The Iowa Hawkeyes pulled out to a 33-23 halftime lead behind some sizzling outside shooting and went on to beat Purdue 71-52 in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament in Chicago Thursday. Iowa hit 7-of-10 from behind the three-point line in the first half, which pleased Hawkeye coach Steve Alford. Alford says several players got off to a good start, including Mike Henderson, who Alford says really played some good defense.
Adam Haluska scored 17 points, Jeff Horner added 16 points, and Henderson added 11 points for the seventh-seeded Hawkeyes. Purdue finished the season at 7-21 in what was the last game coaching the Boilermakers for Gene Keady. Iowa will now take on second seed Michigan State in the quarterfinals Friday.
Alford says the Spartans a very good nationally-ranked team and it will be a tough battle. But, he says his team will be ready to play.
Iowa is now 20-10 on the season, Michigan State is 22-5.
In the opening round of the Big 12 tournament in Kansas City , Iowa State went up 21 to 1 against Baylor and led, 43-23 at halftime before cruising on to a 77-57 win. Rahshon Clark hit a career-high 20 points to lead the Cyclones, Jared Homan added 17 points. Iowa State has won for the tenth time in their last 12 games and is now 18-10.
The Cyclones play Texas Tech Friday in the semifinals.
