Five takeaways from Iowa basketball’s loss at No. 7 Creighton
The Iowa Hawkeyes hit the road for the first time this season, showing well for themselves inside the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Neb.
While No. 7 Creighton (3-0) came away with a 92-84 win over Iowa (2-1), Hawkeye fans felt largely encouraged by what they saw against the Bluejays.
Four different Hawkeyes finished in double figures and Iowa looked in the first half like maybe they were on their way to delivering an early-season stunner.
Instead, Creighton flexed its muscles with a big run to start the second half as is expected from a great team at home. Still, Iowa had one final flurry to make things interesting late.
“We did some really good things tonight. We did some things that have to be corrected. But I am not going to focus on any one particular thing that makes me angry or makes me happy. I wanted to get ten guys playing time and was able to do that. The young guys were able to get some quality minutes and execute,” Iowa head men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery said afterwards.
All in all, it was a nice showing from an Iowa team that was picked to finish ninth in the preseason Big Ten media basketball poll.
Let’s dive into five takeaways from the 92-84 loss at No. 7 Creighton.
Ben Krikke is as advertised
Graduate transfer Ben Krikke took over for Iowa in the first half, knocking down 7-of-9 from the floor for 16 points. The midrange was automatic for Krikke.
This is who Iowa thought it was getting. The Missouri Valley Conference’s leading scorer a season ago at Valparaiso, Krikke delivered in a hostile environment.
The 6-foot-9 forward finished with 24 points and five rebounds.
Tony Perkins had his best night of the season
While he had been in double figures in each of Iowa’s first two games of the season versus North Dakota and Alabama State, this was the senior guard’s best performance of 2023-24 thus far.
Tony Perkins scored a season-high 16 points, finishing 6-of-12 shooting, including 2-of-3 from 3-point range. Perkins was active defensively, too, coming away with three of Iowa’s seven steals on the night.
Perkins finished with six rebounds and three assists as well.
Owen Freeman, Ladji Dembele impress
Freshmen Owen Freeman and Ladji Dembele continue to impress. It’s fun watching these two grow night after night.
In 14 minutes of floor time, Freeman registered a +10 in the plus-minus department. That was easily Iowa’s best. The 6-foot-10, 230 pound forward had a quick eight points in those 14 minutes, though he did also pick up three fouls.
Meanwhile, Dembele canned both of his 3-point tries and likewise finished with eight points. The 6-foot-8, 250 pound forward also grabbed two rebounds and two assists in his 14 minutes of floor time.
Creighton's second-half barrage was too much
Tied at 43 at the break, Iowa let Creighton do too much of what it wanted to start the second half.
The Bluejays began the second half with an 18-6 run that forced a Fran McCaffery timeout. Creighton had four made 3-pointers in that early barrage. The Bluejays finished 10-of-29 from downtown, so a bulk of their work behind the arc was right in that stretch.
After Iowa chopped the lead back down to 63-57, Creighton made another run at the Hawkeyes. The Bluejays grabbed their largest lead of the night when senior guard Francisco Farabello splashed a 3-pointer to make the score 80-63 in favor of Creighton with 9:17 left to play.
Ultimately, though Iowa fought back valiantly, this burst from Creighton was just too much to overcome.
This was a good sign for Iowa
Junior guard Trey Alexander was the best player on the floor, scoring 23 points, snaring 11 rebounds and distributing nine assists. The 6-foot-4 guard showcased why he was a preseason first-team All-Big East pick and one of 50 named to the 2023-24 Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy Men’s Preseason 50 Watch List.
Alexander’s teammate, 7-foot-1 senior center Ryan Kalkbrenner was also named to the Naismith Trophy preseason watch list. He finished with 13 points, four rebounds and a pair of blocked shots. Kalkbrenner also drew seven fouls.
In short, those two are really, really good and Creighton is really, really good. It’s not crazy to think that Iowa might have lost to an eventual Final Four participant or even national champion.
After a terrific start, Iowa could have wilted in the second half in a sold out road environment. The Hawkeyes didn’t. Instead, Iowa rallied all the way back to 89-84 in the final two minutes before eventually falling 92-84.
That bodes well moving forward for Big Ten play and beyond.
It’s early, but Iowa looks like it has McCaffery’s fifth straight NCAA Tournament team. Maybe, just maybe, this is the one to finally take the Hawkeyes into the tournament’s second weekend.
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