PISCATAWAY, NJ — After a string of frustrating results, the Iowa men’s basketball clinched a potential season-saving victory against Indiana on Thursday. They’ll be looking to build a winning streak on the road against Rutgers on Sunday.
The Hawkeyes’ 21-point comeback win over the Hoosiers sparked a three-game losing streak and gave the team its first Big Ten win of the season. On Saturday, coach Fran McCaffery noted positive energy from the players with the knowledge that their goals are still ahead of them
“When you’re in those situations and you’re that close, those[losses]can be really frustrating and they can linger,” said McCaffery, whose team fell to Wisconsin in overtime and lost by four points at Penn State.
“I’m really happy that we were back in the slugfest and got the win. I think when the players celebrate together in the dressing room, that’s the culmination of hard work. And it also shows their ability and willingness to stick together.”
McCaffery knows there’s another challenge waiting for Iowa (9-6, 1-3 Big Ten Conference) on Sunday when the team plays Rutgers (11-4, 3-1) at 11 a.m. on the Big Ten Network.
Last year’s game at Rutgers (won by the Scarlet Knights 48-46) was a topic of conversation at Saturday’s Zoom meeting with reporters. The big advantage was that Iowa’s offense, which has been struggling to kick the ball lately, has to be executed against Rutgers’ stingy defense.
“I don’t think (Rutger’s defensive win) is that complicated,” McCaffery said. “They play really hard. They have size, they compete and they connect. They stay behind you and help if you have it (Rutgers center Clifford Omoruyi). He’s hard on the edge as a rim guard, he’s as good as he is receives.”
The Hawkeyes need to be executed consistently throughout the game, but the first half will be a focus. Iowa has struggled in the first half lately, and it’s happened in a variety of ways. A freezing gunfight in Nebraska plunged Iowa into an impassable hole. The following game against Penn State was defensively driven, and the Hawkeyes allowed Penn State to start 9-of-12 from the field en route to an 18-point deficit. Another slow start almost cost them Thursday against Indiana as lack of execution at either end of the court resulted in a 28-7 deficit.
Center Filip Rebraca cited an “enough is enough” mentality to explain how the Hawkeyes made a comeback. McCaffery said players will continue to be challenged to get better so they can be more successful in launching games.
“They have the option to change the starting line-up, which we had to do anyway in the last game without (Patrick McCaffery),” McCaffery said. “I don’t always jump on it because it suggests the person taking a lineup was the problem, and that’s not usually the case. We’re just challenging our guys to get better…the Indiana game, we just weren’t very good at it. We shuffled the deck a little and called a timeout, they jumped a little to boost the effort level and execution and obviously got we better.
“You can do more sets and less movement, you can play more zone and less man defense. I think there are tactical things you can do. But I just think you have to challenge your guys to be better from the opening tip all those things together.”
If Iowa is to fix its slow starts and stage an upset on Sunday, the team needs input from everyone. Iowa’s depth was an early history as seven players missed at least one game. Thursday’s win was a positive sign that McCaffery was getting good minutes from almost every player. Sunday will be close again (Patrick McCaffery is out indefinitely), but Fran McCaffery expressed confidence in the team’s ability to react again.
“It was sort of an ongoing process of ‘who’s on this game, who’s on this game?'” McCaffery said. “I’m not afraid to call their number and sometimes they play a different role. I think we’re kind of preparing for it. In practice, a guy like Josh Dix will take up more than one spot. Payton Sandfort is the same thing.
“I felt like we were going to bring some eclectic plays into the season and I was hoping not to have to deal with (injury) on a regular basis. But it’s a long season. It’s a physical challenge and we’ve had a tough schedule this year. But the boys took it well. I’m really proud of how they handled it.”
