The Iowa Hawkeyes opened up a 21-point halftime lead and cruised to a 92-59 win over the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights Monday night at Carver Hawkeye Arena. Four Iowa bench players scored in double-figures, and three different Hawkeyes -- Melsahn Basabe, Gabe Olaseni, and Jarrod Uthoff -- recorded double-doubles.
Olaseni led Iowa, and tied his career high, with 14 points. Basabe had 12 points and 11 rebounds, game-highs among the Iowa starters (none of which played more than 21 minutes). Peter Jok led the team in minutes, scoring 11 points and dishing out four assists. Uthoff and Zach McCabe each had 10 points. The most impressive line of all from Monday: Kyle Meyer dropped a five trillion on everyone.
It was, as expected, a game dominated by Iowa's bigs. Fairleigh Dickinson lacked the size and athleticism inside to counteract the Hawkeyes inside, and Iowa's post players took full advantage. Iowa outrebounded Fairleigh Dickinson 54-32, and the Hawkeyes' forwards and centers accounted for two-thirds of Iowa's scoring.
There's not much to take away from a game like this, against an opponent that was so thoroughly outmatched. Iowa's starters, who played about a half, largely got a night off, and Fran McCaffery cleared the bench with five minutes to go. With Iowa State -- now one of the most important games of the year, regardless of the rivalry -- coming up Friday, it could not come at a better moment.