Washington shot 77 percent from the floor in the first, but a strong bounce-back effort from Iowa held it to just 36 percent in the second. The Hawkeyes improve to 17-5.
Iowa basketball continues to roll under first-year head coach Ben McCollum, rallying from a seven-point halftime deficit to defeat a scrappy Washington team, 84-74, in Seattle on Wednesday.
Bennett Stirz led the way yet again with 22 points and five assists, but the wealth was spread all over the roster. Alvaro Folguieras (16 points), Tavion Banks (11 points), and Cooper Koch (11 points) all made key contributions in big moments.
The Hawkeyes improve to 17-5 overall and 7-4 in Big Ten play. They've now won five straight.
First Half
The title of the 1993 hit film "Sleepless in Seattle" indicates how Iowa fans in the Midwest were feeling while trying to stay up for the late tip, but the Hawkeyes looked anything but early on. Iowa opened with an efficient 5/8 shooting clip from the floor, but Washington's interior sized proved to be a tough challenge for the undersized Hawkeyes (it also shot 62% to begin the contest).
After trailing 10-7, the Huskies went on an 11-0 run to take an eight-point lead midway through the period. McCollum attempted to stop the bleeding by calling a quick timeout, but Washington continued to feed off the home crowd and wreak havoc on the Hawkeye offense.
The Huskies held that sizable lead for a few more minutes, but Iowa refused to keel over. Despite being undersized, the Hawkeyes ran their offense through the paint with crafty backdoor cuts and driving layups, and suddenly the score was tied at 28 with 5:51 left in the first half.
The game turned into a back-and-forth affair for the rest of the period. Both teams simply couldn't miss, and the contest resembled the NBA All-Star Game. Washington came in as one of the worst three point shooting teams in the Big Ten, but went 6/8 in the first in addition to a ridiculous 76.9% from the floor.
Iowa's stellar mark from the floor (17/28, 60% FG), but the Huskies' unexpected offensive onslaught resulted in Washington taking a 48-41 lead into the break.
Second Half
The Huskies opened the second half with consecutive field goals, which left some Hawkeye fans bracing themselves for another offensive spree. But as any basketball team does, Washington started missing shots, and Iowa started to climb back into the game.
The Hawkeyes' reclaimed the lead within the first five minutes of the period, and it eventually stretched to seven points after a Stirtz trey. Alvaro Folguieras was terrific in this block, showing little fear attacking Washington's bigs. Iowa's defense completely turned around, holding the Huskies without a field goal for over seven minutes.
Iowa withstood several Washington runs to maintain a slight lead with under eight minutes left. With the Hawkeyes leading 69-66, BTN color analyst Don MacLean told the broadcast that this juncture could be time for Stirtz to shine.
Seconds after MacLean said that, Stirtz decided to take over the basketball game. He buried a three to extend the lead to six, and followed that up with a transition dunk to give Iowa its largest lead of the evening.
Whatever momentum the Huskies had before that was gone. Heavy pressure from Iowa forced Washington to burn its final timeout, which sucked the air out of the building. A contested triple by Cooper Koch extended the Hawkeyes' lead to 10, and that turned out to be the kill shot.
While the Huskies couldn't miss from deep in the first, they only made one in the second, a fitting cherry on top of a half that saw them completely regress to the mean. Washington went just 9/25 (36%) from the floor in the frame, which was directly attributed to Iowa's defensive improvements.
Up Next
Iowa returns to action on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 8, for a home matchup against Northwestern. The Wildcats have struggled all year, compiling a record of 10-12 overall and 2-10 in Big Ten play.
Tip off from Carver-Hawkeye Arena is set for 2 p.m. on FS1.