Sandfort’s big triple-double cements his Hawkeye growth
IOWA CITY — If Payton Sandfort was going to become the first Iowa men’s basketball player to ever record a tripledouble in a game, things would have to unfold perfectly.
The assists piece came together in a crazy bunch early in the game. Sandfort had four before the first media timeout. He had eight by halftime; his previous career high in a game was six.
“That was just Josh Dix,” Sandfort joked of his teammate who had 18 firsthalf points and made his first seven shot attempts. “That was easy.”
The points, well, you knew those would come for Iowa’s leading scorer.
But the rebounds … didn’t seem like they would happen.
As the Hawkeyes’ eventual 90-81 victory against Penn State pushed into the final minute, Sandfort was still two rebounds short of history.
Then?
Puff Johnson missed a layup with 40 seconds left, and Sandfort secured rebound No. 9 before getting fouled and making two free throws.
At that point, director of player development Tristan Spurlock urged him,
Sandfort just thought he needed that for a double-double he promised pregame.
After another pair of Sandfort free throws with 26 seconds left pushed the lead to 88-78, Iowa just needed to force a bad missed shot and hope that Sandfort could get the board. Instead, Tony Perkins foolishly fouled excellent freethrow shooter Ace Baldwin. Now the chances were slim.
The only chance for Sandfort to get his 10th rebound would be for Baldwin, an 84% foul shooter, to miss the second free throw. And the second ... rattled around the rim and popped out. Sandfort made
a contested, acrobatic rebound with 21 seconds left and kept the ball in bounds. That cemented him as one of one in Iowa men's history.
“I was just doing everything I could to get the ball and make sure we finished out the game,” Sandfort said.
Of course, Iowa women's star Caitlin Clark has 16 of those in her career (including one on Sunday), a point that Sandfort joked about right out of the gate in his postgame news conference.
“It's crazy no other Hawk has done it,” Sandfort said. “Well, I mean I see Caitlin do it every day. So that takes some of the legitimacy from it. But I'm pretty proud. To be from this state, it's a pretty special thing to be the first one.”
What made the night even more special was that Sandfort's rebound allowed Patrick McCaffery to get fouled and make both free throws, giving the fifth-year senior exactly 1,000 career points.
Sandfort's finishing line, meanwhile, was the craziest of his life: 26 points on 3-for-11 shooting from the floor, 18-for-19 free throws, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. His previous career high in free-throw attempts in a game was seven. Seven!
Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery was frustrated that Sandfort didn't get to the line more in Saturday's 95-85 loss at Illinois, saying Sandfort was “mugged” all afternoon in Champaign. He got there 19 times Tuesday, with the help of two technical fouls – one on Penn State coach Mike Rhoads, one on Baldwin for trash-talking during a key second-half stretch – and once getting fouled on a 3point attempt. He was 13-for-13 from the line in the second half.
“His rebounding when we went small was critical,” Fran McCaffery said. “And when they're guarding him the way they are, to have 10 assists is really important. And he made the biggest 3 of the game. … Somebody had to make one and he did.”
That's because Iowa had seen its 7964 lead get trimmed to 79-71. But Iowa broke Penn State's press, finally, and Dix found Sandfort downcourt for an open 3-pointer. He swished it from the left wing with 4:36 left to restore Iowa's lead to double digits, at 82-71.
The Hawkeyes (17-12 overall, 9-9 Big Ten Conference) were in control from there.
In recent weeks, Sandfort has appeared on mock NBA Drafts as a firm second-round pick. The 6-foot-7 wing from Waukee has always been an electric shooter. But his well-rounded box score Tuesday showed why he could be the next Hawkeye to go pro— following Luka Garza, Joe Wieskamp, Keegan Murray and Kris Murray.
The stat Sandfort might've been most proud of Tuesday was his three blocked shots. Improving his defense was his top offseason priority.
A year ago, teams would isolate him and take advantage of him. But Sandfort said he wanted to “shut up the haters” and wanted to stop being a defensive sieve. That included lots of jump rope and trying to defend Perkins, the fastest player on Iowa's team with the ball.
“Honestly, I'm most proud of the way that I've guarded this year,” Sandfort said. “At times, I've had a couple breakdowns, but I've really been able to showcase that end of the floor.
“If I wanted to continue my career and improve as a player, it had to be on that end of the floor.”
Fran McCaffery has seen that growth. He agreed that Sandfort can take the next step.
“He definitely does (have that chance),” McCaffery said. “The important thing is, he's not a shooter. You want to make the pros? You've got to be a player. He certainly was today.”
But before Sandfort turns his attention to any NBA possibilities, he's got a team to lead into the NCAA Tournament.
The junior vowed to be a team leader this season. And he has been a terrific leader, pulling the Hawkeyes out of funks with his positive approach and motivated work ethic. This Hawkeyes team that started 0-3 in Big Ten play is now at least in the bubble conversation with two regular-season games left: at Northwestern on Saturday, then home on March 10 vs. No. 16 Illinois. Both are Quad 1 opportunities.
On the heels of beating Wisconsin at home, winning at Michigan State and playing Illinois toe-to-toe, the Hawkeyes got the job done against Penn State despite not playing their best. Twentytwo assists on 25 made buckets plus 32for-37 foul shooting (86.5%) certainly helped.
So did Sandfort's triple-double, something Rhoads couldn't believe that Hawkeye great B.J. Armstrong never did.
“We went 3-1 in this stretch. We played some really good ball,” Sandfort said. “This is everything you could ask for. That's why you've got to show up to practice. You've got to work as hard as you ever have because this is what we've worked for.
“We've (given) ourselves a chance, and that's what I'm proud of everybody for. Everybody's come together. Even guys that aren't playing, they're working their butts off in practice. So, this is a total team effort. We know what's at stake, we're going to find a way.”
Hawkeyes columnist Chad Leistikow has served for 29 years with The Des Moines Register and USA TODAY Sports Network. Chad is the 2023 INA Iowa Sports Columnist of the Year and NSMA Co-Sportswriter of the Year in Iowa. Join Chad’s text-message group (free for subscribers) at HawkCentral.com/HawkeyesTexts. Follow @ChadLeistikow on Twitter.