IOWA CITY – The Iowa mens basketball team finished its non-conference schedule with an 11-2 record for the second-straight year Sunday after beating Arkansas-Pine Bluff 86-61.
Josh Oglesby returned to the lineup after a foot injury sidelined him for weeks, scoring 13 points while shooting 4-5 from three-point range.
“Right off the bat, he was doing things,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said after the game. “He was winded a little bit but not too bad — we started practicing him hard this week, get his timing back, and I thought he was really good. But not only did he make shots, he was passing it well. He looked very comfortable out there I thought.”
Seven-foot center Adam Woodbury scored a season-high 10 points while Jarrod Uthoff chipped in 16.
Iowa lead 68-28 with 11:30 left in the second half before Arkansas-Pine Bluff applied a full-court press on Iowa’s scout team.
Iowa has won 17-straight home games dating back to January 2013 and 26-straight home games against unranked opponents.
Iowa resumes play on Tuesday, December 31 at home when Nebraska visits for a conference game.
Also of note, long-time official Ed Hightower worked his final game as a college basketball official today in Iowa City.
“It is emotional,” Hightower said after the game. “Frannie (McCaffery) and I were kidding before the game and then throughout the game. For example, I called a double-dribble, and he knew it was a good call, but he said ‘I want to make him call a technical foul on me.’ He said, ‘Hightower, in the second half, I just may get a technical foul.’ And I said, ‘if you do, I’m throwing you out.’ But those are the friendships, those are the emotional ones, and I’m going to miss it greatly. This game has been so good to me.”
