Takeaways from Iowa’s 88-74 win over Arkansas State

The Iowa Hawkeyes (3-1) used a strong push in the middle 8 minutes around halftime to build a extend the lead in a wire-to-wire victory over the Arkansas State Red Wolves (1-3), 88-74. Dasonte Bowen & Ben Krikke played strong all-around games with the former posting 19 points in a career high 17 points and 3 steals while Krikke lead all scorers with an efficient 25 points, 9 boards, 4 steals, and 3 blocks.

Here are some additional takeaways:

Iowa didn’t settle in their offense

It took nearly 10 minutes for the Hawkeyes to make a three (Josh Dix!) which came after Iowa got in the bonus. They continued attacking the rim and amassed 23 free throw attempts in each half, going 69.6% from the line for 32/46 overall*. Adding to it, 25 of their 46 two-point attempts came from layups/dunks as they scored 44 points in the paint.

Iowa didn’t try and get themselves going from deep, with just 2/12 shooting from behind the arc. Payton Sandfort still found ways to impact the game despite (another) stint in two-foul jail with 7 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists to lead the team.

*I’d like to see the FT percentage tick up but the only really bad offenders tonight were Krikke and Owen Freeman who went a combined 8/15 at the charity stripe

The defensive rebounding though...yikes

While there will be nights when teams catch fire from deep like tonight (the Red Wolves finished 41.7% from three, though they hovered around 50% for much of the game) to keep themselves in games, the offensive rebounding showed a weakness for a team which plays a little too finesse or inexperienced. The tendency to run out also exposes Iowa here, as Arkansas State rebounded 36% of their misses (16 of 44).

The good news is that Iowa did have strong presence around the rim - 8 blocks - and held them to 16/31 on layups/dunks. Arkansas State struggled to convert these extra possessions, notching just 10 second chance points. However, the game could have been put further away even earlier if the Hawks had locked down the boards.

Dasonte Bowen breakout game

It was really fun to see Bowen, who played strong floor games in the prior three games, have that effort rewarded with points, especially when non-Bowen/Krikke starters combined for to go 9/31 from the field. Bowen was aggressive on both sides all night as he turned a steal on the opening possession into an and-one on the other end. His 17 points on 5 shots has to be some type of record?

Next up: vs. Oklahoma (in San Diego), Thursday 11/23 at 2p (FS1)