IOWA CITY – Gophers coach Ben Johnson was searching for a consistent third scorer in Big Ten play this season to support his go-to guys Payton Willis and Jamison Battle.
Gophers see Luke Loewe's confidence continue to grow offensively in loss at Iowa
The senior guard from Wisconsin led the Gophers with 19 points Sunday, including a half-court buzzer-beater.
February 7, 2022 at 3:15AM
Lately that extra offensive spark has come from Luke Loewe, who tied his season-high with 19 points in Sunday's 71-59 loss against Iowa.
Loewe, a 6-4 senior guard from Fond Du Lac, Wis., scored in double figures for the fourth time in five games Sunday, while shooting 7-for-9 from the field, including 4-for-5 from three-point range.
"He looked good offensively, but that doesn't really surprise me," Johnson said. "Luke's been a guy who all year offensively he's got it. He just had to have the confidence to do it. He's put a couple games together here where he's making shots and that's always good to see."
The highlight of the game for the Gophers was Loewe's buzzer-beating halfcourt shot to give them a 38-34 halftime lead.
Loewe, who averages 7.5 points, had 11 points in the first half, which already matched his scoring average in the previous four games. His best game before Sunday was another 19- point game when the Gophers were down three starters in a 68-63 home victory over Rutgers on Jan. 22.
Willis finished with 11 of his 16 points in the first half Sunday. But Battle struggled to shake double teams and had just two points on 1-for-12 shooting against the Hawkeyes. Loewe's aggressiveness offensively was a much-needed spark for the Gophers until the game got away from them in the second half.
"[The halfcourt shot] was a little momentum boost before halftime," said Loewe, a William & Mary transfer. "But the game is 40 minutes. We just have to tighten it up a bit in the second half."
Assistant leads Hawkeyes
Hawkeyes coach Fran McCaffery missed Sunday's game after testing positive for COVID-19, but players had confidence in assistant Billy Taylor taking over as acting coach against the Gophers.
Taylor, who served as Iowa's director of basketball from 2014 to '16, is in his third season on McCaffery's staff, but he had head coaching experience at Lehigh, Ball State, and Division II Belmont Abbey.
"Coach Taylor did an excellent job prepping us for this game," Iowa star Keegan Murray said. "Really helped us set the standard that Fran left."
The Gophers are still in the 18-team Big Ten’s top half -- for now, at least -- and Nebraska hopes to keep climbing.
