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Garza scores 17, No. 5 Iowa routs Northwestern

G Fiume / Getty Images Sport / Getty

EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Luka Garza had 17 points and 10 rebounds in just 24 minutes, and No. 5 Iowa rolled to a 96-73 victory over Northwestern on Sunday.

Joe Wieskamp had 16 points and CJ Fredrick added 13 as the Hawkeyes (12-2, 6-1 in the Big Ten) won their fifth straight. Iowa and Michigan are tied for the conference lead.

Garza, who entered averaging 27.6 points, sat out the final 12 minutes because of the lopsided score. He was 7 for 12 from the field and scored all of his points in the first half.

Pete Nance had 16 points and Boo Buie added 12 for Northwestern (6-6, 3-5), which dropped its fifth in a row.

Northwestern got off to a solid start and led 29-28 with just under eight minutes left in the first half on the strength of four 3s by Buie.

Iowa then took control with 13 straight points, six by Jack Nunge. The Hawkeyes led 49-37 at the break and opened the second half with a 13-2 run for a 62-39 advantage.

BIG PICTURE

Iowa: The Hawkeyes were coming off a seven-day layoff because Thursday's game against Michigan State was postponed. It didn't affect their sharpness. The blowout win also allowed Garza to gain some added rest, which could pay off later in the season.

Northwestern: This was the Wildcats' sixth straight game against a ranked opponent. They won the first game of that stretch against Ohio State on Dec. 26 but have dropped the last five, all by double digits. The previous longest streak of ranked opponents was four.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

With the comfortable win, Iowa should remain in the top five when the new poll is released on Monday.

UP NEXT

Iowa: Hosts Indiana Thursday night.

Northwestern: At No. 9 Wisconsin Wednesday night.

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More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

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