IOWA CITY -- After holding the lead for nearly 37 minutes, Iowa fell just short of pulling an upset over No. 3 Iowa State in Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Thursday night. Head coach Fran McCaffery made a shift in the starting lineup, with Drew Thelwell providing an extra veteran presence and energy to the first five, while Ladji Dembele shined off the bench for the Hawkeyes.
Despite the valiant effort from Iowa, the Hawks' string of home victories against the Cyclones came to a close.
Here are three takeaways from the loss.
A Change in the Starting Lineup
Just minutes before the beginning of the contest, starting lineups were announced -- with a significant change in the first five. Thelwell stepped into the starting lineup for the first time in his short tenure in Iowa City.
"Drew was great," Fran McCaffery said post game. "He was absolutely terrific."
Over 36 minutes, the Morehead State transfer had 10 points, six rebounds and four assists.
"He just brought a ton of energy," Payton Sandfort said. "He wears his heart on his sleeve. I was proud of the way he stepped in. He's a fifth-year senior, so he's been through battles like this before, but he stepped up and played good basketball."
With Thelwell in the starting lineup, Dembele came off the bench for the first time this season. In just 14 minutes, he tied his career high in scoring with 11 and added four rebounds as well.
The Mali, Africa native didn't approach the game any differently.
"It was the same thing," he said. "I always try to stay ready for whenever they put me in the game. I just do the best I can. It wasn't a big difference."
"I'm really proud of him," McCaffery added. "I told him, 'Come off the bench, play with confidence.' He was getting a little tentative, and he wasn't tentative at all tonight. He was great, and he should've played more. That's on me."
The team's leader, Sandfort spoke highly of the young forward as well.
"He's been bashed and struggling," Sandfort said. "But he stepped up and played his heart out."
Beat on the Boards
Another game against a high-major opponent, another game where the Hawkeyes got out-rebounded. On Thursday, the final tally was 46-34 — advantage Cyclones.
"We went small," McCaffery said. "You run the risk of that happening. I thought our small lineup was really good. We had two turnovers in the second half. ... I could go big and get more rebounds, but then who knows what would happen on the other end."
A byproduct of the starting lineup change was that Thelwell led the team in rebounds.
"That's good, except somewhat disappointing, I guess," McCaffery said. "We've got to be better across the board."
Iowa's bigs, Freeman and Dembele combined for nine rebounds. Sandfort added five.
ISU head coach TJ Otzelberger credited his team's effort for the numbers they put together on the glass.
"There are certain things that we can look at with our guys to determine the effort and the energy," he said. "One area we certainly did a great job was on the offensive glass. ... There's a skill piece to it, but so much of it comes down to heart and determination and effort, and to be able to keep our focus on that area from start to finish, that was one of the big positives for me, for us."
Dembele largely concurred with Otzelberger's assessment, saying he and the Hawkeyes should take notes.
"I think we've got to to a better job of boxing out," Dembele said. "Just box out your man and try to push to the ball. We've got to be more physical."
First Home Loss to ISU in a Decade
For the first time since 2014, the Hawkeyes dropped a loss to Iowa State at home. In the first half, it looked as though Iowa was set to win their fifth game in a row against the Cyclones in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Not only did the Hawkeyes take a 44-37 lead into the break, they shot 7-of-13 from three and posted 12 team assists. The energy in CHA was palpable.
"I thought we responded well [to the crowd]," McCaffery said. "The kids played great early."
The team's senior leader agreed with his head coach.
"[The first half] gave us the belief that we were right there with them," Sandfort, who finished with 13 points on 5-of-15 shooting, said. "We had a ton of energy and got the crowd into it. They kept hitting us with runs, and we kept hitting them back, which I'm really proud of us for." .
Even in the hot first half and part of the second when the Hawkeyes held the lead firm, Sandfort said he could feel a run looming.
"There were a lot of times it felt like they were going to take over the game," he added. "We stuck with it and made a lot of plays."
In the second half, things turned sour at about the four-minute mark, when Iowa State took its first lead of the game.
Between 6:17 and 13 seconds remaining in the second half, the Iowa offense didn't score from the field, and only scored four points from the free throw line.
"We needed three more minutes of plays, and we would've gotten it done," Sandfort said.
"The ball didn't go in," McCaffery added . "We got great shots."
All in all, the Cyclones outscored the Hawkeyes 52-36 in the final 20 minutes, shooting 17-of-38 from the field and going 8-of-15 from three.
"We got some pretty good shots, and really didn't turn it over," Sandfort said. "That's all you can do. You just try to get rebounds, and you've got to knock them down. [Iowa State] did. ... They just hit big shots, and we didn't. That's sometimes what basketball comes down to."
UP NEXT: Iowa (7-3, 1-1) will play New Orleans (2-6, 0-1) on Sunday in Iowa City. The game will be broadcast on Big Ten Network.
