it looked like maybe it was just the perfect day in Iowa City.
Five-star transfer offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor announced his decision to join the Hawkeyes and Fran McCaffery and the boys were cooking out of the gates.
Then, the inevitable set in as No. 2 Purdue (17-2, 6-2 Big Ten) pulled away from Iowa in an 84-70 win for the Boilermakers.
Reigning consensus national player of the year and senior Purdue center Zach Edey was too much to handle. The 7-foot-4, 300 pound Boilermaker led the way with 30 points and 18 rebounds.
Iowa (11-7, 3-4 Big Ten) jumped in front 18-14 at the 12:32 mark of the first half on a jumper from junior forward Payton Sandfort. But, Purdue responded with a 19-2 run to build a 33-20 advantage and the Boilermakers were able to keep the Hawkeyes at arm’s length from there.
Iowa did make several surges, closing to within seven points at 38-31 with 3:40 remaining in the first half and to within eight points at 78-70 with 4:22 remaining. Ultimately, Purdue’s massive 50-24 rebounding edge was just too much to overcome.
Senior guard Tony Perkins had a particularly good day, scoring 24 points on 10-of-19 shooting with five rebounds and four assists. Sandfort scored 16 points and graduate forward Ben Krikke added 10 points to comprise the Hawkeyes’ other double-figure scorers.
It was a tall task heading in, and it proved to be true in that way by game’s end. But, Hawkeye social media rode that rollercoaster like always and came away pleased with the effort and fight Iowa showed if not for the work on the glass.
Take a look at the reactions from Iowa’s 84-70 loss versus No. 2 Purdue.