A year ago, Iowa failed to win a Big Ten Conference road game but the Hawkeyes broke through in their league opener last night. The Hawkeyes built a 16-point second half lead then held off a furious Northwestern rally to claim a 68-63 victory in Evanston.Coach Steve Alford says the teams really playing hard and he appreciates that. Alford says if they could’ve made some free throws, they might of had a double digit win. Glen Worley led four Hawks in double figures with 16-points and for the game Iowa shot 53-percent from the field.Freshman guard Jeff Horner had a key role for the Hawkeyes by tallying 10-points and eight assists and says defense down the stretch held the Wildcats at bay. He says they didn’t allow any second shots down the stretch and that allowed them to win.A year ago, The Hawkeyes held an early morning free throw session after returning from a loss at Northwestern and Horner says the veterans did not want that to happen again. He says they gave it their all, but got a little tentative late in the game and need to work on playing with the lead.