Iowa defeated Northwestern 80-79 in gorgeous trend Tuesday night time to open Large Ten regular-season play when junior guard Josh Dix drilled a fadeaway 3-pointer from the brand as time expired in regulation. Dix completed the sport with a team-high 22 factors and was 3 of 8 from 3-point vary on the night time after lacking his earlier 4 makes an attempt from distance earlier than calling recreation.
The sport-winner was arrange after Iowa coach Fran McCaffery known as timeout off a missed free throw from Northwestern’s Ty Berry on the opposite finish. As soon as the ball was superior, the Hawkeyes ran what seemed to be a backdoor alley-oop play to Owen Freeman, which served as a decoy to present Dix simply sufficient area to fireplace from lengthy vary.
Northwestern successfully wiped sharpshooter Payton Sandfort out of the play by denying the inbounds go to him within the nook and was throughout Freeman as he minimize to the ring for a possible game-tying tip-in. That led Iowa to name Dix’s quantity because the play’s final possibility, McCaffery stated.
“They took away two or three [options],” McCaffery stated of the inbounds that led to Dix’s game-winner. “They chased Payton [Sandfort] and so they had been mugging Owen [Freeman] on the again decide. So your final possibility is Josh, and he made it.”
Iowa led for a majority of the sport and constructed its result in as many as 17 within the first half earlier than practically collapsing within the second half. It made 5 of its closing area aim makes an attempt to shut the sport, serving to it erase a six-point deficit over the course of the ultimate 98 seconds of regulation.
