Man, Iowa needed that. So did Payton Sandfort. Don’t look now but the Hawkeyes (10-6, 2-3 Big Ten) have won back-to-back Big Ten games after dispatching of Rutgers, 76-65.
It was keyed in large part by some of Sandfort’s big shot-making. The 6-foot-7, 215 pound guard’s shooting struggles have been well documented. Before the Rutgers game, Sandfort was shooting just 21.7% from 3-point distance. Prior to the historic comeback win over Indiana, Sandfort hadn’t connected on any of his 10 3-point tries in Big Ten play.
He made just 1-of-4 against the Hoosiers, but that was a start. Against the Scarlet Knights, Sandfort broke out. Coming off the bench, the Waukee, Iowa, product made 4-of-5 3-pointers. He scored a game-high 22 points in just 22 minutes of floor time.
After Iowa had built a lead of as many of 18, Rutgers whittled it back down to just five. Then, Sandfort happened. He connected on a 3-pointer with 8:34 remaining to give Iowa an eight-point lead at 58-50. Then, he added a pair of treys with 6:44 and 6:07 remaining to give Iowa a pair of 11-point leads.
Big picture, this win stabilizes the Hawkeyes just a bit after an 0-3 start to Big Ten play. Iowa returns to action versus Michigan (9-6, 3-1 Big Ten) on Thursday at 6 p.m. CT from inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City.
As you’d expect, Iowa fans were thrilled to see Sandfort break out of his slump, the Hawkeyes win their second straight and nice performances once more from Kris Murray and Filip Rebraca.
Here were the best social media reactions.
Analysis: Payton Sandfort is having a game
— Kennington Lloyd Smith III (@SkinnyKenny_) January 8, 2023
Sandfort from deep. Don’t let him get hot
— I Love Iowa Basketball (@ILoveIowaBball) January 8, 2023
Iowa collects a big, big win over Rutgers. They’ve had a couple of ugly losses, but this win gets them to 4-3 vs NET Quad 1 opponents. Right now, that’s an at-large quality resume.
— Jeff (BPredict) (@BPredict) January 8, 2023
Iowa goes to Rutgers and wins.
Northwestern goes to Indiana and wins.The Big Ten has incredible depth.
— John Fanta (@John_Fanta) January 8, 2023
This is the Payton Sandfort that I expected to see prior to the season.
33 points in two wins this week.
A new dawn…
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