MINNEAPOLIS — The University of Iowa men’s basketball team defeated Minnesota, 86-77, on Monday evening at Williams Arena. The win marks head coach Fran McCaffery’s 272nd career win at Iowa, passing Dr. Tom Davis for the most wins in school history. Iowa moves to 11-6 on the season and 3-3 in Big Ten play.
Sophomore Josh Dix entered the starting lineup for an injured Patrick McCaffery (ankle). Dix set a new career-high in points with 21, breaking his previous career high set on Friday (16 points, vs. Nebraska). Dix caught fire in the second half scoring 14 points and knocking down 5-of-7 shots. Dix grabbed four rebounds, dished out five assists, and had two steals. The performance marks Dix’s first back-to-back double-digit games of his career.
Graduate Ben Krikke led all scorers in the game with 25 points, tying a season-high in points. Krikke leads the team with six performances of 20+ points. Freshman Owen Freeman, coming off his sixth Big Ten Freshman of the Week award, added 12 points to go along with eight rebounds despite being in foul trouble for much of the second half.
Senior Tony Perkins rounded out the Hawkeyes in double figures. Perkins finished with 13 points to go along with five assists. The Indianapolis native, has scored 10+ points in eight straight games.
Head Coach Fran McCaffery now sits alone at the top of the all-time wins in school history with 272. McCaffery’s first win at Iowa came against Louisiana-Monroe on Nov. 16th, 2010. The Hawkeyes defeated the Warhawks, 68-40.
Iowa finished the game shooting 35-of-65 from the field and 3-of-13 from deep. The Hawkeyes converted at the free throw line knocking down 13-of-16. The Hawkeye defense forced the Gophers into 12 turnovers and were able to convert that into 16 points.
