The Hawkeyes extended their win streak to two on Tuesday, Jan. 31, as they took down the Northwestern Wildcats 86-70 on the 30th anniversary of former Hawkeye Chris Street’s death. Mike and Patty, Chris’ parents, were in the house for the Iowa victory with their son’s jersey by their side. The Hawks started off slow, but tied the game up at 39 a piece going into halftime. And once the crew got hot, there was no stopping them.
Filip Rebraca had a major bounceback game, scoring only seven against Rutgers on Sunday. Today, the Soaring Serbian had a double double, totaling 20 points and 10 rebounds, as well as two dunks. But the most electric moments came from #20, who put up 20 points himself. Payton Sandfort splashed in five of his seven three point shots, with his most spectacular one leading to a six point play. An and-one dagger, plus a Northwestern technical foul, and Sandfort made all three free throws to secure his six. Kris Murray, Tony Perkins, and Connor McCaffery also had double digit points, making it five Hawkeyes on the night to hit that mark.
For the Wildcats, guard Boo Buie led the charge with 20. Buie was on fire from mid-range, with his trademark spin-fade accounting for half of his points. Buie also added three assists, and was perfect from the charity stripe shooting 7-7. Guard Chase Audige helped his team out with 14 as well, and led his team in minutes played with 37. Forward Nick Martinelli was third on the team, with nine points, going three for three from the field.
The Cats started strong on defense, but broke down trying to limit Murray, which opened up major opportunities for Sandfort and Rebraca, leading the Hawkeyes to a 16 point victory. There was a time where Northwestern looked to break it open, as Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery got a technical foul and led to two free points. But they were unable to capitalize much further as Iowa took a commanding lead due to a stretch of five consecutive made field goals. Northwestern drops to 15-6 with the loss, and goes to 6-4 in the Big 10.
This much needed victory for Iowa snaps Northwestern’s three game winning streak, as the Hawkeyes move to 14-8 and break .500 in the Big 10. The Hawks also scored the second most points against the Wildcats since their loss to Pitt on Nov. 28, 87-58. Fran McCaffery and his team will face off next against the Fighting Illini on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 1:30pm.
This game will be Iowa’s third straight home game, featuring a black and gold spirit theme. And on the 30th anniversary of Chris Street’s passing, as his jersey number hangs high in the rafters, it’s clear that #40 was watching this “W” with an everlasting smile on his face.
