Payton Sandfort rode a hot-shooting night to 20 points and Filip Rebraca added a 20-point double-double, powering Iowa past visiting Northwestern 86-70 on Tuesday night in Iowa City.
Kris Murray added 16 points, Tony Perkins scored 12 and Connor McCaffery had 11. Rebraca had 10 rebounds and Sandfort chipped in a game-high five assists.
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Boo Buie led Northwestern (15-6, 6-4) with 20 points while Chase Audige had 15.
Sandfort shot 5-for-7 from 3-point range and converted a rare six-point possession late in the game to help the Hawkeyes (14-8, 6-5 Big Ten) win for the sixth time in eight games.
With Iowa guarding an eight-point lead with 3:36 to play, Sandfort knocked down his fourth 3-pointer on a screen action and fell to the floor. The officials called a foul on Northwestern, and Wildcats coach Chris Collins received a technical for arguing the decision.
Sandfort made the two technical free throws and added the other foul shot, opening up an insurmountable 79-65 Iowa advantage.
The Wildcats lost for the first time since Jan. 15. This was one of two games the program had to reschedule due to a COVID-19 outbreak earlier this month.
Iowa used a 7-0 spurt, capped by a 3-pointer from Sandfort, to take a 25-22 lead with 8:05 left in the first half.
The Wildcats responded with eight straight points amid a 13-1 run overall. Buie set up Audige for a one-handed alley-oop dunk in that span, and Audige’s triple later gave Northwestern its largest lead of the game, 35-26.
Murray scored the Hawkeyes’ next eight points thanks to two 3-pointers. Iowa salvaged a 39-39 halftime tie when Sandfort nailed a long trey with three seconds left.
Northwestern led for the first few minutes of the second half before a 7-0 run swung it back the Hawkeyes’ way. Brooks Barnhizer converted a nice reverse layup to put Northwestern back in front 56-55, but Iowa answered with a 7-0 run that put it in control the rest of the way.
–Field Level Media
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