Dix makes it, Hawkeyes defeat Wildcats – University of Iowa Athletics

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa men’s basketball team defeated Northwestern 80-79 on Tuesday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Josh Dix’s three-pointer as time expired won the game for the Hawkeyes, improving their record to 7-1 on the season and 1-0 in Big Ten play.

Iowa had a strong first-half performance, establishing a commanding presence on both ends of the court. The Hawkeyes shot an impressive 65.4% from the field, including 54.5% from distance. With just over five minutes left in the first half, the Hawkeyes opened their largest lead of the game, leading Northwestern 36-19.

The Hawkeyes’ defense also played a key role, forcing eight turnovers and scoring 12 points from those turnovers. Dix led the Hawkeyes with 14 points on 6 of 9 shooting in the first half. Payton Sandfort and Owen Freeman each scored 10 points in the first 20 minutes. Freeman was a perfect 4-of-4 from the field, including 1-of-1 from three players in the first half. The Hawkeyes led by as many as 18 seconds in the first half and led Northwestern 45-34 at the break.

Northwestern’s offense quickly picked up steam in the second half after making six straight field goals at the end of the first half. The Wildcats used an 8-0 run to cut the Hawkeyes’ lead to just three with just under 13 minutes left. Northwestern took its first lead of the game with 11:30 to play. The Wildcats went on a 13-1 run while the Hawkeyes didn’t make a field goal for nearly five minutes.

Iowa regained the lead with just under 10 minutes left before Northwestern took the lead again a few minutes later. The Hawkeyes trailed the Wildcats 78-75 with 20 seconds left. Brock Harding drove into the lane, made a layup and was fouled. Harding missed the potentially game-winning free throw. The Hawkeyes fouled out and Northwestern’s Ty Berry went 1-2 from the free throw line, giving the Hawkeyes one final chance.

Iowa called a timeout with 0.8 seconds left and trailed by two seconds to set up a play. Dix intercepted Harding’s incoming pass and hit a three-pointer from 26 feet to give Iowa the win.

The Hawkeyes had four players finish in double figures. Dix led all scorers with 22 points, while Sandfort had 20. Owen Freeman finished the game with 16 points on an efficient 7 of 9 shooting from the field, while Harding rounded out Iowa’s players in double figures with 12 points on 6 of 10 shooting.

The Wildcats were led by Brooks Barnhizer with 21 points and Ty Perry with 20 points. Berry hit 5 of 9 from distance. Northwestern finished the game 29 of 60 (48.3) from the field and 8 of 21 (38.1) from distance. The Wildcats shot an efficient 13 of 16 (81.3) from the charity stripe.

After its outstanding shooting in the first half, Iowa finished the game shooting 30 of 55 (54.5) from the field and 9 of 23 (39.1) from deep. The Hawkeyes struggled at the free throw line, going 11 of 19 (57.9).

HEAR FROM HEAD COACH FRAN MCCAFFERY
“Every time you do a play, there are multiple options. They took two or three of them. They were chasing Payton and they were (on) Owen on that back pick, so Josh is your last option. He did it. No wonder, he’s great.”

“We have to play better and continue to be aggressive. We became cautious. The bottom line is that you can’t turn the ball over at this level. We don’t turn the ball over, and we turned it over tonight. We can’t do that.”

GAME FEATURES

• Tuesday’s win is Iowa’s first Big Ten opener since the 2020-21 season.
• Josh Dix hit a 26-foot 3-pointer with 0.8 seconds left to give Iowa an 80-79 victory over Northwestern.
• Iowa had four players finish in double figures: Josh Dix with 22, Payton Sandfort with 20, Owen Freeman with 16 and Brock Harding with 12
• Payton Sandfort scored 20 points on 6 of 14 shooting and four 3-point field goals. He also had seven rebounds and four assists.
  • It was Sandfort’s third 20-point game this season and the 21st of his career.
  • It was his third game with four 3-pointers this season and his 21st career game with 4+3 points.
• Dix scored 22 points on 9 of 16 shooting, reaching double figures for the second straight time and fifth time this season. He also had six rebounds.
  • It was Dix’s second 20-point game of the season and the sixth of his career.
• Freeman finished with 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting.
  • In six games, he shot over 60 percent from the floor.
• Sophomore Brock Harding reached double figures for the third straight year, finishing with 12 points, eight assists and three steals.
  • He has provided at least five assists in seven of the team’s eight games, including seven or more twice.
  • Harding had three or more steals in four straight games.
• Iowa opened with a 13-3 run, making 5 of 8 shots (and limiting Northwestern to 1 of 9 shots in the first five minutes of the game).
• Freeman, Sandfort and Dix combined for 30 of Iowa’s first 36 points and 34 of 45 in the first half.
  • All three players finished in double figures in the first 20 minutes.
• Iowa made nine three-pointers, making it the sixth game in which Iowa has made eight or more three-pointers this season.
• The Hawkeyes shot 65.4 percent (17 of 26) in the first half.
  • It was the second half in a row with a shooting percentage of over 65 percent (65.6 against USC Upstate).
• Iowa has kept all eight opponents’ shooting percentages below 50 percent this season.
• Iowa has won 13 of the last 15 and 18 of the last 22 meetings against Northwestern, including nine straight from 2018 to 2023.
• The Hawkeyes have won 10 straight against the Wildcats at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Northwestern’s last win in Iowa City came in 2012 – a 70-66 triumph.

NEXT
The Hawkeyes return to action on Saturday, traveling to Ann Arbor to take on Michigan in their first true road game of the season. The game begins at 1:00 p.m. (CT) and will be televised on FS1.