Iowa tasted defeat for the first time this season just three days ago, when TCU fed them to a shredder in the second half of an easy 79-66 win in the Emerald Coast Classic final. How would Iowa respond to getting punched in the mouth (figuratively, but also a little bit literally; it was a physical game against the Horned Frogs)?
Well... not with a bounce-back shooting effort. Iowa struggled to get shots to fall against Georgia Tech, at least in the first half, but they compensated by dominating the offensive glass and getting to the free throw line a lot (31 trips). In the second half, Iowa's shots started falling while Tech's kept missing and Iowa eventually walked away with an 81-65 win, with a Tony Perkins jumper in the final seconds covering the 15.5-point spread. (Great teams cover.) What remained of the scattered Carver-Hawkeye crowd let up a hearty cheer for that bucket.
Back to the shooting -- Georgia Tech played zone defense for much of the game and Iowa spent a lot of time trying to shoot over the zone to mixed effect. Overall, the Hawkeyes ended up 45% (27/60) from the floor and 35% (9/26) from long range. Those numbers improved in the second half -- 52% (13/25) from the floor, 60% (5/8) from deep -- but it was still a pretty sluggish shooting display overall. Outside of Connor McCaffery (whose 3/4 shooting display from deep improved his 55% 3-point shooting average for the season) and Kris Murray (4/8, though he got hot from deep late in the game), everyone else on Iowa struggled to make 3s. Tony Perkins was 0/3 and Patrick McCaffery was 1/5. Payton Sandfort was also 1/5 from deep, adding to the 2/17 slump he's been mired in over Iowa's last five games. It would be really swell if he could start splashing some 3s again, and soon.
With jump shots not falling, Iowa compensated by hitting the glass hard and getting to the free throw line. The Hawkeyes absolutely dominated the Yellow Jackets on the boards in the first half -- a 29-17 edge in total rebounds and a 14-5 (!) edge in offensive rebounds led to a 20-4 (!!) advantage in second chance points. Murray (14 rebounds, 6 offensive) and Filip Rebraca (7 rebounds, 5 offensive) absolutely feasted on the smaller Yellow Jackets, burying them under putbacks or trips to the free throw line. Tech hit the glass harder in the second half -- they out-rebounded Iowa 18-15 and had a 10-4 edge in offensive rebounds (11-7 advantage in second chance points). Iowa also had a huge advantage on Tech at the free throw line, although more from quantity (31 attempts versus 10) than quality (Iowa missed 13 free throws). Getting to the free throw line 31 times is good -- only converting 18 of those attempts is bad. Rebraca missed the most (he was 5/10), but Kris Murray (shooting 94% on the season before tonight) was 4/8 and Tony Perkins (76% on the season and the man who made multiple clutch free throws late against Clemson) was just 3/6. Iowa seemed to lack focus at times throughout the game, but it was especially pronounced at the free throw line. It didn't cost them anything tonight (except a more comfortable win in the second half), but it certainly could in the future if they can't get more locked in at the stripe.
But let's talk about Kris Murray already. He only posted an absolutely Herculean 31 points, 20 rebounds stat line for the game, a stat line that even his Top 5 NBA Draft pick twin brother couldn't match during his record-shattering campaign last year (Keegan's only 20-20 game was 27 points and 21 rebounds against North Carolina Central). Kris also tossed in four assists and two blocks to show that he really can do just about everything on the court.
Kris Murray is so much more than a scorer.
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) November 30, 2022
Check out the sweet find. @KrisMurray24 x @IowaHoops pic.twitter.com/nG19PUWj1C
Murray was dominant, but in a fairly quiet wasy -- he was only 4/8 at the free throw line and just 11/18 from the field and 4/8 from deep, field goal numbers that were boosted by some late makes as he belatedly started to find his stroke and get hot. Before that his points mainly came via grinding -- putbacks on offensive rebounds and short makes near the hoop, for instance.
Look at the @IowaHoops ball movement. pic.twitter.com/ZzSXUCadbs
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) November 30, 2022
When you can have a relatively "quiet" 31-20 game, you know you're a pretty damn special player and Kris Murray certainly is that.
31 points
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) November 30, 2022
That's a new career-high for @IowaHoops star @KrisMurray24.
(He also has 18 rebounds!) pic.twitter.com/aODQ0NSGqK
Three other Iowa players finished in double figures, led by Rebraca with 13 points on 4/8 shooting; he also had 7 rebounds and a pair of assists. His physical play helped get Iowa going early in the game, but his influence waned after that. Tony Perkins finished with 11 points (along with 3 rebounds and 2 assists), with 9 of those 11 points coming in the second half as he finally got on track a bit on the offensive end. Connor McCaffery was the final Iowa double figure scorer, with 10 points (thanks to his aforementioned 3/4 performance from beyond the arc). McCaffery also had 10 rebounds and provided a welcome steadying presence off the bench. He ended up playing 31 minutes in the game and finished with the third-highest plus-minus on the team at +13 (Rebraca was +19 and Murray was +15); things just clicked a bit better for Iowa with Connor on the court in this game.
This was a pretty sluggish, forgettable effort for Iowa overall -- playing a Georgia Tech team that lacked much in the way of height or shooting ability made it easier for the Hawks to win this game with a B- effort, but in fairness, no one's going to remember any of that. To the extent anyone remembers this game, they're going to remember it as the game where Kris Murray went absolutely supernova with a 31-20 effort and one of the best individual efforts in modern Iowa history (which has seen some real doozies of late, between Keegan Murray and Luka Garza).
.@KrisMurray24 is the 2nd power conference player since 2010 to post 30pts, 20reb & 4ast in a game. #B1Gstats pic.twitter.com/losRrmM0cz
— Iowa On BTN (@IowaOnBTN) November 30, 2022
That'll do, Kris. That'll do just fine.
Now Iowa has a week to rest up and get right before one of their biggest games of the season -- or at least one of their most challenging opponents. Up next is #17 Duke in Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, December 6. The Blue Devils may be stocked to the brim with 4* and 5* blue chip prospects -- but they don't have Kris Murray.
GO KRIS MURRAY AWESOME
