In the summer, Iowa coach Fran McCaffery spoke confidently of his sophomore class and its ability to take the next step forward from their freshman season.
“They went through a year in the Big Ten wars,” he said. “They conceptualized game plans, scouting, preparation, playing on the road in this league. There’s no substitute for going through it. And they came through it successfully. They’re in a confident place.”
Two early wins against outmatched competition have the Hawkeyes off to a good start. Iowa will go for three in a row Tuesday night when South Dakota visits Iowa City.
Iowa is coming off an 89-74 home decision Thursday night over Southern in which the Hawkeyes drilled 18 3-pointers, their highest total in a game since the 2022 Big Ten tournament and matching for the fifth most during McCaffery’s 15 years.
Pryce Sandfort came off the bench to hit 6 of 8 from long distance and score a game-high 22 points. Older brother Payton Sandfort added 17 points, stuffing the stat sheet with eight rebounds and seven assists (though he committed six turnovers). He leads five Hawkeyes in double figures so far at 18.5 points per game.
The trip to Iowa will represent a big step up in class for the Coyotes (3-0), who are coming off a 77-47 rout Sunday of NAIA opponent Mount Marty (S.D.). Shey Eberwein came off the bench to score a game-high 15 points for South Dakota, which established a 40-22 halftime lead and never looked back.
Four players are averaging in double figures for the Coyotes, who were picked to finish seventh in the nine-team Summit League. Northwestern State transfer Chase Forte is leading the way at 14.7 ppg and Isaac Bruns is chipping 12 ppg.
Third-year coach Eric Peterson said Forte has been a good addition to his roster.
“He’s hard-nosed. He’ll D you up and is an extremely good passer,” Peterson said. “He can get two feet in the paint. He’s a tough guy.”
The Hawkeyes are 12-0 all-time against South Dakota. The most recent matchup was an 87-75 Iowa win in an NIT game at Iowa City in 2017.
–Field Level Media
