The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast w/Jim Field.

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A big crowd at Carver-Hawkeye Arena never even had a chance to get into the game, Sunday. Nebraska shot a blistering 62 percent in the second quarter to blow the game open in a 92-74 win over 25th ranked Iowa. The Hawkeyes trailed by thirty points at halftime and it left coach Lisa Bluder looking for answers. The Hawkeyes shot only 41 percent, including one of 12 from three point range, and were outrebounded 44-33.

Megan Gustafson had 26 points and 10 rebounds and Kathleen Doyle had 16 points. They were the only Hawkeyes in double figures. Iowa falls to 4-5 in the Big Ten and 16-6 overall. It was Nebraska’s ninth straight road win and the Huskers improve to 7-2 in the Big Ten.

(Learfield Sports)

CHICAGO (AP) — Clayton Custer scored a season-high 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting and Missouri Valley Conference leader Loyola-Chicago beat Northern Iowa 70-47 on Sunday for its seventh straight victory.

Loyola (18-4, 8-2) hasn’t won seven straight league games since a 12-game streak during the 1984-85 season. The Ramblers are 16-1 with Custer in the lineup — including a 65-59 victory over then-No. 5 Florida in December. He missed five straight games after sustaining an ankle injury against the Gators.

Donte Ingram had 16 points and eight rebounds, Cameron Krutwig added 14 points and eight boards for Loyola. Loyola leads conference foes Bradley, Southern Illinois and Drake — all at 6-4 — with eight games to play.

Klint Carlson and Tywhon Pickford each scored 14 for Northern Iowa (11-11, 3-7). The Panthers shot 36.5 percent, including 4 of 21 from distance.

Stanford running back Bryce Love won the Lombardi Award, given to the top Division I football player based on performance, leadership, character and resilience. Love was a Heisman Trophy runner-up to Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield last season, running for 162.9 yards per game and 8.04 per carry. He played the last month of the season through a nagging sprained ankle that forced him to miss one game. The Lombardi was presented Saturday night at Lone Star College in Houston.

Other finalists were Mayfield, Penn State running back Saquon Barkley, Alabama defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick, UCF linebacker Shaquem Griffin, Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson, and Iowa State linebacker Joel Lanning, who also played some quarterback for the Cyclones.

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Reserve Lamonte Turner scored 20 points, James Daniel III had 16 off the bench and 22nd-ranked Tennessee rolled past Iowa State 68-45 on Saturday in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge for its sixth win in seven games. Admiral Schofield had 10 points and seven rebounds for the Volunteers (15-5), who overcame a horrid start to post their fifth road win of the season.

Donovan Jackson had 13 points for the Cyclones (11-9), who were held to their lowest scoring output of the season. Senior Hans Brase replaced talented freshman Cam Lard in the starting lineup for the first time. Brase went scoreless while Lard finished with six points.

This was one of the Cyclones’ worst performances of the season. As a rebuilding program, a lack of focus can make things get ugly in a hurry — and getting outscored by 30 points in less than 20 minutes is about as ugly as it gets.

Iowa State hosts No. 7 West Virginia on Wednesday.

BOYS BASKETBALL

A-H-S-T-W, Avoca 60, Exira/Elk Horn-Kimballton 58, OT
Carlisle 60, Creston 56
Council Bluffs, Abraham Lincoln 60, Sioux City, North 53
Earlham 56, Nodaway Valley 55
Kuemper Catholic, Carroll 80, St. Edmond, Fort Dodge 52
Nebraska City Lourdes, Neb. 41, Council Bluffs, Thomas Jefferson 25
Western Christian, Hull 77, Bishop Heelan Catholic, Sioux City 71

Murray 38, Lamoni 37

Ankeny Christian Academy 69, Mormon Trail, Garden Grove 45

Cornerstone Christian, Neb. 48, Whiting 42

Council Bluffs, Abraham Lincoln 75, Sioux City, North 41
Earlham 46, Nodaway Valley 42
Exira/Elk Horn-Kimballton 53, Shenandoah 32
Kuemper Catholic, Carroll 66, St. Edmond, Fort Dodge 42
Western Christian, Hull 82, Bishop Heelan Catholic, Sioux City 52

Seymour 57, Diagonal 38

The 2018 RAGBRAI route was announced Saturday night, in Des Moines. The Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI) runs July 22nd through the 28th. It begins in Onawa with the traditional dipping of the tires in the Missouri River and concludes in Davenport with the tires dipped in the Mississippi River.

In between, riders will stop overnight in Denison, Jefferson, Ames, Newton, Sigourney and Iowa City.The path includes Highway 30 on parts of the western leg.Full route details will be announced in March.

The Register reports the route is just over 428-miles long and has about 12,576 feet of climb. Officials say it should be fairly easy, compared to past rides. It will be the fourth flattest in RAGBRAI’s 46-year history, and the seventh shortest.

For more: https://ragbrai.com/2018/01/27/ragbrai-2018-route-overnight-towns-have-been-announced/

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — James Palmer Jr. scored 28 points, Isaac Copeland added 23 points and 11 rebounds and Nebraska pulled away from Iowa in the second half for a 98-84 win Saturday night. Nebraska (16-8, 7-4 Big Ten) scored its most points in a conference game since putting up 99 against Kansas State in 2001 when the Huskers were in the Big 12.

Iowa (11-12, 2-8), which beat Wisconsin on Tuesday, failed to win consecutive conference games for the first time and left coach Fran McCaffery with 399 career wins. Jordan Bohannon and Tyler Cook each had 24 points to lead the Hawkeyes.

The Hawkeyes have struggled on defense all season and came in allowing 82.6 points per game against Big Ten opponents. Saturday was their worst performance. They gave up a season-high 98 points and allowed Nebraska to shoot an opponent season-best 57.7 percent and make 6 of 8 3-pointers in the second half and 11 of 19 (57.9 percent) for the game.

Iowa hosts Minnesota on Tuesday.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Ariel Atkins scored 15 points, Lashann Higgs added 14 and No. 6 Texas routed Iowa State 87-55 on Saturday night. Jatarie White and Audrey-Ann Caron-Goudreau, both 6-foot-4, and 6-3 Joyner Holmes contributed 12 points apiece as the bigger, more physical and athletic Longhorns outscored Iowa State 32-20 in the paint.

Emily Durr led Iowa State with 20 points, converting seven of 10 field-goal attempts, and Bridget Carleton added 19.

The Cyclones have endured a rough patch, losing seven of their last nine games. Part of that might be a function of the schedule. They are going through a stretch of five consecutive games against opponents ranked in the AP Top 25. They lost to Baylor and West Virginia before upsetting No. 19 Oklahoma State on Wednesday in Stillwater. They host No. 24 TCU on Tuesday in their first meeting of the season. They split two games last season, each winning at home.

EVANSVILLE, Ohio (AP) — Ryan Taylor scored 25 points, including a big basket in the final minute, and Evansville defeated Drake 77-73 on a Saturday in which the Purple Aces retired eight jerseys. Taylor made three 3-pointers and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds. His midrange jumper blunted a Drake surge and led to a 5-0 spurt and a 75-67 lead with 12 seconds remaining. Noah Frederking added 16 points and Blake Simmons 14 for Evansville (14-9, 4-6 Missouri Valley), which shot 50 percent and made 7 of 12 from the arc and 22 of 25 free throws.

Drake (12-11, 6-4) scored the first five points before Evansville went up for good after a 24-3 run. De’Antae McMurray led the Bulldogs with 13 points. At halftime, Evansville honored former players Hugh Ahlering, Brad Leaf, Marty Simmons, Scott Shreffler, Andy Elkins and Marcus Wilson and former coaches Arad McCutchan and Jim Crews.