Iowa Basketball: 3 takeaways from impressive win over #16 North Carolina

Iowa Basketball’s offense proved to be too much against North Carolina, scoring over 90 points to beat North Carolina.

One of the most impressive performances from this early College Basketball season has been the play of Iowa’s Luka Garza. Through the first three games, the consensus All-American has averaged a near double-double, with 34 points and 9.7 rebounds per contest. Regardless of the weak competition, they’ve faced up to this point (3 250+ ranked opponents), the dominance can not be denied.

The man that be apart of containing Garza is senior F Garrison Brooks. The three-year starter has been solid down low, averaging 12 points per game and 8.5 rebounds on the season so far. The status of Brooks was a concern heading into the game, lingering with injuries. However, he would be given the green light to play on Tuesday.

Even with the Tar Heels losing a heartbreaker to Texas, this is a team that would give Iowa their biggest challenge of the season.

Iowa would come out of the gates guns blazing with an early 8-0 run. North Carolina looked overwhelmed with their lack of experience and Iowa was just an extra few steps ahead. There was no hesitation in shooting the ball from beyond the arc. They would score 16 points before the first media timeouts, with four three-pointers.

Iowa would not stop the offensive onslaught three after three, as they were playing with much more energy. Senior G Jordan Bohannon is the all-time leading three-point shooter in Iowa history and is a lethal weapon from beyond the arc. He would back that up with three makes from beyond the arc and get the Hawkeyes up to a 25-9 lead.

The offenses would cool down, but the intensity would stay in tack. Even with Iowa’s electric start, a minimal piece to that spark was Garza. Garza was relatively cold from the field early, just shooting 2-8 from the field in the first 15 minutes. The trio of Brooks, Day’ron Sharpe, and Armando Bacot did a solid job down low. With all that, Iowa would still have a 34-23 lead with four minutes left in the half.

Through transition and quick possessions, North Carolina would keep up with their guards being aggressive drivers to the paint. Iowa would be aggressive from beyond the arc, draining 11 three-pointers. Eight of them would come from the duo of Joe Wiskamp and CJ Frederick as Iowa lead 43-31, heading into halftime.

North Carolina would come out of the second half with much more energy. An early 8-3 run could cut the deficit to seven and force a Fran McCaffrey timeout a few minutes into the second half. The Tar Heels transition offense would continue to spark their run at a comeback.

Within just five minutes of the second half, Iowa’s lead would be trimmed to three. The defense of Sharpe would have to take a seat after getting his fourth foul. A three-pointer from Freshman G Caleb Love got the lead to just one.

Both teams would exchange blows, with Garza starting to be efficient from inside the 10-foot range. He would score seven points in the last few minutes. North Carolina would have more shots from beyond the arc and keep them in the game with that and the transition game. After a pair of free throws, North Carolina would take their first lead of the game with 10 minutes left, 66-65.

The Hawkeyes would respond with a quick 10-2 run. It was behind a three-pointer from Bucannon and a basket from F Keegan Murray off the bench, giving the Hawkeyes a seven-point lead. Iowa’s three-point shooting would continue to highlight the team’s offensive play.

Behind 18 forced turnovers and an array of three-point shooting, Iowa would get a big win over North Carolina, 93-80. The duo of Frederick and Bohannon would combine for 45 points and 12 made three-pointers.