Iowa defeats Northwestern by 3 points in Big Ten opener

Josh Dix hit a game-winning, buzzer-beating 3-pointer en route to 22 points to give Iowa an 80-79 win over visiting Northwestern on Tuesday in Iowa City, Iowa.

The Hawkeyes (7-1, 1-0 Big Ten) sputtered in the second half of their conference opener before recovering, with Dix punctuating the win with a 26-footer from just left of the key.

Payton Sandfort had 20 points and seven rebounds, while Owen Freeman (16 points) and Brock Harding (12) also finished in double figures as Iowa withstood three big attempts from the Wildcats (6-3, 0-1).

Northwestern’s Brooks Barnhizer posted a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds, Ty Berry scored 20 points and Nick Martinelli added 19.

Northwestern led by as many as six down the stretch, but managed just one field goal over a span of 1:32 as Iowa cut the deficit to 76-75 with 43 seconds to play.

A pair of free throws from Barnhizer pushed the lead back to three before Harding made a layup with 15 seconds left. Harding missed a free throw and a tying three-point play, but Northwestern gave Iowa a chance when Berry shared two free throws with seven seconds left.

Harding provided a game-high eight assists.

Iowa scored two layups early in the second half to take a 49-34 lead, but largely stayed cold after that.

Inspired by a 15-1 run with six points from Barnhizer, the Wildcats stormed back and secured a 55-54 lead on a tip-in from Luke Hunger with 11:32 left.

Hot shots propelled Iowa ahead in the first half. The Hawkeyes led by 17 points before halftime and hit 65.4 percent of their shots, including 6-for-11 shooting from deep (54.5 percent).

Dix scored 14 points on 6-for-9 shooting from the floor in the first half.

Iowa got through the game with a shortened bench. Seydou Traore was sidelined with a sprained ankle after suffering the injury in the first half of the Hawkeyes’ home game against South Carolina Upstate on Nov. 26. Cooper Koch (unknown) also missed the game.

The Hawkeyes recently maintained a stranglehold on the series, winning for the 11th time in the last 12 meetings and the 18th time in the last 22.

–Field level media