By John Bohnenkamp
Iowa will eventually have its full complement of post players.
But the production from inside that the Hawkeyes have received in the first three games of the season has shown their frontcourt depth.
Iowa was without sophomore Owen Freeman in Tuesday’s game against South Dakota, but got Seydou Traore back in time to contribute to the 96-77 win at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Iowa coach Fran McCaffery used everyone inside, including guard Carter Kingsbury, and came away with a 40-36 edge in points in the paint and a 40-37 rebounding edge.
The Hawkeyes (3-0) also survived leading scorer and rebounder Payton Sandfort fouling out with just 12 points and four rebounds.
McCaffery talked at the beginning of the season about how this was a deep team, and the Hawkeyes showed that in this game.
He got almost six minutes from senior Even Brauns, eight second-half minutes from RIley Mulvey, and more than 16 minutes from freshman Cooper Koch.
“Just really proud of our bench,” McCaffery said. “With 37 points off the bench, we got great play. Not only was Owen not here, Payton’s in foul trouble. Ladji (Dembele) is in foul trouble. And that’s what the real good teams do. Somebody else steps up and plays well. They were all great.”