Did Iowa Hawkeyes' Paint Domination Seal the Deal Against Holy Cross Crusaders?

The Iowa Hawkeyes, ranked 2nd, showcased their dominance with a commanding 91-65 victory over the Holy Cross Crusaders. The Hawkeyes improved their record to an impressive tally while the Crusaders faced another setback in their season's performance.

From the onset, the Iowa Hawkeyes established control of the game with a consistent offensive performance across all quarters, scoring 23, 25, 23 and finally 20 points in each respective period. Their defense was equally formidable; they out-blocked the Crusaders with a total of five blocks and out-stole them by securing eleven steals throughout the game.

The home team's shooting accuracy was notable as they achieved a field goal percentage of forty-six percent compared to thirty-two percent by Holy Cross. The Hawkeyes were particularly effective inside, where they converted sixty percent of their two-point attempts into points. This efficiency contributed significantly to their forty points scored in paint.

Iowa also demonstrated strong teamwork with twenty-one assists leading to scores, reflecting a higher assists turnover ratio of 1.62 against that of Holy Cross at just over one. Additionally, rebounding was a clear strength for Iowa; they pulled down fifty rebounds including fifteen offensive boards which led to sixteen second-chance points.

On individual performances for Iowa: players shone both offensively and defensively contributing significantly to this comprehensive win. Their ability to convert free throws remained steady at seventy percent accuracy which matched that of Holy Cross despite differing field goal percentages.

Conversely, despite falling short on overall score and statistics such as rebounds where they only managed thirty-seven compared to fifty by Iowa – Holy Cross showed resilience especially during third quarter when they scored twenty points indicating moments where they could match up against strong oppositions like Iowa.

In terms of three-point shooting however both teams had room for improvement; although ten three-pointers were made by Iowa giving them an edge over seven made by Holy Cross neither team excelled beyond thirty-one percent success rate from beyond arc indicating potential area for growth moving forward into season games ahead.

As fans look back on this game held at Carver-Hawkeye Arena before an enthusiastic crowd numbering fourteen thousand three hundred twenty-four spectators it is clear that while there were lead changes four times and ties twice during match-up it was ultimately controlled play within paint coupled with solid defensive efforts that secured victory for home side - leaving supporters optimistic about future contests scheduled later in year including next broadcast set at prime time hour around nine o'clock Central Time Zone (CT).