Jeff Horner got rid of his knee brace and it came at the right time for the Iowa Hawkeyes. Horner poured in a career high 32 -points as the Hawks rallied from an 11-point first half deficit to win at Purdue 78-69. Horner canned seven three pointers, including six in the decisive second half in which the Hawks outscored the Boilers 52-35. Horner says his shot felt really good and they ran some plays to get him a shot and he says it was a good night.
The Hawkeyes rallied after a lackluster opening half in which they trailed 33-25 at the break. Horner says they got a talking to at halftime and Horner says they listened and came out and played better in the second half.
Iowa coach Steve Alford says his team never panicked despite the subpar first half. He says they fought the last two days to make sure the team was ready, but he says they obviously didn’t do a good job. But Alford says he never felt they were beyond recovering in the first half and he says to his team’s credit they did.
The Hawks finished 10 of 20 from three point range which offset Purdue’s domination inside. The Boilermakers outscored the Hawkeyes 44-18 in the paint. Alford says nobody’s done that to them this season. Alford says they were fortunate that the backcourt pulled them out. The Hawks are 6-2 at the halfway point of the Big Ten race and will host Michigan on Saturday.