Big Ten Tournament Game Preview: Northwestern looks for redemption against No. 24 Iowa
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — In a win or go home situation, No. 12 seed Northwestern (15-15, 7-13) and No. 5 seed Iowa (22-9, 12-8) go head-to-head in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals.
Iowa won the only meeting during the regular season game against the 'Cats by a score of 82-61 on Feb. 28 in Iowa City.
A historic night for the Hawkeyes, Big Ten first-team selection Keegan Murray had 26 points and 18 rebounds for Iowa. Connor McCaffery, son of Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery, made a career-high five 3-pointers and scored 17 points.
The 'Cats struggled in the first half in Iowa City, scoring only 17 points in the first 20 minutes. They were just shy of outscoring the Hawkeyes in the second half (46-44), but the rebounding margin (50-35) is what hurt Northwestern in this regular season game.
As a team, Northwestern shot 37 percent from field goal range, 32 percent from the 3-point line, and 61 percent from the stripe.
The Hawkeyes' lock down defense limited Northwestern's starting five (Boo Buie, Chase Audige, Julian Roper II, Pete Nance and Robbie Beran) to a combined 13 points.
Forward Pete Nance was held to just four points — his lowest contribution for a single game during the regular season.
Ty Berry had a career day against Iowa: He notched 19 points, shot 5-11 from the field, 5-10 from the 3-point line and went 4-4 from the charity stripe. Redshirt junior Ryan Young added 10 points for the 'Cats.
Northwestern and No. 24 Iowa tip off at approximately 1:55 p.m ET on Big Ten Network.