Iowa slams Minnesota behind Garza’s 33

NO. 5 IOWA 86, NO. 16 MINNESOTA 71

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Jordan Bohannon knew what was his favorite number was on his final box score.

The Iowa senior guard had 19 points and a careerhigh 14 assists, Luka Garza had 33 points and the No. 5 Hawkeyes beat No. 16 Minnesota 86-71 on Sunday.

Bohannon also had seven rebounds and zero turnovers in almost 36 minutes.

“You know me, it’s the zero turnovers,” Bohannon said when asked what was his best statistic of the day. “That’s something I always pride myself in, to not turn the ball over. Be steady with the ball and find guys.”

It was Bohannon’s overall line that impressed Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery.

“He has always really been tremendous in our fast break and in our ability to push it,” McCaffery said. “From the opening tip today, he was pushing the ball and finding people. I thought his decisions — when to shoot, when to drive, when to move it, when to get it in the post — were tremendous. Practically perfect.”

Joe Wieskamp added 20 points for the Hawkeyes (112, 5-1 Big Ten), who avenged a 102-95 overtime loss to the Gophers on Christmas Day.

“If it wasn’t for Luka making his layups, I wouldn’t have 14 assists,” Bohannon said.

“I think that more than 95% of my passes were assists to him.”

Iowa had 27 assists on 31 field goals.

“Our guards are really unselfish,” Garza said. “When we get out on transition, that’s when we’re at our best. J- Bo was finding me tonight.”

Bohannon missed most of last season because of surgeries on both of his hips. He has scored 74 points in his last four games after totaling 27 in the previous five.

The Hawkeyes led 39-37 at halftime and opened the second half with a 22-6 run. Garza had 10 points in that stretch.

Garza, who came into the game leading the nation in scoring at 27.2 points per game, was 13 of 20 from the floor.

Minnesota ( 10- 4, 3- 4) rallied from a 63- 45 deficit to get within five twice late in the second half. It started to look like the Gophers’ earlier win against the Hawkeyes, when they rallied from seven points down with 44 seconds left in the second half to send it to overtime.

“We fought hard to get back within five, which is great,” Minnesota Coach Richard Pitino said. “But then we took ill- advised shots. We just took some bad shots down the stretch and couldn’t get stops.”

NO. 19 VIRGINIA TECH 77, NOTRE DAME 63

BLACKSBURG, Va. — Jalen Cone scored 18 points off the bench to lift No. 19 Virginia Tech to a victory against Notre Dame.

Cone connected on 5 of 11 from the floor, including four three-pointers, as the Hokies ( 9- 2, 3- 1 ACC) bounced back from Wednesday’s loss at Louisville. Virginia Tech has won five of six games and five consecutive home games.

Keve Aluma added 15 points and 12 rebounds, and Hunter Cattoor had 15 points for the Hokies, who held Notre Dame to just two field goals in the second half.

Nate Lazewski led the Fighting Irish (3-7, 0-4) with 17 points, with most of that coming from an 11-for-12 performance at the free-throw line.

MARYLAND 66, NO. 12 ILLINOIS 63

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Darryl Morsell scored 19 points, Donta Scott added 16 and Maryland upset Illinois.

The game was fast- paced and close throughout. Hakim Hart hit a three-pointer with 4:08 left to give the Terrapins a 62-61 lead, which Maryland didn’t relinquish.

Ayo Dosunmu scored 23 points for Illinois (9-4, 5-2 Big Ten) and Kofi Cockburn added 21 points and 10 rebounds. Dosunmu missed a long three-pointer at the buzzer that would have tied it.

Aaron Wiggins added 12 points for Maryland ( 7- 6, 2- 5). The Terrapins limped in on a three-game Big Ten losing streak, including two double-digit home losses.