Northwestern played its last true road game of the season Monday, visiting No. 24 Iowa in Iowa City with a chance to snag an upset win ahead of the Big Ten Tournament.

The Wildcats had no such luck, as the Hawkeyes ran them out of the gym 82-61 to likely doom them to the Big Ten Tournament’s dreaded first round.

Senior Night for Iowa began inauspiciously, as senior forward Pete Nance hit a jumper to put NU up 2-0 out of the gate. The Hawkeyes regrouped and reeled off nine consecutive points, capitalizing on a spate of Cats turnovers to take a 9-4 lead at the under-16. Iowa guard Connor McCaffrey drained a three out of the media timeout to extend the Hawkeyes’ lead.

NU got off to a woeful shooting start, making just two of its first 10 field goal attempts and going several minutes without scoring. Meanwhile, the Hawkeyes spread their scoring around, as six players tallied points in the first half. The Cats shot a listless 22.2% from the field and trailed 36-17 heading into the intermission. Sophomore guard Ty Berry, who scored eight points in the opening 20 minutes, was the only bright spot.

Iowa picked up right where it left off to start the second half, as Hawkeyes forward Keegan Murray scored, got fouled, and made the ensuing free throw. Meanwhile, junior guard Boo Buie did not play after halftime after coach Chris Collins noted pregame that he was feeling “under the weather.” Freshman guard Brooks Barnhizer got some rare minutes outside of garbage time and finished with seven points in 21 minutes.

Berry continued his success and finished with 19 points on the evening. But he couldn’t halt Iowa’s onslaught, as the Hawkeyes led by as many as 30 points en route to an 21-point triumph.

Takeaways

• Murray starts slowly, but finishes fast as Iowa thrives

Hours after being named Big Ten Player of the Week, forward Keegan Murray produced a mixed bag at first for the Hawkeyes. He wound up totaling 26 points on 16 shots and tallied 18 rebounds and three assists. Even on an occasionally inefficient night, Iowa prospered, getting 18 points from veteran guard Jordan Bohannon.

• Northwestern’s nonchalance with the basketball is costly

The Wildcats came out of the gate sloppily, racking up four turnovers in just over six minutes of game action. That number only increased; NU finished the evening with 15 giveaways against 11 for the Hawkeyes. The Cats had to take care of the basketball with Buie ailing but couldn’t get the job done.

• Five years after NCAA Tournament magic, Wildcats fans deserve better

Half a decade has nearly passed since NU’s first trip to the NCAA Tournament. The 2017 team seemed to set a new standard for basketball achievement in Evanston, as the Cats rewrote the narrative of college hoops’ most notorious hard-luck program. Since that false dawn, NU has gone nowhere, with losses like Monday’s piling up in bunches. After a season where students cheered the Cats in large numbers against quality programs like Wisconsin, Illinois and Purdue, it’s worth wondering when and under what circumstances NU will finally be able to compete with those teams on a consistent basis.

Related stories:

• Men’s Basketball: Penn State catches fire late to down Northwestern, 70-60
• Men’s Basketball: Northwestern can’t capitalize on Penn State’s sloppiness, suffers crushing road loss
• Rapid Recap: Penn State 67, Northwestern 60

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