The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

Iowa’s win over Southern was just what it needed

Iowa couldn’t find any momentum before smacking Southern on Dec. 10. It wasn’t a perfect game by any means, but it was a win Iowa badly needed to get back on course.
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The Daily Iowan; Photo by Ben Al
Iowa forward Tyler Cook (5) dunks the ball over Southern’s Mubashar Alid (44) during the game between Iowa and Southern at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Sunday, Dec. 10. Iowa went on to defeat Southern 91-60. (Ben Allan Smith/The Daily Iowan)

By Adam Hensley
[email protected]

With Iowa leading 59-41 against Southern on Sunday, Luka Garza dished a pass to Tyler Cook, who was camped out just in front of the restricted circle in the paint. Cook dribbled once, pivoted, and rose up with his left hand for a powerful flush on his Jaguar defender.

Cook hung on the rim for a brief second before he squared up with the defender he put on his poster and screamed in his face.

The referee, standing feet away, quickly issued a technical foul, but Hawkeye fans didn’t care. Cook got a standing ovation from not only his teammates but from the Carver-Hawkeye crowd.

Cook’s furious flush and roar summed up the pent-up frustration from Iowa’s four-straight losses leading up to Sunday.

Iowa needed a win like it had against Southern to exorcise its offensive inconsistencies. Granted, Southern isn’t a high-quality opponent, but Iowa needed a dominating win to salvage some confidence heading into the final stretch of nonconference games.

Offense has remained elusive since Iowa left for the Cayman Islands Classic, and the Hawkeyes failed to score more than 80 points in the four games leading up to Sunday, but after putting up 91 points against Southern, Iowa is on the right track.

More importantly than points, however, was the Hawkeyes’ turnover count against the Jaguars.

After committing 18 turnovers in three-straight games, Iowa only turned the ball over 7 times against Southern — a season-low. The ball movement was clean, and there seemed to be a rhythm offensively, something that’s been missing for quite some time.

That rhythm is big for such guys as Isaiah Moss and Maishe Dailey. Moss drained 4 of his 9 3-point attempts and Dailey 3 of his 6 in a game in which both appeared to be confident shooting the long ball — something Iowa needs from them each game.

But for one Hawkeye in particular, this game served as an immense confidence booster.

Freshman forward Luka Garza, who essentially disappeared since scoring 14 points on Nov. 22 against UAB in the Cayman Islands, finally resurfaced, and in a big way.

Garza scored a career-best 23 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. He did a little bit of everything, from draining a 3-pointer to flipping a pair of assists.

The Washington native was shooting an Arctic-like 41 percent from the free-throw line entering the game against Southern, not having made a free throw since Dec. 2 against Penn State.

Garza made 8 of his 10 free throws on Sunday. Iowa needs that consistent post presence that can eat in the paint but also not worry about bricking shots at the free-throw line.

At one point, Garza drained a mid-range jumper after the defense left him wide open. The next possession, the big man made his lone 3-pointer of the game.

Garza was psyched, just as Cook was after his emphatic jam. Hawkeye fans haven’t seen that sort of hype and confidence in a while.

Southern is no solid Power-5 program, but nevertheless, Iowa needed an emotional, frustration-releasing victory to find its rhythm.

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