NCAA BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT : Iowa Wins by Stepping Up to the Line, 102-98

When the dust finally settled after Iowa’s victory over Florida State in a National Collegiate Athletic Assn. West Regional basketball game at Pauley Pavilion Friday night, there had been 200 points scored, 40 three-point bombs launched, 46 fouls called (including a technical foul on a surprised Hawkeye for wearing a gold chain) and four Seminole players fouled out.

Florida State Coach Pat Kennedy had been sent to the training room for treatment of a back injury incurred when he leaped from his chair to comment on one of those foul calls.

And Iowa Coach Tom Davis had joked that his Hawkeyes’ 102-98 victory was a little conservative by Loyola Marymount’s standards.

If it’s spring, this must be the NCAAs.

As Davis put it, “I’m pleased with the game. If you get to the tournament and start getting too picky about how you want to look winning a game, you’ve got to be kidding yourself. Every team in the tournament is too good a ballclub.”

And some of the only-at-this-time-of-year matchups get pretty good, too.

Florida State (a Metro Conference team seeded 12th in this regional with a record of 19-10) certainly looked good in coming back from a 16-point deficit to take a brief lead, 93-92, with three minutes left on one of guard George McCloud’s five three-pointers. (He attempted 13.)

McCloud fouled out less than a minute later. Then center Brad Johnson fouled out. Then guard Tharon Mayes fouled out. Then reserve guard Derrick Mitchell fouled out.

But Iowa (a Big Ten team seeded fifth in this regional with a record of 22-9) advanced to its Sunday game against Nevada Las Vegas when guard B.J. Armstrong made 4 of his career-high 35 points from the free-throw line in the final minutes.

Iowa was up by just four points, 99-95, when Armstrong scored two on his last one-and-one with 13 seconds left.

Seminole forward Tony Dawson, who led his team with 30 points, said: “It seemed like they were only blowing whistles on one end.”

But Florida State’s coach seemed quite understanding of the 32-14 disparity in the number of fouls called.

“When they get back in their 3-2 zone, they hardly ever commit a foul,” Kennedy said. “One of their final stats shows that they shoot twice as many free throws as their opponents. Getting back in that zone protects you.

“When you press 40 minutes every game,you learn how to press without fouling. Our fouls were committed out of great effort and great hustle.”

And desperation down the stretch.

Even knowing that Iowa often shoots twice as many free throws as its opponent, it had to be a little unsettling to see that this time the Hawkeyes shot almost four times as many, 43-11. Armstrong made 16 of 20 from the line.

Iowa had taken control of the tempo, using its press to force turnovers and start the fast break.

“It looked like we were going to have an easy go of it midway in the second half,” Davis said, “but they made a nice comeback with some good defense, and they took us to the wire. With only one senior, that’s a really nice job by a young team.”

Kennedy expects more success for Iowa in the tournament, noting, “Iowa shot 60% in a very, very tough ballgame. They have that kind of capability. They have good balance.”