Joe Wieskamp leads onslaught for No. 17 Iowa in home rout of Nebraska

IOWA CITY, Ia. — Joe Wieskamp didn't single-handedly crush the Nebraska basketball team Saturday.

Sometimes, he dunked with two hands.

Iowa's sophomore guard scored a career-high 30 points, 20 of them in the opening 10 minutes of a dominating second half to lead a 96-72 rout in front of a capacity crowd at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

The No. 17 Hawkeyes were coming off an embarrassing 104-68 loss Wednesday at Purdue. Nebraska had lost seven games in a row.

It was the perfect combination for an Iowa onslaught.

And Wieskamp was at the center of it all. He had gone 1-for-10 from the 3-point arc in a 76-70 loss to the Cornhuskers on Jan. 7 in Lincoln. He hit back-to-back shots from that distance early in the second half Saturday. Those accompanied an assortment of drives, dunks, free throws and plenty of smiles.

The Hawkeyes have won 11 consecutive home games but had to stage second-half rallies in the previous four. There was no such issue on Saturday.

Luka Garza added 22 points for Iowa, his ninth consecutive game of 20 or more.

The Hawkeyes (17-7, 8-5 Big Ten Conference) were at their best, and worst, in the first half.

It started with a 13-2 Iowa run, including a 93-second stretch that produced 11 points and prompted Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg to take a timeout 3:05 into the game.

The Hawkeyes eventually built a 25-9 lead and appeared to be off and running.

Then came the crawling.

Iowa went 8 minutes without scoring while Nebraska (7-16, 2-10) chipped away with 12 points.

After 11 consecutive missed shots for the home team, it was Wieskamp, of course, who split the Cornhusker defense for a layup. He followed with a jumper. Connor McCaffery added another. The Hawkeyes looked to be back in control.

In the final possession of the half, the ball ended up in the hands of Iowa freshman CJ Fredrick, who had made just one of his first 8 shots. He was tightly guarded 30 feet from the basket but had no option other than to launch a one-handed shot. It swished through the net for a 41-30 Iowa lead.

It was that kind of evening for the Hawkeyes.

Iowa next plays at Indiana on Thursday.

Mark Emmert covers the Iowa Hawkeyes for the Register. Reach him at memmert@registermedia.com or 319-339-7367. Follow him on Twitter at @MarkEmmert.

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