No. 24 Iowa closes out No. 9 Purdue 75-66 for Big Ten title
AP
Mar 14, 2022
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Iowa Hawkeyes forward Keegan Murray grabbed the Big Ten Tournament trophy, cut down the nets and immediately turned his attention to another challenge.
He hopes to keep playing into April before making a decision about the NBA.
Murray capped a remarkable week with 19 points, 11 rebounds and three assists to lead No. 24 Iowa past No. 9 Purdue Boilermakers 75-66 on Sunday, giving the fifth-seeded Hawkeyes their first conference crown since 2006 and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
''We knew this team was destined for greatness,'' said Murray, the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. ''We changed the direction of the Iowa program today.''
They certainly added a new chapter by becoming the fourth team to capture the conference's tourney crown with four wins in four days. Iowa was also the first team to do it, in 2001.
But that's only part of the equation for one of America's most prolific offenses. The Hawkeyes posted a record 351 points in Indianapolis, easily surpassing Ohio State's mark of 322 set last year.
Next up is another chance to rewrite Iowa's record books.
A win over 12th-seeded Richmond on Thursday in Buffalo, New York, would put fifth-seeded Iowa within one win of its first Sweet 16 appearance since 1999 and two wins away from Iowa's first regional final since 1987.
None of that is lost on this team.
''All three of my brothers won conference titles and I heard about that all of the time,'' longtime Iowa guard Jordan Bohannon said. ''It was just nonstop for me, so it's a big deal for me to come in here and win. I think that's what was so important these last five, six years. We've been through everything adversity-wise and now we're living in the moment we always dreamed about as kids.''
It wasn't easy returning to the building where Iowa was eliminated by Oregon in the second round of last year's NCAA Tournament.
The Hawkeyes needed Bohannon's 3-point bank shot with 0.8 seconds left to silence a heavily partisan Indiana crowd in Saturday's semifinals and then returned Sunday, trying to quiet a heavily partisan Purdue crowd that was on its feet when Eric Hunter Jr. made a 3-pointer with 3:13 left to cut Iowa's lead to 63-62.
Jaden Ivey finished with 20 points and six assists and Trevion Williams had 11 points and 11 rebounds for Purdue (28-7). But neither could get the Boilermakers any closer as they failed to win the regular-season or tournament title despite spending most of this season as the league's top-ranked team.
''I did a horrible job today just leading and trying to get us back in the game,'' Ivey said. ''I felt like I made some bad reads and some turnovers and I feel like I lost this game.''
After Hunter's big shot, Connor McCaffery with a three-point play on Iowa's next possession to make it 66-62, and the Hawkeyes only allowed four more points.
BIG PICTURE
Iowa: A strong finish - and tourney title - propelled the Hawkeyes to a No. 5 seed, though they didn't get the short trip to Milwaukee. Still, this is a team that has won nine of 10, is playing its best basketball of the season and has plenty to prove at tourney time against the Atlantic 10 champs.
Purdue: This loss may have cost Purdue a No. 2 seed and a short trip back to Indianapolis. Instead, the third-seeded Boilermakers will face Ivy League champion Yale on Friday in Milwaukee. Purdue lost to North Texas in the first round last year.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Iowa will continue ascending in Monday's rankings, perhaps even cracking the top 15. The bigger question is whether Purdue did enough to extend its record streak of consecutive weeks in the top 10 to 19.
ALL-TOURNEY
Murry, Bohannon, Ivey and Williams all were selected to the Big Ten's all-tournament team. The final member of the group was Trayce Jackson-Davis, who helped Indiana reach the semifinals.
STAT PACK
Iowa: Iowa and Michigan are the only schools to claim a Big Ten Tournament title with four wins in four days. The Wolverines did it in 2017 and 2018. ... The Hawkeyes won this title exactly one week after their women's team also won its title in Indy. ... Indy native Tony Perkins had 11 points and four assists for the Hawkeyes. Payton Sandfort scored 10 points.
Purdue: Zach Edey had 12 points and 14 rebounds. ... The Boilermakers had 17 turnovers, nine in the first half when they never led. ... Purdue was 5 of 20 on 3s but had a 48-30 rebounding edge.
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1st Half
IOWA
Hawkeyes
35
PUR
Boilermakers
32
Time
Team
Play
Score
20:00
Keegan Murray vs. Zach Edey (Jordan Bohannon gains possession)
19:39
+2
Keegan Murray makes two point jump shot (Jordan Bohannon assists)
2-0
19:19
+2
Zach Edey makes two point layup (Mason Gillis assists)
2-2
18:59
Filip Rebraca misses two point hook shot
18:57
Tony Perkins offensive rebound
18:54
+2
Tony Perkins makes two point putback layup
4-2
18:35
Sasha Stefanovic misses two point layup
18:33
Zach Edey offensive rebound
18:29
Zach Edey misses two point putback dunk
18:27
Filip Rebraca defensive rebound
18:17
Patrick McCaffery misses two point jump shot
18:15
Zach Edey defensive rebound
18:03
Eric Hunter Jr. misses two point jump shot
18:01
Jordan Bohannon defensive rebound
17:53
+2
Filip Rebraca makes two point layup (Keegan Murray assists)
6-2
17:53
Mason Gillis shooting foul (Filip Rebraca draws the foul)
17:53
Filip Rebraca misses regular free throw 1 of 1
17:53
Zach Edey defensive rebound
17:35
Filip Rebraca shooting foul (Eric Hunter Jr. draws the foul)
17:35
Eric Hunter Jr. misses regular free throw 1 of 2
17:35
+1
Eric Hunter Jr. makes regular free throw 2 of 2
6-3
17:17
Keegan Murray misses two point jump shot
17:15
Boilermakers defensive rebound
16:58
+2
Jaden Ivey makes two point driving layup
6-5
16:56
Eric Hunter Jr. personal foul (Jordan Bohannon draws the foul)
16:44
Zach Edey shooting foul (Keegan Murray draws the foul)
16:44
+1
Keegan Murray makes regular free throw 1 of 2
7-5
16:44
+1
Keegan Murray makes regular free throw 2 of 2
8-5
16:35
Eric Hunter Jr. turnover (bad pass) (Tony Perkins steals)
16:31
+2
Jordan Bohannon makes two point driving layup
10-5
16:01
+3
Sasha Stefanovic makes three point step back jump shot (Jaden Ivey assists)
10-8
15:45
Trevion Williams blocks Kris Murray's two point layup
15:43
Patrick McCaffery offensive rebound
15:45
Jaden Ivey personal foul (Keegan Murray draws the foul)
15:45
TV timeout
15:28
Jordan Bohannon misses three point jump shot
15:26
Jaden Ivey defensive rebound
15:20
+2
Trevion Williams makes two point layup (Jaden Ivey assists)
10-10
14:51
Patrick McCaffery misses three point jump shot
14:49
Keegan Murray offensive rebound
14:44
+2
Keegan Murray makes two point putback layup
12-10
14:15
Mason Gillis misses two point jump shot
14:13
Trevion Williams offensive rebound
14:09
Jaden Ivey misses three point jump shot
14:07
Keegan Murray defensive rebound
14:01
Keegan Murray misses three point jump shot
13:59
Trevion Williams defensive rebound
13:52
Sasha Stefanovic misses two point jump shot
13:50
Patrick McCaffery defensive rebound
13:42
+3
Kris Murray makes three point jump shot (Tony Perkins assists)
15-10
13:25
+2
Jaden Ivey makes two point driving layup
15-12
13:17
Tony Perkins misses two point layup
13:15
Keegan Murray offensive rebound
13:10
Tony Perkins misses three point jump shot
13:08
Kris Murray offensive rebound
13:07
Mason Gillis personal foul (Kris Murray draws the foul)