Kris Murray scores 30 as No. 25 Iowa blows out Omaha

Iowa forward Kris Murray runs up court during a NCAA men's basketball game against North Carolina A&T, Friday, Nov. 11, 2022, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa.

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Credit: Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK

Kris Murray scored 30 points to lead Iowa to a 100-64 win over Omaha on Monday in a preliminary game of the Emerald Coast Classic in Iowa City, Iowa.

Murray went 13 of 17 from the field, including 4 of 6 from 3-point range, in scoring a season high.

He also had seven rebounds and two blocks.

Patrick McCaffery added 16 points and three steals for the Hawkeyes (4-0), who scored at least 100 points for the second time in four games.

Iowa shot 55.4 percent from the field (36 of 65), 46.2 percent from beyond the arc (12 of 26) and outrebounded Omaha 40-29.

Jaeden Marshall scored nine points to lead Omaha (1-4), which had 11 players score in the game.

The Mavericks shot 44.4 percent from the floor, but were just 3 of 14 from 3-point range.

Iowa started to separate itself midway through the first half, going on an 11-1 run to take a 28-12 lead with 9:21 remaining before the break.

Omaha managed to cut Iowa’s lead to 32-20 with 5:52 remaining in the first half, but a 13-4 run by the Hawkeyes gave Iowa a 45-24 lead with 2:35 left until halftime.

Murray scored 25 of his 30 points in the first half, going 11-for-13 from the field and 3-for-4 from 3-point range in nearly outscoring Omaha all by himself through the first 20 minutes of action.

Iowa led 49-28 at halftime, but Omaha played the Hawkeyes fairly even in the first portion of the second half before trailing 71-46 with 11:53 remaining.

From there, Iowa built a bigger lead, going on an 8-0 run that included five points from McCaffery to grab a 79-46 advantage with 9:29 left.

The Hawkeyes then went on an 11-2 surge later in the half to go up 90-52 with 5:34 remaining.

Omaha committed 14 turnovers in the game, while Iowa had nine.

–Field Level Media

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