SW Iowa Times

The success for the Iowa men’s basketball team continued last Friday when the Hawkeyes crushed Portland State in an 85-51 win, in what was the first meeting between the two teams.

"High-scoring Iowa takes down the Vikings," Portland State men’s basketball tweeted Nov. 26.

The victory puts the Hawkeyes at an impressive 6-0 start to the season. The Hawkeyes have the number one ranked offense in the nation, averaging about 99 points per game, according to Hawk Central.

It was a dominant performance from the beginning for Iowa, who never trailed during the blowout win. Twin sophomores Keegan Murray and Kris Murray were the stars of the game, with Keegan going off in the first half scoring 21 of his 23 points to help Iowa to a 31-20 halftime lead.

“I liked Kris (Murray) in both halves, but he produced more in the second half. I want him to be aggressive, just like his brother ..." Iowa Coach Fran McCaffrey told Hawkeye Sports. "We have a lot of guys in new roles and give them an opportunity to grow and play through their mistakes over these first six games. I wanted to look at different combinations and have them play different positions. It’s going to get a lot tougher moving forward.”

Keegan Murray had only seven minutes of playing time in the second half as the game pulled away and was limited to only two more points, according to Hawk Central. His brother, however, stepped up with 8 points — on perfect shooting in the half — four boards, an assist and a block in nine minutes.

Keegan Murray finished with a game high 23 points to go with nine boards, a block and a pair of steals in 27 minutes. He was 10-for-16 from the field.

Kris Murray had 13 points, six rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block. He was also very efficient, going 5-for-9 from the field.

Redshirt sophomore Patrick McCaffrey just returned from injury and shook off a rough first half where he didn’t hit a shot, to dominate the second frame. In the second half, he scored all 14 of his points, going 5-of-6 from the field while hitting all three of his shots from the charity stripe. He also had a pair of rebounds, an assist and a steal. 

Filip Rebraca scored 5 points and was outstanding on the glass with nine boards. Guard Tony Perkins had a very efficient night from the field going 4-of-6 with 10 points.

Overall the Hawkeyes shot 48.5% and were solid on the glass, out rebounding Portland 43-39 despite Portland’s James Jean-Marie posting a game high 15 rebounds. Portland State only shot 30.8% as a team, and were outshot from behind the arc with Iowa shooting 31.6% and Portland State at 14.81%. Defense was huge in the game, as Iowa forced 23 turnovers. 

Iowa has now won 76 of its last 81 non-conference matchups and is 87-2 when holding opponents to less than 61 points per the past 12 seasons, according to Hawkeye Sports.

Iowa also beat Virginia last week 75-74 to stay unbeaten. Next they head to Purdue to take on the number-two ranked Boilermakers.