Look Back at Iowa Basketball Wins Against AP No. 1

Defending National Champion UCLA Taken Down By Hawkeyes

It was an upsetting night inside Chicago Stadium.

Loyola of Chicago knocked off No. 3 Wichita State in the first game of the college basketball doubleheader. Then Iowa stole the show in the Windy City on Jan. 29, 1965. The Hawkeyes beat a No. 1 team for the first time in program history when they handled defending national champion UCLA, 87-82, before a crowd of 13,295 that was firmly behind the underdog. The Hawkeyes entered the game 0-6 all-time against No. 1 since the inception of the Associated Press basketball poll in 1948-49.

Iowa was coming off a 10-day break since defeating No. 5 Indiana in Bloomington, 74-68. The Bruins were coming off a 12-day break.

“I would say this was our best game of the season,” first-year Iowa Coach Ralph Miller said. “Even a little bit better than we played in beating Indiana.”

Miller inherited a team that went 8-15 overall and 3-11 in Big Ten play in 1962-63. This Iowa team went into Chicago with a 4-1 Big Ten record and 8-5 mark overall.

“Coach Miller has been saying all along that we have a chance against anyone,” guard Jimmy Rodgers said.

UCLA won its first NCAA title under Coach John Wooden the year before, running the table with a 30-0 record. After losing the 1964-65 opener at Illinois on Dec. 4, 110-83, the Bruins came to Chicago riding a 13-game winning streak. And then Iowa gave them just their second - and last - loss of the season.

“We knew all about Iowa,” Wooden said. “We saw them in the Los Angeles Classic (Dec. 28-30 that season), and I can honestly say they got better with each game.”

Chris Pervall led the upset-minded Hawkeyes with a game-high 26 points. He also helped Rodgers navigate UCLA’s famed pressure defense down the stretch with the game on the line. Pervall scored 10 quick points in the opening minutes, UCLA never led after that. The game was tied at halftime, 45-45, and the Hawkeyes led by many as 10 points (64-54) in the second half.

Iowa had to hold off the Bruins after center George Peeples, the team’s best rebounder, left the game to an ankle injury with 6:43 remaining. Peeples was already playing with a plastic mask to protect a broken nose.

Iowa had a 77-70 lead when Peeples departed. UCLA’s Kenny Washington scored three quick baskets to get his team within a single point. Later, a Keith Erickson basket cut it to a one-point deficit for a second time..

But Pervall came up big again. He got possession of a loose ball, scored and was fouled. He added the free throw for the conventional 3-point play. Later, Rodgers’ free throw with :38 on the clock gave the Hawkeyes an insurmountable 87-80 lead.

Rodgers finished with 16 points. Denny Pauling added 14, Gary Olson 12 and Gerry Jones 10. Erickson made seven of eight shots from the field and had 24 points to lead the Bruins. Washington added 14. All-America guard Gail Goodrich was limited to 13 points and made just two field goals. Goodrich picked up his fourth foul with 16 minutes remaining. He spent the next 10 minutes on the bench.

“Oddly enough, we played better defense with Goodrich out of there,” Wooden said. “But that doesn’t happen very often.”

UCLA finished the game with a 47-39 rebounding edge. On one possession, the Bruins had five consecutive offensive rebounds and failed to convert any of them into points.

Wooden’s team committed 21 turnovers. Iowa had 13.

“We hurt ourselves with the turnovers,” Wooden said. “We lost the ball 16 times in the first half alone without getting a shot. We weren’t up to snuff, and Iowa deserved this one.” 

The Hawkeyes didn’t ride the upset to a great season.They beat Northwestern in their next game to improve to 5-1 in the Big Ten and 11-5 overall. Then Miller’s team had to face No. 1 for the second time in three games.

The Bruins dropped to No. 2 after the Iowa loss. Michigan became the new No. 1, and took care of Iowa in Ann Arbor, 81-66. The Hawkeyes recovered to beat Ohio State on the road and Purdue at home to get to 7-2 in league play and 13-6 overall.But they lost four of their final five games.

UCLA won its last 15 games, including a 91-80 triumph over the top-ranked Wolverines in the national title game. It was one of 10 national titles the Bruins won under Wooden between 1964 and 1975.

All-time record vs. No. 1 teams - 3-22

Other victories over No. 1

Iowa 70, Connecticut 68 (Nov. 11, 1999, New York City) - It was a dream start for the Steve Alford coaching regime at Iowa.

“How about that?” Alford said after his team recorded the second victory over a No 1 team in program history. The other had come in 1965, against UCLA. The Bruins, like Connecticut, had been the defending national champion.

This game also got off to a dream start for the Hawkeyes. Iowa took a 12-2 lead out of the gate and increased it to 36-21 at half. It grew to 17 when Oliver scored the first basket of the second half.

But Iowa’s point guard, who had been whistled for just one foul the first half, picked up three more in the first 31/2 minutes of the second half and had to go to the bench. The Hawkeyes led when he left the game, 42-29. The cushion had shrunk to 55-53 when Alford put him back in. “That was frustrating,” Oliver said. “Very frustrating.”

With Oliver back on the floor, Iowa righted the ship and recorded one of the most significant victories in program history.

“Iowa is certainly a better team that we are because they have five guys who play together well as a unit on offense and defense,” Connecticut Coach Jim Calhoun said. 

“We didn’t do that.” Jacob Jaacks led Iowa’s upset charge with 20 points, and Oliver added 14. 

“This is a great win for us,” Oliver said. “What a way to start a season.”

Iowa 83, Michigan State 70 (Dec. 29. 2015, Iowa City) - Iowa never trailed in knocking off Coach Tom Izzo’s top-ranked Spartans.

“We reality sustained effort and paid attention to the game plan,” Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said.

The game got off to an ominous start when the Hawkeyes’ Jarrod Utoff picked up two fouls in the first 6:25 and spent the rest of the half on the bench. But his teammates responded. Iowa took a 14-point lead at halftime, and increased it to as many as 19 the second half.The Spartans never cut the deficit to single digits the rest of the way.

“If it gets under 10 that’s pretty much a three-possession game,” McCaffery said.