IOWA MAULS RUTGERS, 83-63

There’s nothing like a good ol’ fashioned ass whuppin’.

I don’t know when the last time Iowa defeated a Big Ten foe so handily, but after getting slobberknocked by Northwestern and Illinois this year, this 83-63 domination over Rutgers felt good. Really good.

Like, Iowa was up 48-30 at half, annnnnnd that was kinda sorta it from there, good.

Jordan Bohannon led the way with 17 points, shooting 5-7 from three. He didn’t have any turnovers either! He was pulled halfway through the second half otherwise he surely would have continued hucking them up with no regard for human life.

Cordell Pemsl followed that up with a 15-point, 6-assist night. If he’s still injured, it doesn’t look like it.

This was the best start Iowa got off to all year, not allowing Rutgers to score until about 4 minutes had passed. By then it was 7-2 Hawkeyes, and Rutgers never even got that close to sniffing the lead again.

Not only was it the best start Iowa has had all year, it was the most complete game Hawkeyes have played since ... last year, or even before, probably. The Hawkeyes assisted on 24 of their 30 baskets, and allowed just two Scarlet Knights to reach double figures. Iowa did turn it over 14 times, but it didn’t feel like that many! And some of that could be attributed to the fact Iowa emptied its bench tonight.

And even though Peter Jok wasn’t suited up, he still made his presence felt.

Iowa once again went with its Bohannon-Cook-Wagner-Moss-Baer starting lineup, and I think it’s going pretty well! Baer had just 3 points while shooting a frigid 1-6 on the night, but he also 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks. I mean come on. The guy does more for this team than anyone else.

Isaiah Moss and Tyler Cook rounded out the scoring for Iowa, with 11 and 10 apiece, respectively. Cook also had 5 boards and 3 steals; he’s slowly getting back into terror form.

Brady Ellingson saw 24 minutes of floor time tonight, but he wasn’t quite as spectacular as his showing against Ohio State. He had 6 points while shooting ²⁄₃ from range, while dishing out 5 assists. Ryan Kriener wasn’t anything special either, amassing just 2 boards, 1 assist, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 6 minutes. Those numbers are oddly reminiscent of my rec league days.

There really isn’t much else to say here. This team is clearly growing and improving without their best player, and that’s a great sign to come for next year when Jok is long gone.

Iowa leaves Piscataway with blood on its hands, again. This is a good thing.

Next up we have Nebraska on Super Bowl Sunday. Jok was instrumental in a two-overtime loss to the Skers a month back. Let’s see how the Hawkeyes fare without him.

Be sure to tune in to us all day tomorrow during National Signing Day. This class is actually shaping up to be pretty decent on the surface!

Go Hawks.