IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — No. 22 Iowa has likely done enough to lock up an NCAA Tournament spot. But it’s fair to start wondering if the Hawkeyes will be able to do anything once they get there. Freshman Ron Harper Jr. scored a season-high 27 points and Rutgers rolled past Iowa 86-72 on Saturday in the Hawkeyes’ home finale.

Issa Thiam had 13 points for the Scarlet Knights (14-14, 7-11), who won their first road game over a ranked opponent as a Big Ten team. It was also the Scarlet Knights’ first victory over a Top 25 team away from home since defeating then-No. 13 Pittsburgh 77-64 in 2008.

Iowa played without coach Fran McCaffery, who was suspended by the school for two games for yelling at an official in a hallway heading to the locker room following Tuesday’s loss at Ohio State. It was Iowa’s third loss in four games — and the Hawkeyes (21-8, 10-8) needed some late heroics to top Indiana in their only win in that stretch.

The scariest thing for the Hawkeyes was how lopsided it was. Iowa shot just 35.7 percent from the floor and turned it over 13 times. Senior Nicholas Baer scored a season-high 17 points and Tyler Cook had 16 for Iowa (21-8, 10-8), which closed to 72-60 before allowing back-to-back dunks. The Hawkeyes shot just 8 of 29 on 3s.

It’s impossible to say whether McCaffery’s absence hurt the Hawkeyes. But he’s the coach for a reason. Iowa came out lethargic in front of a sellout crowd on Senior Day, and failed to make the halftime adjustments needed to at least make a game of it.
POLL IMPLICATIONS –
Iowa will almost certainly drop out of Monday’s poll.
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Iowa: At Wisconsin on Thursday night.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Bridget Carleton and Ashley Joens each scored 12 points in the first half as No. 20 Iowa State jumped out early and beat No. 18 Texas 82-73 on Saturday night. The Cyclones started on an 18-4 run and had a double-digit lead until late in the fourth quarter. Carleton finished with 23 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists, and surpassed 2,000 career points in the first quarter. Joens had 22 points. The pair combined for eight of Iowa State’s 12 3-pointers.

Iowa State (22-7, 12-5 Big 12) has won four of its last five games and has 12 conference wins for the first time since the 2012-13 season. Texas (21-8, 11-6) has lost three of four including a 64-35 defeat to top-ranked Baylor on Monday.

Sug Sutton had 16 of her 21 points in the second half to lead the Longhorns, who pulled within single digits in the last two minutes. Texas entered having won seven of the last eight meetings between the teams and was 10-5 at home against the Cyclones.

Class 4A State Championship: North Scott, Eldridge 50, Marion 49

Class 2A State Championship: Treynor 48, Grundy Center 30

Class 1A State Championship: Newell-Fonda 76, West Hancock, Britt 52

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Jase Febres scored a career-best 26 points, and Texas defeated Iowa State 86-69 Saturday. Febres, a sophomore, made eight 3-point baskets, also a career-best, in 10 attempts.

Courtney Ramey scored 18 for Texas (16-13, 8-8 in Big 12), Eli Mitrou-Long and Dylan Osetkowski had 13 apiece. Matt Coleman III made 10 assists. Marial Shayok led Iowa State (20-9, 9-7) with 22 points, and Lindell Wigginton scored 16. Starter Nick Weiler-Babb played just six minutes in the second half after suffering a bruised knee late in the first half.

Febres has started the last three games, replacing the suspended Kerwin Roach II. During those games Febres has hit 20 of 39 3-pointers. Texas center Jaxson Hayes left the game after getting hit in the face in the second half. A team spokesman said Hayes did not suffer a concussion.

Texas trailed by nine less than eight minutes into the game but outscored Iowa State 29-10 the rest of the half for a 12-point lead. Iowa State was scoreless for 3:47 late in the half. The Longhorns converted 6 of 12 3-pointers in the half, while Iowa State made just 1 of 7.

The Cyclones were without Cameron Lard, a 6-9 key reserve forward who was suspended for a violation of team rules. He was suspended for the month of November as well, also for a violation of team rules. Lard averages 6.8 points a game in Big 12 competition with 70 percent shooting accuracy from the field. Iowa State converted 6 of 17 3-pointers after hitting 11 of 23 while beating Oklahoma on Monday, including 8 of 14 in the second half.

Iowa State is at West Virginia on Wednesday. Iowa State beat West Virginia 93-68 on Jan. 30 in Ames. Wigginton scored 28 for the Cyclones, converting 7 of 11 from the field and 13 of 16 free throws.

(From IGHSAU) Konnor Sudmann’s best came just when her team needed it the most. Sudmann scored a career-high 34 points, including a huge 3-pointer in the fourth quarter, to help Treynor withstand a furious Central Decatur rally and beat the Cardinals 58-53 to reach the Class 2A championship game for the second time in three years.

Central Decatur, which had been unbeaten, stormed back from a 19-point deficit to trail 47-45 after Alli Masters converted a three-point play off a runner in the lane with 5:47 left. The momentum had swung completely to Central Decatur’s side, but Sudmann stemmed it a few seconds later when she got the ball on the left wing and drained her clutch 3.The 5-foot-9 senior followed that shot with a layup after Treynor broke the press, then continued to make plays down the stretch, sinking four straight free throws and coming up with a key steal by intercepting a long cross court pass when Treynor was clinging to a 55-51 lead.

Now it’s on to the title game for Treynor, which will meet top-ranked and unbeaten Grundy Center at 5 p.m. Saturday. Treynor is looking for a better finish this time after losing to Western Christian 51-48 in the 2017 championship game. Treynor won the Class 1A state championship back in 1994 and was second in 1A in 2006.

Central Decatur rallied from a 14-point deficit to beat Aplington-Parkersburg in the quarterfinals and was on the verge of an even more impressive comeback in this one.A 20-2 run spanning halftime had propelled Treynor into a 38-19 lead and left Central Decatur looking for a spark that would get them back into the game. The Cardinals found it in Masters, who scored 22 of her 24 points in the second half. She started the comeback with a 3-pointer and converted four traditional three-point plays as the Treynor lead kept shrinking. But Central Decatur could not get the combination of a stop and a basket it needed to take the lead and lost for the first time in 24 games.Emma Atwood added 19 points and eight rebounds for Central Decatur, which has compiled a sparkling 95-5 record over the last four years. All but one of those losses have come at the state tournament.

Kayla Chapman added nine points for Treynor, which is now 25-1.

CARBONDALE, Ill. (AP) — Becca Hittner scored 10 of her 23 points in the fourth quarter and No. 23 Drake held off a second-half rally to beat Southern Illinois 71-64 on Friday night.

Maddy Dean had six of her 19 points in the final 2½ minutes, including a deep 3-pointer from the wing that made it 66-59 with 47 seconds left. Dean finished 4 of 7 from 3-point range and Sammie Bachrodt added 14 points with two 3-pointers.

The Bulldogs (22-5, 14-1 Missouri Valley Conference) had their largest lead of the game late in the second quarter at 32-16. The Salukis (13-13, 6-9) outscored Drake 23-14 in the third quarter and got as close as 48-46 early in the fourth.

Southern Illinois never pushed in front, but four more times cut the deficit back to two, the last at 61-59 with 1:57 left.

Makenzie Silvey scored 15 points, Abby Brockmeyer had 12 points and eight rebounds, Kristen Nelson scored 10 and Nicole Martin had eight points and 11 rebounds for Southern Illinois.

Class 4A State Championship
3:00 p.m. – Marion (23-1) vs. North Scott (21-3)

Class 2A Championship
5:00 p.m. – Grundy Center (24-0) vs. Treynor (25-1)

Class 2A Semifinals
Grundy Center 59, Cascade 49
Treynor 58, Central Decatur 53

Class 1A Semifinals
Newell-Fonda 81, Marquette Catholic 56
West Hancock 59, Montezuma 50

Class 5A Championship
Valley, West Des Moines 65, Southeast Polk 60

Class 3A Championship
Center Point-Urbana 54, North Polk 36

The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast with Jim Field.

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Class 3A State Semifinal

Center Point-Urbana 55, Des Moines Christian 26

North Polk, Alleman 65, Waukon 49

Class 4A State Semifinal

Marion 75, Mason City 54

North Scott, Eldridge 75, Bishop Heelan Catholic, Sioux City 47

Class 5A State Semifinal

Southeast Polk 72, Dowling Catholic, West Des Moines 61

Valley, West Des Moines 76, Johnston 64, OT