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IOWA CITY — After failing to score with a chance to win at the end of regulation, Tony Perkins got another chance.
This time, he did not miss.
Wisconsin scored the first four points of overtime, but the Iowa basketball team didn’t let things get out of hand. With the game tied and time running down, Perkins laid the ball in with less than two seconds to play. The Hawkeyes secured a massively important win, beating the No. 21 Badgers, 88-86.
Iowa (15-11, 7-8 Big Ten) finally got a win that holds some substantial weight on its NCAA Tournament resume.
Iowa entered Saturday with its NCAA Tournament chances dwindling. The Hawkeyes have missed on major signature win opportunities this season, losing to Purdue (twice), Iowa State, Oklahoma, Creighton and Wisconsin (in January). There is still plenty of work to be done, but Saturday’s win is a meaningful step in the right direction.
Iowa got contributions from a wide variety of players. Eight Hawkeyes got into the scoring column, including four in double-figures. Perkins finished the game with 18, the biggest coming as time ticked down in OT. Payton Sandfort also had 18.
Owen Freeman, who is having a phenomenal freshman season, showed why he is a major candidate for the league’s Big Ten Freshman of the Year. On Saturday, Freeman scored a team-high 20 points, while grabbing 12 boards, dishing out six assists, blocking four shots and recording two steals.
Sophomore Josh Dix was fantastic, further illustrating the strides he has made since his freshman season. Dix, who didn’t even begin the season in Iowa’s starting lineup, has emerged as an X-factor in the Hawkeyes’ first five. On Saturday, he scored 17 points on 8-of-11 from the field.
Wisconsin was absurdly good offensively in the first half, though that was in part due to Iowa’s porous defense. The Badgers shot 58.6% from the field and 60% from long range during the opening 20 minutes, helping them score 47 points.
But Iowa, who trailed by as many as 13 in the first half, was able to whittle the deficit down to just four at the break.
Fran McCaffery’s crew was much better defensively in the second half, holding Wisconsin to just 37% from the field and 20% from deep. The Hawkeyes took their first lead with less than two minutes gone in the second half. The Hawkeyes stretched their lead out to nine points with just over seven minutes remaining.
But Wisconsin fought back, using a 9-0 run to cut its deficit to tie the game with 3:16 remaining.
The two teams traded punches down the stretch. Iowa got a defense stop and had a chance to win it at the end of regulation, but Perkins’ shot did not drop.
But he did finish the job in overtime.
Iowa has an extremely difficult finish to the regular season. After Saturday, the Hawkeyes’ final five regular season games come against Michigan State (away), No. 14 Illinois (away), Penn State (home), Northwestern (away) and Illinois again (home).
It’s going to take more resilience like Saturday’s for Iowa to make a run down the stretch of the season.
Follow Tyler Tachman on X@Tyler_T15, contact via email at ttachman@gannett.com
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