Hawkeyes defeat No. 11 Wisconsin, 72-65
MADISON, Wis. Saturday was a dose of redemption for Bryce Cartwright, erasing the memory of a missed shot that just wouldn’t go away.
Last season in Iowa City, Cartwright had a jumper that would have beaten Wisconsin. It rimmed out. Iowa lost in overtime. But Saturday in the Kohl Center, Cartwright was the ringleader in the Hawkeyes’ stunning 72-65 victory over the nation’s 11th-ranked team.
“It was just good to have a game like that,” said Cartwright, who has struggled through injuries and a lack of confidence this season. “It just came out of me (Saturday).”
Cartwright outplayed Wisconsin all-American point guard Jordan Taylor, scoring 17 points, adding five assists to just one turnover and paving the way for Iowa’s first road victory over a rated team since a win at No. 21 Indiana in 2006. Iowa’s most recent victory at Madison had come on Jan. 29, 2000.
One of the tapes Iowa coach Fran McCaffery showed his team to prepare for Saturday’s game was the Wisconsin game in Iowa City last season.
“As much as I watch it, I still think that shot is going in,” Cartwright said.
Entering play Saturday, Cartwright had not made more than four field goals in a game this season. He was 7-of-12 against the Badgers, many of them stop-and-pop jumpers in transition.
“We encouraged him to push the basketball and create tempo,” McCaffery said. “And essentially he controlled the game.”
Wisconsin entered the game allowing a nation’s best 44. 4 points a game. Iowa had 41 in the second half. The most points Wisconsin had allowed in a game this season came in a 61-54 loss to Marquette at the Kohl Center Dec. 3.
“They did a great job of exploiting plays when we broke down,” said Taylor ,who led the Badgers with 17 points. “They made more plays than we did. That’s what it comes down to. “
In addition to its defense, Wisconsin couldn’t overcome 3-of-26 shooting from 3 and fell to 12-3 overall and 1-1 in the Big Ten.
“The Big Ten’s going to be like this the whole year,” Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said. “If you have a cold night, you’re not going to walk away with a win.”
Iowa’s Aaron White scored 18 points, 16 the second half, in his first Big Ten road game. Matt Gatens hauled in a career-best 12 rebounds. Melsahn Basabe had 14 points and nine rebounds. Devyn Marble, limited to one field goal at the time, hit a pair of shots in the final 2 minutes 25 seconds that were huge.
White’s fast break basket and 3-pointer, both off Cartwright passes, gave Iowa a 61-50 lead with 4:45 to go. Wisconsin got life when Basabe fouled Josh Gasser, then push him and got a technical foul. That led to a six-point possession and got the Kohl Center crowd back into the game.
“I didn’t put any force into it,” Basabe said of his shove. “But you can’t let the refs decide that stuff.”
Marble responded with a baseline jumper over 6-foot-10 Jared Berggren to give Iowa a 66-58 lead.
Ben Brust’s basket, after Gatens lost the ball off his leg, made it a one possession game, 68-65, with :49 to go. But with the shot clock winding down, Marble hit a floater in the lane with :19.4 to go to put Wisconsin away for good.
“I have a lot of confidence in my floater,” Marble said. “I knew it was in.”
And the Hawkeyes, 9-6 overall and 1-1 in the Big Ten, had their biggest signature win in McCaffery’s two seasons at Iowa.
“I think any time you win on the road in this league there’s a celebration,” McCaffery said.
Category: Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball
This is obviously a good win, but I can’t say it’s surprising to me. Having seen Iowa play the past few games I could see the potential for this kind of victory, cloaked as it was in youth and indecision. Iowa certainly had a few moments where it looked like it might falter, but it didn’t.
As for Basabe momentarily losing his cool, I don’t blame him. The Badger player raked him across the face intentionally in order to both draw a foul from Basabe and do some physical damage. Yeah, it’s basketball, but if you don’t stand up for yourself on the court you’re going to get more of the same. He didn’t swing, he didn’t get tossed, he learned a little gamesmanship.
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A great win for the team, Fran and the program! Especially rewarding considering the refs efforts to give it to Wisconsin near the end. A good indicator for the future.
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Hawkeyes ROCK
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I was worried about Iowa basketball this year after the losses to Campbell and Iowa St. I didn’t think Iowa would be NCAA material this year, but maybe a bubble-NIT team. The win at Wisconsin restored my hope in this year’s team. Great game! Now, I just hope Iowa doesn’t become a “one-win” team this year, meaning the only thing they will be known for is winning at Wisconsin.
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Good energy on both ends and better decision making. We need Cartwright playing like this. Gatens rebounded like a madman. White was a difference maker. Marble was ice at the end…good job.
Hopefully, this was not a fluke win. Please maintain your energy and focus and build on this one. Great game Hawks!
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Great to have Cartwright healthy again! What a huge difference that makes. Keep that mo’ going Hawks!
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[...] the press conference after his team defeated No. 11 Wisconsin Saturday, Iowa’s Fran McCaffery was asked if it was his most significant victory in his two [...]
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