Josh Dix scored 24 points Saturday and Iowa scored a big Quad 1 road win to help its chances for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, stopping Northwestern 87-80 in Evanston, Ill.

Payton Sandfort added 23 points, five rebounds and six assists for the Hawkeyes (18-12, 10-9 Big Ten), who close their regular season on March 10 against Illinois. A victory there might get them over the hump without needing a win in the Big Ten Conference Tournament.

Ben Krikke netted 12 points and Tony Perkins chipped in 10 while dishing out 14 assists. The last one of those set up Patrick McCaffery for a dagger 3-pointer with 41 seconds remaining that gave the Hawkeyes an 83-76 lead.

Boo Buie scored a game-high 27 points and added seven assists for the Wildcats (20-9, 11-7) in his school-record 144th career game. Brooks Barnhizer added 20 points, while Nick Martinelli hit for 17 and Blake Smith contributed 11 points.

Northwestern made it a game for 40 minutes despite being down three starters due to injury. Ty Berry (knee) and Ryan Langborg (ankle) were out before tipoff and Matt Nicholson (leg) left the game early in the second half.

Without most of their lineup, the Wildcats’ normally tough defense was compromised against a potent offense. Iowa cashed in by canning 19 of 30 shots in the second half and more than doubled them on the boards, 17-8.

Neither team led by more than eight points in a well-played first half that saw 3-pointers fuel runs both ways. Northwestern hit a pair of 3-pointers early for a 10-6 edge before the Hawkeyes hit it with 11 unanswered points for a 17-10 advantage on Perkins’ three-point play at the 13:14 mark.

At that point, the Wildcats went on a 19-4 burst that Buie started with a couple of 3-pointers. They stretched the lead to 31-24 with 5:17 left after a foul shot by Blake Preston. But Iowa rallied and was able to pull within 37-36 at intermission.

–Field Level Media