March 28, 2024

Iowa rolls past UNC-Wilmington

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Sophomore Jarrod Uthoff had 14 points and four blocks in his Iowa debut and the Hawkeyes rolled past UNC-Wilmington 82-39 Friday in its season opener.

Freshman Peter Jok added 11 points for the Hawkeyes (1-0), who opened the game with a 52-12 run.

Iowa opened up a 10-point lead after seven minutes and went on a 20-3 spurt to go ahead 34-7. The Hawkeyes had 10 players score in the first half and led by as many as 47 points.

Aaron White had 10 points and Gabe Olaseni had eight points, seven rebounds and five blocks for Iowa.

Uthoff hit four of his first five shots and led Iowa with nine first-half points.

Iowa brought back all five starters from last season’s team, which won 25 games and reached the NIT finals.

The Hawkeyes haven’t been to the NCAA tournament since 2006, when they won the Big Ten tournament.

Most Iowa fans expect Iowa to snap that eight-year skid — and a lot of them believe this year’s team is capable of even more than simply reaching the tournament.