IOWA CITY (AP) — Fran McCaffery’s short-term fix to Iowa’s inconsistent offense is better defense.
Aaron White scored 19 points and the Hawkeyes forced a season-best 20 turnovers as they rolled to a 77-44 win over Longwood on Saturday.
Iowa blocked nine shots and converted 21 points off the turnovers.
“We didn’t shoot well in the first half,” McCaffery said. “We had to be locked in defensively to have the lead. I think our attention to detail has been good.”
Jarrod Uthoff added 11 points and six rebounds for the Hawkeyes (5-2). Gabriel Olaseni had 10 points and five blocks.
Shaquille Johnson had 16 points, six rebounds and six assists to lead the Lancers (2-5), who dropped their fourth straight game. Lotanna Nwogbo added eight points and 12 rebounds.
McCaffery’s Hawkeyes normally try taking advantage of their size inside and getting to the foul line, but they were held to a season-low nine free throw attempts.
Iowa made nine 3-pointers, but it took a season-high 30 attempts — an area where the Hawkeyes have struggled the past two seasons.
Josh Oglesby scored all of his nine points on 3-point shots. Freshman Brady Ellingson knocked down a pair of 3s in 7 minutes of action. Starting guards Mike Gesell and Anthony Clemmons combined to miss all five of their 3-point tries. Peter Jok misfired on his four tries.
Still, Iowa won its third game in six days after losses to Texas and Syracuse last week in New York.
“We’re a good team,” White said. “We’ve lost to two good teams, but we’ve picked ourselves up and bounced back like good teams do.”
The Hawkeyes used a 17-2 run late in the first half to turn a two-point advantage into a 35-18 lead. Iowa hit three 3-pointers during the run, including a pair from Uthoff.
Longwood had four turnovers and shot 1 of 7 during the 7 1/2-minute stretch.
UP NEXT
Iowa travels to No. 5 North Carolina on Wednesday as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Longwood hosts Dartmouth on Wednesday.
COURTSIDE
Olaseni will return home to London for his father’s funeral after the North Carolina game. Olaseni said he’d likely miss a game or two before returning to the team. The senior has had 20 points and nine blocks in two games since learning of his father’s death on Wednesday.