Iowa

Payton Sandfort might be the most important player to Iowa basketball’s potential success

Published

2 years ago

January 7, 2024

Payton Sandfort might be the most important player to Iowa basketball’s potential success

IOWA CITY — The Iowa men’s basketball team entered the halftime break against Rutgers on Saturday in all-too-familiar fashion.

The Hawkeyes, who led by as many as 16 late in the first half, had that advantage get sliced down — in part due to three awful possessions to end the half. Rutgers hit a three and then, out of a timeout, Iowa turned the ball over before the Scarlet Knights drained another shot from deep.

Iowa, as it has done previously this season, finished the first half on a sour note.

The Hawkeyes still led 41-34, but it felt like it could’ve been much more.

“In the locker room, we were talking about, we have to start fast, we have to throw the first punch,” junior Payton Sandfort said.

They did. And Sandfort played a major part in it.

Game story: Iowa basketball earns first Big Ten win of season with victory over Rutgers

In a span of just more than two minutes to start the second half, Sandfort scored eight points, which included knocking down two triples.

That stretch did not put away Rutgers outright, but it did keep the Scarlet Knights an arm’s distance away after a conclusion to the first half in which they seized some momentum.

It was part of an outstanding performance for Sandfort, who had a season-high 24 points on an extremely efficient 8-of-12 from the field, 5-of-8 from deep and 3-of-3 from the free throw line. It helped the Hawkeyes to an 86-77 victory over Rutgers, marking a breakthrough first Big Ten win this season for Iowa.

Sandfort said postgame: “The basket felt like the ocean, which was a good feeling.”

Fran McCaffery talks becoming program’s leader in Big Ten wins

Iowa coach Fran McCaffery discusses a variety of topics following the Hawkeyes’ win over Rutgers.

Saturday’s performance does amplify the notion that Sandfort might just be the most important player to Iowa’s success this season.

There’s irony in that claim because, even in the absence of Patrick McCaffery on Saturday due to illness, Iowa got contributions from a handful of players.

Ben Krikke, who has turned out to be a phenomenal addition from the transfer portal, had 19 points and 10 rebounds. Owen Freeman, who is proving to be one of the best freshmen in the Big Ten, and veteran Tony Perkins chipped in 15 points each. Josh Dix, making his second career start, stuffed the stat sheet with seven points, four rebounds and four assists.

Krikke, Freeman and Perkins are among the players who are paramount to what Iowa does this season. They can be difference-makers.

But Sandfort might be the most crucial and perhaps the most plausible option to help Iowa get to where it wants to be this season. His ability to go nuclear offensively unlocks another dimension for this Iowa team.

Simply put, if Sandfort is doing his thing, Iowa is difficult to stop.

Krikke said of Sandfort: “It just brings a different level when he’s on.”

Ben Krikke posts double-double in Iowa’s win over Rutgers

Ben Krikke discusses a variety of topics following Iowa’s win over Rutgers.

There was optimism entering this season that Sandfort would break out as one of the Big Ten’s best. He had shown enough flashes in his first two seasons at Iowa to spur belief that it was possible. It’s not like Sandfort has played poorly this season (he entered Saturday averaging 13.5 points per game), but he hasn’t had the major leap that some anticipated.

Some of that might be due to the fact that Sandfort has moved into a more prominent role after spending his first two seasons in the shadows of Keegan and Kris Murray, who became first-round NBA draft picks. Roster turnover this off-season, coupled with Sandfort’s ability, meant it was his turn to become a high-volume scorer.

“It’s hard moving into a new role,” Sandfort said. “You’re on top of the scouting report so you kinda have to find new ways to score. But if I can get myself in a rhythm and just go out there and play my game, quit thinking about it, I think that’s where I can excel.”

More: Another Caitlin Clark triple-double powers No. 3 Iowa women’s basketball past Rutgers

At times this season, Sandfort has straddled his former role as a secondary option with what Iowa needs from him now. That has manifested during multiple games.

Sandfort failed to score in the first half of a loss to Michigan, finishing with 10 points. In Iowa’s blowout loss to Iowa State, Sandfort had 14 points in the first half but was shut out in the second. That played out similarly during Iowa’s loss to Wisconsin, where Sandfort had nine points in the first half but none in the second.

“I’ve kinda fallen into that role of kinda just disappearing in some moments,” Sandfort said. “So I have to keep up the energy that I had in 20 minutes last year for the full 35 or 40, whatever it is this year, which can be a hard thing. But it’s something that I’ve earned. It’s something that I want.”

But if Sandfort is on, it is dangerous for opponents — as Saturday proved.

“We were well aware of his ability to do that,” Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell said of Sandfort. “And when they win games, he usually has nights like that.”

The growing pains Sandfort has endured this season are similar to that which Iowa has faced as a whole.

A brutal three-game stretch in December, in which Iowa lost to Purdue, Iowa State and Michigan by a combined 54 points, raised some legitimate concern. Before Saturday’s matchup with Rutgers, Iowa was 1-6 against power-six opponents, including a 0-3 mark in the Big Ten.

Iowa bucked that trend on Saturday. Rutgers, for what it’s worth, hasn’t been especially impressive this season. But that also means a loss to the Scarlet Knights would’ve sent Iowa spiraling even further into murky waters.

Iowa’s win on Saturday provided much-needed movement in the right direction. As Iowa turns toward two manageable games on the horizon — against Nebraska (home) and Minnesota (away) — Saturday’s win provides a launching point in which Iowa can continue to ascend.

Iowa needs more of what it did against Rutgers.

The same can be said for Sandfort.

“Today we did a good job,” Sandfort said. “It was a good first step.”

Follow Tyler Tachman on X @Tyler_T15, contact via email at ttachman@gannett.com

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Iowa

Iowa House OKs ‘3 strikes’ bill with 20-year prison terms. What to know

Published

11 hours ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

Iowa House OKs ‘3 strikes’ bill with 20-year prison terms. What to know

Iowans who commit multiple serious crimes would face a mandatory 20-year prison sentence under a “three strikes” bill passed by House lawmakers.
Republicans said the bill would keep Iowans safe and “prioritize victims and public safety over criminals.”
A nonpartisan state agency says the bill would disproportionately impact Black Iowans and could require the state to spend millions to build a new prison.

Repeat offenders convicted of multiple serious crimes would receive a mandatory 20-year prison sentence under a bill passed by House lawmakers.

House lawmakers debated for more than an hour about high costs, lack of prison space and the bill’s impact on Black Iowans before voting 68-23 to pass House File 2542, sending it to the Iowa Senate.

Seven Democrats, including Minority Leader Brian Meyer, D-Des Moines, joined Republicans in voting in favor of the bill.

“It will put public safety first,” said the bill’s floor manager, Rep. Steven Holt, R-Denison. “It will ensure that the debt to victims and society is paid. It will prioritize victims and public safety over criminals. It will establish real and effective deterrence that is nonexistent in our current system. It will reduce chaos and violence in our society.”

Here’s what to know about the bill.

What would the House Republican three strikes bill do?

Iowans who accumulate three strikes would face a mandatory 20-year prison sentence, with no parole, under the bill.

That would replace Iowa’s current law that says habitual offenders must serve a minimum three-year prison sentence before they are eligible for parole.

All felonies, as well as aggravated misdemeanors involving sexual abuse, domestic abuse, assault and organized retail theft would be considered level-one offenses that are worth one full strike.

Other aggravated misdemeanors, as well as serious misdemeanors involving assault, domestic abuse and criminal mischief would be considered level-two offenses worth half a strike each.

Lawmakers amended the bill to remove theft, harassment and possession of a controlled substance from the crimes that would count toward a person’s strikes.

And the amendment specifies that the bill would only apply to convictions that occur beginning July 1, 2026.

If someone is arrested and convicted of multiple offenses, only the most serious charge would count towards the defendant’s strikes.

Convictions would not count toward someone’s total if more than 20 years passes between a prior conviction and their current conviction.

Rep. Ross Wilburn, D-Ames, tried unsuccessfully to amend the bill to say that only a violent crime would qualify as someone’s third strike, but Republicans rejected the amendment.

“The bill still scores murder, felony embezzlement and felony theft the same, even though they are very different crimes,” Wilburn said. “One point is one point and three gets you 20 years with no ability for parole or judicial discretion.”

Holt said the legislation leaves room for judicial and prosecutorial discretion.

“There are deferred sentences, there are plea bargains,” he said. “There is plenty of opportunity for grace and judicial discretion in the legislation that we are proposing.”

Bill could cost millions, require Iowa to build a new prison, agency says

A fiscal analysis of the bill by the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency said it could cost Iowa nearly $165 million more per year by 2031 based on the cost of housing inmates for longer prison stays.

FY 2027: $33 million
FY 2028: $66 million
FY 2029: $99 million
FY 2030: $132 million
FY 2031: $164.9 million

The agency said if the bill had been in effect between fiscal year 2020 and fiscal year 2025, there would have been 5,373 people who qualified for the 20-year mandatory minimum sentence.

“An increase in the prison population due to increased (length of stay) will require the DOC to build additional prison(s),” the agency states. “The size, security and other features that a future prison may require cannot be determined, but costs would be significant.”

The analysis noted that South Dakota appropriated $650 million last fall to build a 1,500-bed prison.

As of March 1, the Iowa Department of Corrections’ website describes the state’s prison system as being overcrowded by 25%, with 8,705 inmates compared to a capacity of 6,990.

The Office of the State Public Defender could see a projected cost increase of $1.6 million due to an increased number of trials resulting from the legislation.

But the agency’s estimates come with a caveat — the Department of Corrections did not respond to its requests for data.

“The LSA has not received a response to multiple requests for information from the DOC,” the note states. “Without additional information, the LSA cannot estimate the total fiscal impact of the bill.”

Holt called the fiscal note “an embarrassment to the Department of Corrections” and “an agenda masquerading as math.”

“It is clear, in my judgment, that because they did not like the legislation they went all out and extreme to create a fiscal note that cannot be taken seriously in its assumptions,” he said. “It assumes that nothing will change, that there will be no deterrent factor and that the numbers will continue as usual.”

Black Iowans would be disproportionately impacted by the law

The Legislative Services Agency analysis says the bill “may disproportionately impact Black individuals if trends remain constant.”

Of the 29,438 people convicted in fiscal year 2025 of felonies and aggravated misdemeanors that constitute a level one offense under the bill, the agency said about 70% were White, 22% were Black and 9% were other races.

Iowa’s overall population is 83% White, 4% Black and 13% other races, the agency said.

It’s not clear how the bill’s impact would change to account for the House amendment removing some crimes from counting towards the three strikes.

“Expanding three-strike laws will intensify disparities — and that’s what this statement shows — by mandating longer sentences, limiting judicial discretion,” Wilburn said. “We already have a habitual offender statute. We already have one in place. We have a 10-year low in recidivism in our correctional system.”

Rep. Angel Ramirez, D-Cedar Rapids, said California’s three strikes law, passed in the 1990s, worsened racial disparities, and “Iowa is about to repeat the same mistake.”

“I urge every member here, do not pass legislation that our own minority impact statement tells us will deepen inequality in our state,” Ramirez said.

Holt said minority communities in Iowa are impacted by crime and that the legislation “will make citizens of all colors safer.”

And he said the minority impact statement “tells only one side of the story, doesn’t it? It tells the criminal’s story. What about the victim’s story?”

“What about the mother who will continue to tuck her kids in at night and read them Bible stories because she never became the next victim of a violent career criminal?” he said. “Where is that data point in the minority impact statement?”

House lawmakers also approved separate legislation that would increase Iowa’s statewide bond schedule, Senate File 2399.

That bill passed on a vote of 74-19.

Iowans could see more information on judges’ rulings

Iowans would have access to more information about judges’ rulings ahead of the state’s judicial retention elections under a separate measure, House File 2719, which passed on a 73-19 vote.

The Iowa secretary of state’s office would be required to publish information including:

The percentage of cases in which the judge set a bond amount lower than the state’s bond schedule
The frequency that the judge releases someone on their own recognizance for a violent offense compared to a nonviolent offense
The frequency that the judge’s final sentence is lower than statutory recommendations or a prosecutor’s recommendations
The number of times the judge issues a deferred judgement, deferred sentence or suspended sentence
The number of times the judge’s rulings are reversed on appeal due to abuse of discretion or error of law
The average time it takes the judge to rule on a motion or case
The number of cases the judge has resolved compared to the number of cases on the judge’s docket

The data would have to be displayed with a five-year trend line beginning five years after the bill takes effect.

The Secretary of State’s Office would also be required to maintain a searchable database of all judicial opinions and orders for the judge’s current term and the preceding six years. The decisions would be redacted when appropriate.

And judges would have the opportunity to write a 2,000-word personal statement on their judicial philosophy or data trends present in their rulings.

Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on X at @sgrubermiller.

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Iowa

Man sentenced for killing 4 people appeals his sentence to the Iowa Supreme Court

Published

23 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Man sentenced for killing 4 people appeals his sentence to the Iowa Supreme Court

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – Luke Truesdell’s attorney has filed as of Sunday to appeal his sentence to the Iowa Supreme Court.

Truesdell was sentenced last week to three consecutive life sentences plus 50 years for the deaths of four people killed in rural Linn County.

A jury convicted Luke Truesdell, 36, in November on the first-degree murder of Brent Brown, 34; his girlfriend, Keonna Ryan, 26, of Cedar Rapids; and Amanda Parker, 33, of Vinton. They also found him guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Romondus Cooper, 44, of Cedar Rapids.

His attorneys previously argued multiple reasons for a retrial that could potentially be brought up again.

They said that one juror was overheard talking about news on the case.

They also said the prosecutors inflamed the jury, rather than focusing on the facts.

His lawyers said there is no direct evidence that Truesdell committed the murders.

Truesdell’s defense also pointed to Truesdell’s father, Larry Tuesdell, who was found covered in blood at the scene but never fully investigated. Authorities have not been able to locate Larry.

The state disagreed, citing overwhelming evidence including DNA on the murder weapon, eyewitness testimony and video of Truesdell entering the garage where the four people were found dead.

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Iowa

2026 Iowa high school boys basketball state tournament brackets, schedule

Published

1 day ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

2026 Iowa high school boys basketball state tournament brackets, schedule

The Iowa high school boys state basketball tournament is just around the corner and the full field has now been set.

By March 13, four teams will be crowned state champions and there are plenty of worthy squads vying for the title. On Tuesday, the final brackets were released and we now have a clear picture of the eight teams in each class hoping to take home the trophy.

Here’s a look at the first-round pairings and the full state tournament schedule for next week’s IHSAA action.