Red-hot Wildcats throttle visiting Hawkeyes

Boo Buie scored 23 for NU, which earned 10 conference wins for just the fourth time ever

Chase Audige

Northwestern guard Chase Audige (1) battles for a rebound against Iowa forward Payton Sandfort, left, guard Connor McCaffery, second from left, forward Filip Rebraca (0) and Northwestern forward Tydus Verhoeven (10) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Evanston, Ill., Sunday, Feb. 19, 2023.

Nam Y. Huh/AP

Boo Buie finished with 23 points and eight assists and Northwestern cruised to a wire-to-wire 80-60 victory over Iowa on Sunday at Welsh-Ryan Arena to up its win streak to five.

Buie made 6 of 11 shots from the floor with three 3-pointers and all eight of his free throws for the Wildcats (20-7, 11-5 Big Ten). Ty Berry hit three 3-pointers and scored 16. Brooks Barnhizer came off the bench to score 12 and grab a team-high seven rebounds.

Kris Murray finished with 14 points and five rebounds to pace the Hawkeyes (17-10, 9-7). Tony Perkins scored 11 and Filip Rebraca pitched in with 10 points and seven boards.

Buie sank 4 of 6 shots with two 3-pointers, scoring 14 to guide Northwestern to a 37-26 lead at halftime. Murray had nine points at intermission for Iowa, but he missed all four of his 3-pointers as the Hawkeyes made just 2 of 17 from beyond the arc. Robbie Beran had a layup 13 seconds into the game and the Wildcats never trailed.

Murray had a three-point play to pull the Hawkeyes within 47-40 with 13:47 remaining, but they would get no closer. Brooks Barnhizer answered with a 3-pointer and two free throws to spark a 10-2 run and Northwestern cruised from there. Berry scored six straight on a four-point play and two free throws to give the Wildcats their biggest lead 71-47 with 4:52 to go.

Northwestern, which has won eight of its last 10 to move into second place in the Big Ten behind Purdue, entered play with back-to-back wins over the then-No. 1 Boilermakers and No. 14 Indiana.

The Wildcats have five wins over ranked teams this season. Their 20 wins are the most since the 2016-17 season when they won a program-record 24. The Wildcats have won 10 or more Big Ten games for only the fourth time in program history.

UP NEXT

Northwestern: The Wildcats travel to play Illinois on Thursday.

Iowa: The Hawkeyes travel to play Wisconsin on Wednesday.

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