IOWA CITY – Iowa (11-4, 2-2) defeated Nebraska (12-3, 2-2) 97-87, Wednesday night in Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Mediacom Court.
The Hawkeyes scored the first nine points of overtime and outscored the Huskers, 21-11, in the bonus frame to down Nebraska, 97-87, on Tuesday inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Iowa trailed 52-37 with 14:54 remaining before outscoring Nebraska, 27-12, to tie the game at 64 with 4:58 remaining. It is tied for the 10th largest comeback in program history.
Nebraska’s Brice Williams hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send the game into overtime tied at 76.
The Hawkeyes had four players finish in double figures: Josh Dix 31, Payton Sandfort 30, Owen Freeman 15, Pryce Sandfort 11. They are the first set of Hawkeye teammates to score 30+ in a game since Keegan Murray (30) and Jordan Bohannon (30) at Maryland in 2022.
Dix finished with a career-high 31 points, making 10-of-14 field goals, including a career-high seven 3-pointers. He also had six rebounds and tied a career-high with seven assists. Dix scored 16 of Iowa’s 31 points in the first half. It is his third 20 point game of the season and the seventh of his career.
After being held scoreless in the first half, Payton Sandfort tied a career-high 30 points in the second half and overtime, making 8-of-15 field goals with a season-best six 3-pointers and he went 8-for-9 at the free throw stripe and had six rebounds and four assists.
Sandfort has a team-high five 20-point games this season and 23 in his career. It is his second career 30-point game (30 vs. Kansas State in NIT). Sandfort has made five or more 3-pointers seven times in his career.
Freeman scored 15 points and had a team-high eight rebounds.
Brock Harding finished with eight points and seven assists – his seventh game with 6+ assists.
Iowa made 17 3-point field goals – its eighth game with 10+ 3s and the second-most this season. The Hawkeyes have made 14 or more 3s three times this season.
The Hawkeyes went 22-of-25 from the free throw stripe – a season-best.
Iowa had 23 assists on 29 field goals.
Graduate Drew Thelwell missed the game due to a lower body injury sustained during pregame warmups.
Dix and Sandfort are the first Division I teammates each with 30 points and 6 3-pointers in the same game in 5 years and the first high major teammates to do it since Notre Dame’s Ben Hansbrough and Tim Abromaitis in 2011.
UP NEXT
Iowa returns to action Saturday, hosting Indiana at 7 p.m. (CT) on Mediacom Court inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The game will be televised live on FOX.
