Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, March 20, 2015
How about a 31-point win to celebrate Patrick's birthday! What a win for @IowaHoops! http://t.co/3qKCiajvNd pic.twitter.com/N5zWQrRFwF
— Sean Merriman (@MerrimanTweets) March 21, 2015
Aaron White finished with 26 points as Iowa cruised to an impressive 83-52 victory over Davidson in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
BTN.com senior writer Tom Dienhart provides his instant reaction here.
The star: Aaron White looked like Larry Bird, doing seemingly anything he wanted vs. a mismatched Davidson squad that had absolutely no answer for the 6-9 senior. White hit 11-of-14 shots for 26 points. He also had six rebounds with two assists. Bottle and save this one, Aaron.
The stat: The Hawkeyes dominated every aspect of this game. Iowa shot an impressive 50.7 percent from the field. But the most impressive figure was the rebounding edge the Hawkeyes held, collecting 46 boards to 30 for the Wildcats. This was men vs. boys, as Iowa got its first NCAA win since 2001.
The key to victory: Iowa was too big, too deep and too good right from the start, taking a 38-29 halftime lead and never looking back en route to a 31-point win. Iowa had an 18-3 run-White scored 13 in a row during that stretch–early in the second half to blow things out and had three players in double-figures, with White?s 26, 12 from Peter Jok and 15 from Mike Gesell.
It was over when: Davidson faced long odds as it was. But when star player Tyler Kalinoski was strapped with three early fouls, the Wildcats were sunk. The senior guard ended up with just five points on 2-of-9 shooting, failing to score in the final 35 minutes. The Atlantic-10 Player of the Year entered the game with a 17-point average. Without having to deal with Davidson?s top gun, Iowa rolled, getting help from everyone. The bench chipped in 14 points compared to the Wildcats? two.
What?s next: Iowa will take on the winner of No. 2 Gonzaga vs. No. 15. North Dakota State.
About Tom Dienhart | BTN.com senior writer Tom Dienhart is a veteran sports journalist who covers Big Ten football and men's basketball for BTN.com and BTN TV. Find him on Twitter and Facebook, read all of his work at btn.com/tomdienhart, and subscribe to his posts via RSS. Also, send questions to his weekly mailbag using the form below and read all of his previous answers in his reader mailbag section. |
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