March 8, 2001
By NANCY ARMOUR
AP Sports Writer
CHICAGO - Northwestern may not have been able to pull off a second upset, but the Wildcats weren't about to give Iowa this one without a fight.
Dean Oliver scored 12 of his 13 points in the second half, and Reggie Evans had 20 points and 14 rebounds Thursday night as Iowa held off Northwestern 72-55 in the Big Ten tournament.
The Hawkeyes (19-11) play No. 24 Ohio State in the tournament quarterfinals Friday night.
Ben Johnson scored a season-high 24 points, going 6-of-9 from 3-point range, and Winston Blake had 12 for Northwestern (11-19). Tavaras Hardy and Collier Drayton each had seven.
The Wildcats stunned then-No. 14 Iowa on Feb. 10, snapping their 32-game losing streak in regular-season Big Ten games with a 69-61 victory. Despite trailing by 19 early in the second half Thursday night, it looked for a time like they might have another upset in the making.
They adjusted defensively, forcing turnovers and making the Hawkeyes work for every basket. And after shooting a horrid 26 percent in the first half, they finally found their rhythm offensively.
Blake hit a layup with 17:41 left to sparked a 15-2 run. When Johnson drilled a 3 to cap the spurt, it pulled Northwestern within 36-30, the closest it had been since the opening minutes of the game.
After Evans hit a jumper, Young scored on a layup and Johnson hit another 3-pointer to cut Iowa's lead to 40-37 with 10:57 left. But Oliver, who'd scored only three points until then, responded with a 9-foot jumper and a 3-pointer.
The Wildcats made one more run on back-to-back layups from Johnson that made it 48-43 with 7:42 left. But Henderson and Boyd scored on layups after a timeout, and Northwestern could never get close again.
Glen Worley added 18 points for Iowa, and Duez Henderson had 13 for Iowa, which shot 57 percent. The victory was just the third for the Hawkeyes since leading scorer Luke Recker suffered a broken kneecap.
Recker, who was in uniform for the game, is listed as probable for the postseason, but doubtful for the Big Ten tournament.
Though their loss to Northwestern was one of their first games without Recker, it was still an embarrassment to the Hawkeyes. And they came out looking like a team wanting revenge.
Evans was 6-of-9 in the first half as the Hawkeyes raced out to a 19-5 lead. They outrebounded Northwestern 19-10 in the first half, allowed the Wildcats to score on consecutive possessions just once and doubled up the score by halftime, taking a 30-15 lead.
Worley opened the second half with back-to-back baskets, giving Iowa a 34-15 lead with 19:08 left.