Tu Holloway scored 17 of his 28 points in the second half as Xavier remained unbeaten with an 86-73 victory over Iowa on Friday night in the first round of the Paradise Jam.
The Musketeers (3-0) will play Sunday against Seton Hall. The Hawkeyes (1-2) will face Alabama on Saturday.
Xavier led by 22 points with 10:25 remaining before Iowa whittled the margin to eight points, 79-71, at the 2:00 mark.
Holloway and Jamel McLean then put the game away for Xavier from the free-throw line. Holloway made all four of his attempts and McLean 3 of 4. Holloway was 16 of 18 from the line in the game.
Mark Lyons contributed 18 points and Jeff Robinson 15 off the bench for Xavier, which outshot Iowa 53.2 percent (25 of 47) to 35.3 percent (24 of 68).
Matt Gatens scored 15 points to lead the Hawkeyes, and Devon Archie had 10 points and 11 rebounds.
