The Second Round: The Wins ... And The Comeback That Fell Short

One game was a step in the path to the Final Four.

One game was revenge for the previous season.

One game was nearly a historic comeback.

Iowa's second-round games in the NCAA tournament in the modern era (from 1979) have had some interesting story lines.

A look back at some of the games:

Holding off UTEP

Iowa's run to the Elite Eight in 1987 had its memorable moments in the second weekend.

But it took an 84-82 comeback win over UTEP in the second round to begin that journey.

The Hawkeyes, in their first season under new coach Tom Davis, were the 2 seed in the West Regional. But they struggled in the first half against the seventh-seeded Miners, who led 42-38 at halftime.

Iowa trailed, 69-62, with less than eight minutes to go before rallying.

Gerry Wright sealed the win by scoring on a long inbounds pass from Brad Lohaus with seven seconds left, giving Iowa an 84-79 lead.

Roy Marble had 28 points to lead the Hawkeyes.

Revenge

Iowa's 1987 team was one step from the Final Four before the Hawkeyes let a 19-point lead get away in an 84-81 loss to UNLV.

A year later, the Hawkeyes got another chance against the Runnin' Rebels in the second round, and this one didn't get away.

Iowa dominated in the 104-86 win, with Jeff Moe and Ed Horton each scoring 24 points. Marble had 22.

The loss to UNLV the previous season had haunted the Hawkeyes.

"All year long, we thought we should have won that game," Moe said.

They won this one.

Dr. Tom's final run

Davis was in his final days as Iowa's coach in 1999. It had been announced before the season began that it would be last, and the Hawkeyes made sure it went as long as possible.

It looked like it was going to end in the second round of the NCAA tournament in Denver, before the Hawkeyes would come back for an 82-72 win over Arkansas.

The Razorbacks, the 4 seed, led Iowa, 47-34, early in the second half before the Hawkeyes went on a 16-0 run, sparked by three consecutive three-pointers by Kent McCausland. McCausland would have two more threes in a 12-0 run that had Iowa up, 71-66, with 3 1/2 minutes to go.

"We knew we were a better team," forward J.R. Koch said.

The Hawkeyes advanced to play Connecticut in Phoenix the next weekend.

"We've got some fight left," McCausland said.

An upset of a border rival

Iowa was the 7 seed in the 1983 tournament, and got 2 seed Missouri in the second round of the Midwest Regional.

But the Hawkeyes dominated the 10th-ranked Tigers in the 77-63 win.

Iowa led 32-20 at halftime, then kept control of the game in the second half. Greg Stokes had 22 points and 10 rebounds, while Michael Payne had 19 points.

The Hawkeyes held Steve Stipanovich, a second-team All-American, to just six points.

Step two

Iowa's run to the 1980 Final Four included a 77-64 win over North Carolina State in the second round of the East Regional.

The Hawkeyes got a big second half from Vince Brookins. Brookins was scoreless in the first half, but made all seven of his second-half shots.

Brookins also drew the second-half defensive assignment on All-American Hawkeye Whitney, who went 25 minutes without scoring.

"I've always said I'd sure like to be known for my defensive play and this kind of talk sure makes me feel good," Brookins said.

Kenny Arnold led Iowa with 18 points. Brookins and Ronnie Lester each had 17.

The comeback that fell short

If there was something that could have motivated the Hawkeyes in this season's tournament, it would have been the 83-77 loss to Tennessee last season.

The Hawkeyes trailed 44-19 in the first half and were down 21 points at halftime. But they outscored Tennessee 43-22 in the second half to force overtime.

The Volunteers, though, scored the first seven points of overtime to regain control.

"To come up short like that, man, it stings," forward Tyler Cook said.

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