Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Hawkeyes top Heels
Iowa guard Jordan Bohannon ( above) scored 24 points and the Hawkeyes beat No. 16 North Carolina 93-80 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Tuesday night. Iowa’s Luka Garza, who came into the game leading the nation in scoring at 34 points per game, had 16 points and 14 rebounds for the Hawkeyes (4-0).
TOP 25 NO. 3 IOWA 93, NO. 16 NORTH CAROLINA 80
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Jordan Bohannon said he could have been much better.
Given what he’s been through in the last year, he’ll take the night he had Tuesday.
Bohannon scored 24 points to lead four players in double figures for No. 3 Iowa, and the Hawkeyes beat No. 16 North Carolina 93-80 in an ACC/Big Ten Challenge game.
Bohannon had scored 11 points in Iowa’s first three games this season, but he got hot from three-point range, making 7 of 16 attempts, and converted his only shot from inside the arc.
“I didn’t think I shot the ball well,” Bohannon said. “I hit some pretty big shots. But I still thought I had an off day.”
“He’s been shooting it that way every day,” Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said. “If he gets open shots, he’s going to make them. I don’t care who we play. That’s the way he is.”
Bohannon had surgeries on both hips last year, one during the summer and then a second one that ended his season in December.
“I’ve been here for, like, 20 years,” said Bohannon, who is in his fifth season. “I kind of have a lot of experience in my belt.”
North Carolina’s defense slowed Iowa center Luka Garza, who came in as the nation’s leading scorer at 34 points per game. Garza had 16 points and 14 rebounds, his 24th career double-double, but his streak of 19 straight games scoring 20 points or more was snapped.
Iowa’s guards, though, were left open because of the way the Tar Heels (3-2) defended Garza, and the Hawkeyes (40) took advantage, especially in the first half.
CJ Fredrick had 21 points and Joe Wieskamp added 19 for the Hawkeyes. Frederick, Wieskamp and Bohannon had all 17 of Iowa’s three-pointers.
“That’s the kind of team we put together,” McCaffery said. “They were physical. They have size. They rotated guys [on Garza]. When they’re in like that, you’ve got to move it, move it, move it, and shoot open jumpers.”
Iowa made seven of its first nine three-pointers. The Hawkeyes opened the game with an 11-2 run and led by as much as 17 points in the first half before taking a 4331 halftime lead on Fredrick’s three-pointer.
“We didn’t guard the three-point shooter,” North Carolina Coach Roy Williams said. “And if you go by our defensive principles that we do every single day, then we wouldn’t have allowed those three-point [shots]. And they happened to make a bunch of them.”
North Carolina opened the second half on a 14-5 run and
got to within one point three times before eventually taking a 66-65 lead with 9:52 left on two free throws by RJ Davis.
The Hawkeyes scored 16 consecutive points, a run capped by Bohannon’s three-pointer with 6:57 to play, and they wouldn’t trail again.
NO. 5 KANSAS 73, NO. 8 CREIGHTON 72
LAWRENCE, Kan.— Jalen Wilson hit the go-ahead three-pointer with 42 seconds remaining, then watched as Marcus Zegarowski missed the last of three free throws after fouling him with 1.1 seconds left, allowing Kansas to escape Creighton.
Wilson finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Christian Braun scored 14 points, missing a foul shot that could have clinched the game with 12.5 seconds to go, and David McCormack contributed 13 points as the Jayhawks (5-1) won their fifth in a row against the Bluejays.
Denzel Mahoney gave Creighton (31) a chance down the stretch. He hit a three-pointer with 1:22 left to get the Bluejays within 70-68, then picked the pocket of Bryce Thompson and coasted for the tying layup with just over a minute to go.
NO. 12 TENNESSEE 56, COLORADO 47
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — After five pandemic-related postponements, No. 12 Tennessee made the most of its opener against Colorado.
The Vols (1-0) didn’t get their first player into double figures until less than a minute remained when John Fulkerson hit two free throws to reach 11 points. Santiago Vescovi also scored 11.
Reserve Jeriah Horne scored 15 points for the Buffaloes (2-1), who had their own covid-19 problems. They had a 10-day layoff, then traveled halfway across country to finally play a game.
McKinley Wright, who averaged 22 points in Colorado’s first two games, was handcuffed by the Vols’ defense. He scored six points in the first half and finished with eight.
NO. 22 OHIO ST. 90, NOTRE DAME 85
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — E.J. Liddell led five Ohio State players in double figures with 19 points as the No. 22 Buckeyes rallied from 11 points down in the second half to beat Notre Dame in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.
Justice Seuing and C.J. Walker each had 16 points, Duane Washington Jr. added 13 and Justin Ahrens 12 as the Buckeyes improved to 4-0 by hitting 11 of 23 three-pointers and 21 of 24 free throws.
Prentiss Hubb led the Fighting Irish (12) with a game-high 26 points on 8-of-17 shooting, including 5 of 9 from beyond the three-point line.