By Scott Miller
scott-t-miller@uiowa.edu
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AMES — This time, it wasn’t a blizzard or a coach’s absence or poor 3-point shooting that stood it Iowa’s way. This time, it was a 6-10 power forward who relentlessly attacked the Hawkeyes’ defense on his way to 28 points.
Craig Brackins didn’t just take over Iowa’s State 81-71 win over Iowa; he made sure everyone inside Hilton Coliseum on Friday night knew he was deserving of all the NBA hype surrounding his junior season.
“Terrific player,” Iowa interim head coach Chad Walthall said of Brackins. “You can see why he’s an NBA talent — just very impressive. I think he had a tough game at Iowa last year. You could sense he had a bit of urgency about him.”
At the 6:44 mark in the first half, Iowa State held an uncomfortable 22-20 lead. Over the next 13 minutes, however, head coach Greg McDermott’s team outscored the Hawkeyes 31-15. In fact, in a 10-minute stretch, Brackins scored 13 points, while Iowa only netted 10.
Cully Payne’s 11 points over a 91-second stretch pulled Iowa within nine with 34 seconds remaining, but did little more other than pad his final stat line.
“I had a feeling [Brackins] would play well because he really practiced well this week, and he was consistent in his effort,” McDermott said.
Brackins dominated Iowa’s defense in every way imaginable: From the low block, the 3-point line, and the high post. He took over the game with feathery turn-around jumpers, smooth long-range bombs, and thunderous slams.
With 17:34 left in the game, Brackins had 24 points, with Iowa only mustering 30 points as a team. And the junior did it all-too-easily, showing little emotion or surprise of his effortless ability to wreak havoc on a defense so clearly designed to stop him.
The Palmdale, Calif., native shot 9-of-13 and grabbed eight rebounds.
“It was just there for me, and I took advantage of the opportunities that I had,” Brackins said. “I felt like I was confident shooting today.”
When the Hawkeyes began keying their whole defense on stopping Brackins, the junior stayed involved in the game by distributing the ball and blocking shots.
LaRon Dendy, a junior bench player, perhaps benefited from the heightened attention on Brackins the most. The Greensville, S.C., native scored eight points over a three-minute span, the last of which coming on a slam with 8:43 remaining.
Iowa State’s 18-point lead forced Walthall to call a timeout. Walthall filled in for head coach Todd Lickliter for the third consecutive game as Lickliter continues to recovery from surgery done on his carotid artery.
Iowa lost 67-50 to Northern Iowa on Dec. 8 as a blizzard terrorized Eastern Iowa outside.
“It was definitely a different week with Coach being gone,” Gatens said. “We’ve got to take as much as we can and learn from these two games.”
Amidst Brackins’ career night and the Hawkeyes’ blowout defeat, Gatens’ performance was thoroughly overshadowed. Scoring 12-plus points for the fourth time in five games, the sophomore shot 6-of-14 from the field and added 20 points, playing all 40 minutes.
His backcourt mates, however, did little to help Iowa’s cause. Sophomore Anthony Tucker shot 3-of-13 from the floor, adding only eight points. It was his second consecutive game scoring in single digits.
Junior Jarryd Cole chipped in with 16 points, but it wasn’t enough to give Iowa State a scare.
“This is a team that is going to continue to get better,” Walthall said. “I think we had one person on the team that had played at Iowa State before.”
On the first play of the game, junior Diante Garrett threw a perfect lop pass to Brackins for a slam that ignited the crowd. Brackins’ first 3-pointer of the game came two possessions later. He would add another one in 90 seconds, giving Iowa State a 12-4 early lead.
Brackins finished with 20 points in the first half, shooting a near-perfect 7-of-9 from the field.
“This year, we let him get comfortable, and when you let a guy like him gets comfortable, he’s tough to stop,” Gatens said.
