Iowa 110, North Dakota 68: Hawks Start In High Gear

IOWA CITY -- The Iowa men finished their first game of the season with a 110-68 win over North Dakota in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Here are three takeaways from the non-conference victory.

Sure, the Hawkeyes took the victory 103-76 over Quincy in the last exhibition. But it didn't look all that smooth to start. In fact, the Hawkeyes trailed 21-14 with 12:23 left in the first half.

This time around, Iowa started the game with a purpose, started hot and never let up.

Over the first five and a half minutes, junior Payton Sandfort quickly got up to 13 points, including shooting 3-4 from the three-point line.

"We came out really flat against Quincy, and we said we wanted to come out and punch them in the mouth," Sandfort said postgame. "I'm really proud that we did that. I was focused. I had some of those first game nerves, but I was able to channel those into becoming really ready to go."

"We talked about it as a team after that Quincy game," Ben Krikke, who finished with 18 points, said. "We don't want to get off to a slow start like that again. We were super intentional about that all week. Payton led the way, and the rest of the guys brought defensive energy."

All the second group of Josh Dix, Owen Freeman, Pryce Sandfort, Ladji Dembele and Brock Harding did was extend the lead in their minutes.

Freeman added six points, Dembele hit a triple from the corner and Harding found his teammates for three assists in four minutes -- two of which went to Freeman.

"We've seen flashes from all of them," Sandfort added. "They're going to be huge for us this season. They're really a great class."

The Hawkeyes rolled with a 56-32 lead into halftime.

Look, it's early. The freshmen haven't seen Big Ten competition yet.

But, they've all shown flashes of being ready for conference play and Power 6 competition when it comes -- Freeman in particular.

"[Owen] is special," Head Coach Fran McCaffery said. "He can run, he's active. He's got good ball skills -- handling and passing. He moves it. He's quick in the post, he can finish over either shoulder and he's big, strong and powerful. He's a guy that's going to just keep getting better.

"He's a great player," Krikke added. "For a freshman, he's super strong and super crafty. He's got a good left hand. He's expanding his range and working on shooting. He's obviously a great defender, too. He's a shot-blocker, has great positioning and is long and athletic. He'll be special."

I'd like to see him gain some weight and add more strength for the Big Ten, but Freeman has all the tools and skills to start for the Hawkeyes right now.

Each time Dasonte Bowen had an opportunity to attack the interior of the Fighting Hawks defense, he did. The sophomore guard put pressure on the defense in both scoring in the paint, and in dishing assists to his teammates.

"He's always a threat to get the ball to the rim," McCaffery said. "He finds people in transition, he can score the ball from midrange and from three. Those things translate into winning."

And each time he had the opportunity to force a turnover and make a UND guard uncomfortable, he did.

"He was terrific," Sandfort said. "If he can keep that ball pressure, it really takes them out of their offense. He was great in the press and great on the ball, which was huge for us."

A confident, aggressive Bowen is the best version of Bowen. He finished the night with 12 points on 4-6 shooting from the field along with five assists.

Don't miss out on any of our exclusive football, basketball, and recruiting coverage. Sign up with Go Iowa Awesome here.