Kris Murray gets career-high 30 points as Hawkeyes beat Omaha, 100-64

Iowa ahead Kris Murray (24) shoots in the course of the Hawkeyes’ XXXXX win over Omaha Monday evening at Carver-Hawkeye Enviornment. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette)

IOWA CITY — Sequels typically are watered-down variations of the originals.

That actually just isn’t the case with “The Murray Present,” which once more is taking part in to rave evaluations with Iowa males’s basketball observers.

Final season, in fact, Keegan Murray was an All-America ahead who averaged 23.5 factors for a Hawkeyes workforce that went 26-10. He had averaged 7.2 factors the season earlier than.

Keegan left for the Sacramento Kings final spring. Kris Murray, stayed. He has grabbed the torch from his twin brother, and is torching opponents to date this season.

Murray had a career-high 30 factors Monday evening in No. 25 Iowa’s 100-64 win over the Omaha Mavericks. That places his scoring common at 23.8, after he averaged 9.7 final season. He has 59 factors in his final two video games for the 4-0 Hawkeyes.

Murray had his first shot of the sport blocked.

“Yeah, I used to be form of mad,” he mentioned. “I don’t suppose I missed a shot until the final one (of the primary half).”

Appropriate. He made 11 straight makes an attempt together with three 3-pointers for a 25-point first-half, which ended with Iowa up 49-28. That was after a sluggish begin for the Hawkeyes, who led simply 10-9 within the seventh minute.

“We weren’t getting straightforward baskets early,” Iowa ahead Patrick McCaffery mentioned, “after which Kris acquired a few hundred of them. From then on, we had been form of rolling.”

Murray’s first-half efficiency eclipsed the 24 first-half markers Keegan Murray had towards Nebraska final Feb. 13. He was taken out of the sport with 8:40 left, so Kris nonetheless has Keegan’s career-high 37 to chase.

“I might have left him in there and he might actually have gone for a giant quantity,” Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery mentioned. “However we’re not going to perform something. I’m not going to get him harm. I acquired him out of there.”

Murray was named to the All-Massive Ten preseason workforce, however this was nonetheless a participant with one profession begin getting into the season. Dwelling as much as his brother’s 2021-22 accomplishments could be a burden for a lot of. Murray appears to be shouldering it simply nice.

“I feel folks get into evaluating us so much,” he mentioned. “and he undoubtedly had an excellent season final yr. It could be straightforward to simply form of fall into his shadow, I assume, however I do know I’m not the identical individual as him. I’m doing my very own factor at Iowa, attempting to take this workforce so far as I can.

“I feel we’re two totally different gamers, two totally different folks, and I assume it simply provides me just a little extra motivation to form of do what he did and just a little bit extra.”

No Murray is an island. Iowa made a dozen 3-pointers in 26 tries in rolling away. Patrick McCaffery scored the workforce’s first seven factors of the second half, and had 16 factors and three steals. Connor McCaffery had a season-high 12 factors and 4 assists.

Junior level guard Ahron Ulis, making his first profession begin as a result of Tony Perkins was held out with a thigh harm, made his first two 3-pointers of the yr, and had 4 assists.

“It was a giant alternative for me,” Ulis mentioned. “I’ve been attempting to begin my entire life. It’s a dream come true for most individuals rising up and I simply went on the market and took that chance and ran with it.”

“He’s prepared for that,” Fran McCaffery mentioned. “He performed like a veteran. … He was terrific.”

Freshman guard Josh Dix made three 3-pointers for 9 factors, and freshman guard Dasonte Bowen had 7 factors. These had been career-highs for each.

Dylan Broughan, who had the early swat on Murray, had six blocks. His workforce fell to 1-4. On Nov. 7, the Mavericks trailed Kansas by 13 factors at halftime in Lawrence and misplaced, 89-64.

They now play six straight video games towards groups from Energy 5 conferences, beginning with a conflict with Clemson Friday in a event in Niceville, Fla.

Then, it’s both TCU or California Saturday in Niceville, Georgia Tech in Iowa Metropolis subsequent Tuesday, Duke in New York, and Iowa State and Wisconsin in Carver.

Fran McCaffery doesn’t know if Perkins (averaging 13.3 factors and 5.3 assists) could be good to go this weekend, saying “I’d suppose, however he’s harm. I feel it’s occurred over time.”

The Iowa-Clemson recreation is Friday at 6 p.m. (CT) on CBS Sports activities Community. Clemson (4-1) defeated Loyola (Md.) Monday, 72-41.

Feedback: (319) 398-8440; mike.hlas@thegazette.com