Iowa basketball drops 3rd straight game after falling to Minnesota

The Hawkeyes returned home after an abysmal performance on the West Coast, losing to USC and UCLA each by double digits. But Iowa couldn’t change the narrative for the better Tuesday.

The Hawkeyes lost their third straight game, this time by a 72-67 score vs. Minnesota.

It’s a big hit to Iowa’s NCAA Tournament chances. Minnesota is living in the basement of the Big Ten this season. But the Gophers entered Tuesday’s contest coming off their only conference win of the season — an overtime victory over Michigan.

Tuesday’s win was Minnesota’s second Big Ten win against six losses this season.

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Iowa’s defense wasn’t bad on Tuesday, holding Minnesota to 41% from the field and 29% from deep. Instead, it was Iowa’s 3-point shooting that let Fran McCaffery’s team down.

Iowa has been a high-octane 3-point shooting team this season, entering the game shooting nearly 40% from deep. But on Tuesday, Iowa missed its first 12 shots from long range. The Hawkeyes finished the game just 3-of-21 (14%) from deep.

Iowa was 8-of-12 from the free throw line.

“Teams go through these funks throughout the year and all we can do is just stick together,” Payton Sandfort said. “I believe in everybody in that room. I believe in the coaching staff and myself. There’s a lot of basketball left, a lot of opportunities. So it’s just staying together.”

It wasn’t an inspired start by Iowa, especially considering what fans would have hoped for coming off the last two games. Minnesota led 19-10 with 11:12 left in the first half. It was the third game in a row that the Hawkeyes got off to a slow start.

“We played pretty good defense early,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said. “We had some stops. We just didn’t score the ball.”

It wasn’t a masterpiece of a first half. Minnesota shot just 36% from the field while Iowa went 0-of-7 from deep. Trailing by as many as 11 in the first half, the Hawkeyes went into halftime with four points.

Video: Payton Sandfort, Owen Freeman talk about three-game losing streak

Payton Sandfort and Owen Freeman meet with the media after Iowa’s loss to Minnesota.

But Minnesota came out hot to open the second half, cutting its lead back to 10 after hitting a pair of triples. It ballooned to as many as 17 in the second half.

Iowa made a frantic late push and cut the deficit to three points down the stretch. But Minnesota was able to hold on.

“I’m just frustrated,” Owen Freeman said. “I want to win. That’s all it really is.”

Minnesota’s Dawson Garcia entered the day among the top scorers in the Big Ten with 19.1 points per game. On Tuesday, he delivered 20 points. Femi Odukale was also in double figures scoring with 18 points against Iowa.

Payton Sandfort, who took a hit in the first half against UCLA on Friday and missed the majority of that game, played Tuesday. Sandfort finished the contest against Minnesota with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Owen Freeman had 21 points and Seydou Traore contributed 11 off the bench.

With the loss, Iowa now falls to 12-7 overall, including 3-5 in Big Ten play.

Tuesday was the first of a two-game homestand for Iowa. The Hawkeyes host Penn State on Friday. The Nittany Lions will enter that contest 13-6 overall, including 3-5 in league play.

“We’ll turn it around,” McCaffery said. “It’s a good group. The league is brutal. And we just have to learn from the losses. Just like we learn from the wins.”

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