Woodbury's buzzer-beater sends Iowa to second round

Adam Woodbury's putback at buzzer gave Iowa 72-70 overtime victory over Temple. Hawkeyes will face Villanova in second round of NCAA Tournament Sunday. (Photo courtesy of the Associated Press)

By Josh Adams (@NCAAhoopsdigest)

SPECIAL TO DALY DOSE OF HOOPS 

NEW YORK, NY-- Two programs that both have coaches named Fran faced off against each other at Barclays Center Friday afternoon, and Fran McCaffery's Iowa Hawkeyes bested Fran Dumphy's Temple Owls in overtime by the score of 72-70 in first-round NCAA Tournament action.

The Hawkeyes used efficient ball control and turnover-free basketball, with Iowa's Jarrod Uthoff leading all scorers with 22 points to take down the regular season American Athletic Association regular season champion Owls. Both halves followed a similar pattern, where the Hawkeyes would start the half shooting hot but gradually cooling down and allowing Temple's methodical offense, behind Quenton DeCosey and Jaylen Bond to gobble up points in the frontcourt. Iowa was up 12 at the eight-minute mark of the first half, but Temple clamped down on defense and Bond became more involved in the offense, scoring on multiple layups along with DeCosey as the Owls stormed back before the half to cut the Hawkeyes lead to one at the half, 38-37. Uthoff paced all scorers with 14 points in the opening stanza, while DeCosey had 12. 

The second half was almost a carbon copy of the first half, with Iowa quickly building a lead behind outside shooting before going ice cold in the second half. DeCosey was the catalyst for the Owls' run and used his athletic prowess underneath the rim to convert several easy attempts, as the Iowa frontcourt had almost no answer for him.

The Owls caught a big break late in the second half when down by three with two seconds left in regulation, as DeCosey was fouled by the Hawkeyes' Anthony Clemmons while attempting a three-pointer. The senior, and New Jersey native, calmly sank all three free throws and sent the game into overtime. 

In the extra session, the teams went back and forth with the lead fluctuating between the two teams. With the game tied at 70, Iowa's Mike Gesell went up for a desperation jumper, which was rebounded by center Adam Woodbury and put in the basket with no time left on the clock to give the Hawkeyes and their fans a 72-70 victory. The jubilant Hawkeyes sprinted off the court while the Owls looked stunned, as the Temple careers of Bond and DeCosey came to an end. 

Asked after the game about his game winning shot, Woodbury commented, "Coach always tells me get on the glass every possession. So I knew that, if he got it -- if Mike (Gesell) got a good look at it and it was a little long, I'd be able to get the offensive rebound. I was fortunate enough to put it in, and just one of those right place, right time kind of deals, and happy we got it in." 

Iowa plays Villanova in the second round on Sunday. The Wildcats manhandled UNC Asheville, 86-56, in an early afternoon game in the South Regional. 

Game Quotes 

"I think the hardest thing, if you think about it -- okay, we jumped them in overtime. Well, they came back again, and they took the lead again. I think that's really hard. And that's why I have so much respect for how we kept fighting because we didn't shoot it well in overtime. But we did enough to win the game."-- Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery 

"They're just wonderful guys (Bond, DeCosey) and they took good care of me in their time frame at Temple University. I was proud of a couple of different efforts -- Quenton DeCosey making three foul shots, that's a tough chore, and he stepped up and did that. One other play that just kind of stands out is Josh Brown on an unbelievable block in transition that just said, I'm representing my team. We're not going to quit, and I'm going to give every ounce of effort I can. So those two, in particular, stand out. We had our chances, and, again, credit to Iowa."-- Temple Coach Fran Dunphy