Iowa connected on 12 three pointers and cruised to a 110-68 win over North Dakota in their season opener. Payton Sandfort led six Hawkeyes in double figures with 21 points. Sophomore point guard Dasonte Bowen had 12 points and added five assists.

Bowen says defense triggered a quick start.

Bowen says the Hawkeyes depth showed in the opener.

Iowa coach Fran McCaffery on the progress made since the exhibition game.

(Iowa City, IA) – The Iowa Hawkeyes pulled off a large win in their home opener over North Dakota 110-68. Iowa shot a high 53% from the field in the game while holding North Dakota to just 40% in the game.

Payton Sandfort led Iowa in scoring with 21 points and nine rebounds, just shy of a double-double. Former Valparaiso Beacon and Iowa newcomer Ben Krikke was right behind Sandford in scoring with 18 points and earned six rebounds. Owen Freeman also earned 14 points and earned three rebounds in just 15 minutes of action. Dasonte Bowen, Patrick MaCaffery, and Tony Perkins all earned double-digit scoring with 12, 11, and 10 points respectively.

Iowa is now 13-1 in season openers under head coach Fran McCaffery. McCaffery also needs just 10 wins to become the winningest coach in school history as he currently sits behind Tom Davis. Iowa is now 9-0 in a series that began all the way back in 1923 as the Hawkeyes have continued to remain undefeated in over 100 years of basketball action.

Iowa will take on Alabama State this Friday with the opening tipoff at 7:00 p.m.

THIS WEEK

University of Iowa women’s soccer hosts an NCAA Tournament match at the Iowa Soccer Complex for the first time in program history. No. 5 seed Iowa hosts No. 12 seed Bucknell on Friday at 6 p.m. (CT) in the first round of the 64-team tournament.

WATCH/FOLLOW LIVE

• NCAA Tournament First Round matches stream live on ESPN+ (subscription required).
• Links to streaming and live stats can be found at the gameday page on hawkeyesports.com.
• Fans can follow the Iowa soccer program on Twitter (@HawkeyeSoccer) for live in-game updates.

SCOUTING THE BISONS

• Bucknell secured the Patriot League automatic-bid to the NCAA Tournament with its third consecutive conference tournament title. The Bisons defeated Army in penalty kicks in the championship.
• Each of the past two seasons, Bucknell has faced a Big Ten Conference opponent on the road to open the NCAA Tournament; the Bisons fell to Ohio State (1-0, 2OT) in 2022 and Rutgers (2-0) in 2021.
• Goalkeeper Jenna Hall, a two-time Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Year, grabbed 13 saves in the title match shutout over Army. Hall has been excellent this year with 130 saves (T-10th nationally) at an .867 percentage (T-17th nationally). Hall’s nine shutouts tie for 22nd among Division I goalkeepers; Iowa goalkeeper Maccy Enneking ties for fifth in the country with 11 shutouts.
• Midfielder Teresa Deda leads the offensive attack with nine goals and nine assists (27 points).

SERIES HISTORY – BUCKNELL

Iowa and Bucknell meet for the first time in program history. Iowa is 2-0-1 against the Patriot League, all-time. Bucknell is 0-22-1 against Big Ten Conference opponents, except for a victory over Maryland in 2008 prior to the Terrapins joining the conference.

HAWK FAN GAME PLAN

Unlike regular season matches at the Iowa Soccer Complex, tickets must be purchased for Friday’s NCAA Tournament First Round game. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for University of Iowa students or youth. Links to purchase tickets are available at hawkeyesports.com. Parking will be free after 3 p.m. (CT) in Lots 45 and 71.

With three games remaining the Iowa Hawkeyes are back in the drivers seat in the Big Ten West but the margin is razor thin, especially with an nonexistent offense. Iowa is averaging just over 13 points per game in conference play heading into Saturday’s contest at home against Rutgers.

That’s Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz who says every team needs to find ways to be successful and sometimes that changes during a season.

Iowa has committed the second fewest penalties in the Big 10 and Ferentz says that needs to continue in these close games.

Ferentz says Rutgers is making a lot of progress in Greg Schiano’s second stint at the school. The Scarlet Knights enter the game with a 6-3 record and have one of the Big Ten’s best ground attacks.

Ferentz would not say how much Cooper DeJean may play on offense going forward. DeJean got a handful of snaps at Northwestern and even carried the ball once.

Iowa State coach Matt Campbell says a late night kickoff won’t be a concern for his players. The Cyclones visit BYU Satutrday night and the 8-15 kickoff in Provo is the latest local start time in Cyclone history.

The Cougars have won 23 of their last 24 night games.

Campbell calls BYU a tradition rich program.

A 28-21 loss at Kansas knocked the Cyclones out of a first place tie in the Big 12 race and a win at BYU would make them bowl eligible a year after posting a 4-8 record.

THIS WEEK

University of Iowa full media notes for this Friday’s NCAA Midwest Regional meet in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The meet begins at 10:30 a.m. (CT) with the women’s 6,000-meters, followed by the men’s 10,000-meter race at 11:30. Oklahoma State is hosting the event at the Greiner Family OSU Cross Country Course. The meet will be broadcast via stream at okstate.com and live results will be provided by PT Timing.

The top two teams from each regional earn automatic qualification to the NCAA Championships. 13 at-large teams are selected, while only two individual at-larges advance. The first four finishers not from an automatic qualifying or at-large team will also advance to the NCAA Championships.

 For an inside look at the Iowa cross country program and to access exclusive coverage, “like” The University of Iowa Cross Country and Track and Field Facebook page and follow the Hawkeyes on X (@IowaXC_TF) and Instagram (@iowaxctf). Follow live results on the official social media channels for Iowa Cross Country and at hawkeyesports.com/tracklive.

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Sixth-year University of Iowa defensive lineman Joe Evans has been selected as one of 10 semifinalists for the Burlsworth Trophy, an award presented to the most outstanding player in America who began his career as a walk-on.

The Ames, Iowa, native joined the Hawkeyes as a walk-on in the fall of 2018 — two months later than the other players in his recruiting class. After changing positions from linebacker to defensive end, Evans played his way onto the field in 2019 as a pass rushing specialist. He finished the season with four sacks.

Evans saw action in all eight games in 2020 and all 14 contests in 2021, where he tied for the team lead with seven sacks. In 2022, he earned second-team All-Big Ten honors after finishing the season with 8.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks.

This season, Evans has been voted a team captain by his teammates each week of the season. He has 34 tackles and team highs in tackles for loss (8.5) and sacks (4.5) for a Hawkeye defense that is one of the nation’s best. Evans, who will end his career as a five-year letterwinner, currently is tied for seventh in program history with 23 career sacks.

Joining Evans as a Burlsworth Trophy semifinalist are: B.J. Green III (DL, Arizona State), James Carpenter (G, James Madison), Austin Moore (LB, Kansas State), Cody Schrader (RB, Missouri), Drake Stoops (WR, Oklahoma), Jake Springfield (OT, Oklahoma State), Sean Atkins (WR, South Florida), Bryson Barnes (QB, Utah) and Kyle Thornton (LB, Washington State).

The selection committee will announce the top three Burlsworth Trophy finalists on Nov. 14. Finalists will be honored and the winner will be announced on Dec. 4, in Bentonville, Arkansas.

The Hawkeyes (7-2, 4-2) host Rutgers at 2:40 p.m. (CT) on Saturday on Duke Slater Field at Kinnick Stadium. The game will be televised live on Big Ten Network.

First Team Offense: 

District MVP Utility: Jathan South (ACGC), Offensive MVP QB: Grady Jeppesen (Riverside), QB: Gavin Batta, (SCC) RB: Caleb Smith (Earlham), RB: Anthony Solorzano (ACGC), RB: Jaxon Gordon (Riverside), WR/TE: Keegan Soard (SCC), WR/TE: Ross Kusel (IKM-Manning), WR/TE: Klayton Bremer (Panorama), OL: Mason Wahl (ACGC), OL: Carter Richter (ACGC), OL: Ty Willem (Earlham), OL: Caden Forristal (Riverside), OL: Joel Cooper (Panorama), Utility: Brock Nattress (SCC), Kicker: Oliver Wetzel (ACGC)

First Team Defense: 

Defensive MVP DL: Payton Jacobe (ACGC), DL: Michael Fuller (ACGC), DL: Keeghan Reed (Earlham), DL: Naylan Gulbranson (SCC), DL: Jace Starman (IKM-Manning), LB: Ryan Stiles (Earlham), LB: AC Roller (Riverside), LB: Tegan Slaybaugh (ACGC), LB: Nolan Kerkhoff (IKM-Manning), DB: Ben Ramsey (IKM-Manning), DB: Zach Trott (SCC), DB: Ty Forcht (Earlham), DB: Nate Chance (ACGC), Punter: Gavin Batta (SCC), Defensive Utility: Ryan Cogil (Panorama), Returner: Davis Rasmussen (IKM-Manning)

Coach of the Year: Cody Matthewson (ACGC)

Assistant Coach of the Year: Cory Thompson (Earlham)

Assistant Coach of the Year: Jeff Boerner (SCC)

Assistant Coach of the Year: Tom Casey (IKM-Manning)

(Riverside, CA) – Hawkeye wrestling sees positives from both the men’s and women’s programs over the weekend. The Hawkeyes who are ranked second overall won all 10 matches on Sunday in a 40-0 blowout.

Iowa had a 31-1 difference in takedowns and had six major decisions as they earned their first victory overall. The Hawkeye came out with a bang in the beginning as they were up with a 13-0 lead in the first three matches. Drake Ayala earned a ranked win alongside Brody Teske as he was able to put away Hunter Leake in a major decision.

The Hawkeyes also had Victor Voinovich earn a 2-0 decision over Dayne Morton and Jared Franek earned an 8-1 first half of a dual decision. Aiden Riggins helped Iowa earn a bonus point victory as he helped earn a pair of takedowns and won 15-4. Brennan Swafford earned a major decision, ultimately winning 15-4 over Nathan Haas. Iowa closed the dual with an 11-2 decision with Zach Glazier.

Associate head coach Terry Brands said, “I learned that we have a room full of competitors. I learned that what I thought I knew, I knew, It’s every week though, now it’s in the past we gotta move forward.”

Iowa returns to action on November 19th against Oregon State at home at noon.