Richmond's Andre Gustavson (22) and Iowa's Tony Perkins (11) battle for a loose ball in the second half during the first round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament on March 17, 2022 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, NY. (Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports)
Game Story: Richmond Upsets Iowa
The exit was quick, but had its pain.
Iowa came to the NCAA tournament fueled by a furious run culminating in a Big Ten tournament championship.
The Hawkeyes left as quickly as they arrived, falling 67-63 to Richmond in the Midwest Regional first-round game in Buffalo.
Iowa (26-10), the fifth seed, sputtered against the 12th-seeded Spiders (24-12), struggling to make shots early and failing to extend a brief second-half run that gave them their last lead of the season.
“I mean, we couldn't be feeling worse,” guard Connor McCaffery said. “There's only one team that's going to end on a win, but this game is probably the worst game we played all year. And I don't think it's close, so it's definitely not a good feeling in our stomachs right now.”
The Hawkeyes came in having won 12 of their last 14 games, including four wins in four days last weekend at the Big Ten tournament. The way they plowed through the weekend at Indianapolis brought national attention, and certainly a lot of hype.
All of that hype was gone in one game, derailed by the Spiders, who had their own momentum after winning the Atlantic 10 championship and kept going off that run.
One hot team ran into another.
“You’ve got to credit them,” said sixth-year Iowa guard Jordan Bohannon, fighting back tears after the final game of his college career. “They did everything great tonight. They were locked in, and they're playing some of their best basketball this season right now.”
The Hawkeyes, with one of the nation’s most productive offenses, couldn’t make shots. They shot 36.4 percent for the game, 20.7 percent in 3-pointers, a performance that left them puzzled.
“I think for us, it was lost just from missing open shots, I feel like,” said Iowa sophomore forward Keegan Murray, who led the Hawkeyes with 21 points and 9 rebounds. “We went 6-for-29 from the 3-point line. That's uncharacteristic of us, but I feel like we got a lot of open looks that we usually make, especially in the first half. They just weren't dropping.”
Richmond’s defensive plan was focused on being physical with Murray, but the Spiders were also dropping five back on every missed shot, limiting the Hawkeyes’ running game. Combine that with all of the missed outside shots, and Iowa’s offensive options dwindled.
We didn't really get to run,” McCaffery said. “They slowed the game way down, but at the end of the day, we just … we just didn't play well.”
Iowa’s offensive struggles were evident early. The Hawkeyes shot just 30.3 percent in the first half and were 1-of-13 in 3-pointers, yet they only trailed 29-28 at halftime.
“We had a couple (of shots) fall out early, and then we settled a little bit,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said. “We shot probably too many (3-pointers), 1-for-13 for three in the first half.”
“I thought we played one of my worst basketball halves all season (in) the first half, and we were only down one,” Bohannon said. “So I knew we had a little bit of light left still in us, and we made a little bit of a run, but got to credit them. They did everything great tonight. They were locked in, and they're playing some of their best basketball this season right now.”
“I don't think we were too scared to play at their pace,” said Richmond guard Jacob Gilyard. “At the end of the day, we had to guard and make it tough. Obviously, it was going to be tough trying to guard Keegan, but I think we did a really good job overall as a team. I think overall we did a really good job on them.
“And at the end of the day, we knew it would be tough for them to guard us, so I felt like we could score with them as long as we could contain the guys. I think we did a really good job defensively.”
Iowa went on 11-0 run early in the second half, taking a 39-34 lead with 16:24 to play. It was the kind of run that could brush off a lower seed, but the Spiders weren’t swayed. After a 30-second timeout, Richmond went on an 11-0 run of its own, and the Spiders would not trail again.
Gilyard led Richmond with 24 points. Tyler Burton had 18.
Patrick McCaffery was the only other Hawkeye in double figures, finishing with 18 points.
The promise that the Hawkeyes had shown in the closing weeks of the season ended so quickly.
“We go from a championship on Sunday, really, really quick turnaround, come right out again,” Connor McCaffery said. “So we didn't get to really celebrate that much, so I'm sure when we look back — I mean, nobody thought we were even going to make the tournament. So I guess on a season — right now it feels pretty terrible, but probably in a couple of months, probably we’ll feel a little bit better.”
