Iowa City, Iowa- Iowa forward Zach McCabe fights for possession against Minnesota forward Ralph Sampson III at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Wednesday, February 1, 2012. Iowa trailed Minnesota 27-24 at half-time. (The Daily Iowan/Adam Wesley)
Iowa jumped out to large early advantage, but Minnesota fought back late in the first half and lead the Hawkeyes 27-24 at halftime.
The Hawkeyes came out with great defensive intensity, forcing Minnesota to take several jumpshots in the game’s early minutes. Iowa forced Minnesota to miss seven of their first eight shots, and used their stellar defense to jump out to a 15-3 lead.
But the Gophers couldn’t be kept cold for long, as they ended the final 11 minutes and change of the first half on a 24-9 run. Minnesota connected on four 3-pointers during that stretch, while Iowa went nearly four minutes without a bucket of their own.
Melsahn Basabe leads Iowa with 6 first-half points after coming off the bench for the second consecutive game. Four other Hawkeyes have 4 points a piece.
– By Ben Schuff
