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Iowa Basketball: Four Takeaways From Conference Play

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 1:45 p.m. ET

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Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

Four takeaways from Iowa basketball’s 3-4 start in Big Ten play

Iowa basketball sits near the bottom of the conference with an 11-9 overall record and 3-4 record in conference play. Through almost a month of Big Ten basketball, the young Iowa Hawkeyes have grown a lot but continue to be inconsistent.

The Hawkeyes have a 22-point loss to Purdue and 35-point loss to Northwestern this season, but they also have big wins over Purdue, Michigan and almost upset Maryland at home on Thursday night.

Playing in close games against good teams might be the most important experience Iowa gets this season, even if it comes at the cost of Peter Jok‘s amazing senior season. Still, Iowa is holding their own in the Big Ten this season and should by no means be viewed as an easy win for the better teams in the conference.

Despite all the bad games and head-scratching plays, Iowa basketball’s future is evidently bright with the way their freshmen have played this season. With the addition of Ryan Kriener in the rotation, Iowa now have four freshmen starters and another playing a vital role off the bench.

Iowa’s main goal this season is to continue improving for the future and try to pull a couple of upsets on the way. 11-9 is a huge step down from last season, but it hasn’t been all bad for the Hawkeyes.

Here are four takeaways from their 3-4 conference start.

Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Slow Starts

Iowa has not been able to bounce back from slow starts this season. The Hawkeyes are 0-3 when down 8-0 to start games in conference play. Besides the fact that they haven’t won a game when trailing early, already having three games with terrible starts is a lot through seven conference games.

In fact, Iowa has only scored first in two conference games this season and has trailed by at least five in the first five minutes in every Big Ten game so far.

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It’s telling of their lack of focus going into games, which hurt them in their 22-point loss and 35-point loss this season. Even against Maryland on Thursday when Iowa only lost by eight but had a chance to win, their slow start led to them trailing by as many as 15 points.

It leads to Iowa looking panicked if they can’t respond right away and relying too much on Peter Jok and three-point shooting. In turn, it causes Iowa to dig themselves in a bigger hole and use all their energy getting back into the game instead of in crunch time.

The Hawkeyes have also only led or been tied at halftime twice in seven games. They won both games they didn’t trail at halftime, too. Although, it shows how Iowa’s slow start snowballs until the second half when Iowa needs to go on a run to stay in the game.

Iowa went on a run against Maryland on Thursday, even if they fell short in the end, but when they don’t it results in a 35-point loss to Northwestern.

Younger teams take longer to find their rhythm at the start of games, and it has hurt Iowa this season. Playing with the lead is a lot easier, but falling behind early has been their Achilles heel so far.

Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

Resilience

It’s easy for young teams to hang their heads and quit when going down early. In some cases, Iowa’s outside shot wasn’t falling and it led to poor play on defense and worse losses. Although for the most part, the Hawkeyes have responded well when they put themselves in early holes.

Sure they’re only 1-4 when trailing at halftime, but they usually fight back and keep themselves in the game. Their 1-4 record is more telling of their inability to finish, as they forced double-overtime against Nebraska and had a chance to beat Maryland, too.

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The Hawkeyes have outscored five of their seven opponents in the second half. The only two times they failed to do so in conference play so far was in their win against Michigan and blowout loss to Northwestern.

Iowa even managed to outscore Purdue 42-40 in the second half of their 22-point loss. Purdue didn’t put in their backups until late in the game, too, therefore it’s telling of the heart this young team has. They could have quit at halftime knowing the game was over, but they came to play in the second half, nonetheless.

Iowa’s free-throw shooting and play late in games needs to be better moving forward, but they keep themselves in games even when going down early. Fran McCaffery has his team fighting the whole way. The Hawkeyes could easily be 5-2 if they played better down the stretch.

Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

Peter Jok is a Stud

Peter Jok cemented himself as one of the best players in the nation before conference play, but he continues to show why leaving him off the Wooden Award watch list is semi-criminal.

He leads the Big Ten in scoring at 21.6 per game, which is 3.2 points more than Caleb Swanigan who is second in the conference. Also, he’s done it by shooting a ridiculous 44.3 percent from the field, 39 percent from three and a Big Ten-high 91.2 percent from the line. Plus, he leads Iowa in rebounding at 6.1 per game.

The star everyone saw emerge at the end of the 2015-16 season is in full bloom now and he’s having one of the best seasons in Iowa basketball history. On a team full of underclassmen, Jok’s game has been overlooked by the national media, but he’s still been Iowa’s leader and why they’re still over .500.

Here’s a look at Jok’s production during wins and losses in conference play this year:

It’s evident that Iowa plays better when Jok is playing well. They rely on him and he knows he has to keep shooting even when he’s not having a good night, which sometimes hurts Iowa’s offense more than helps.

Either way, the notion that Iowa will only go as far as Peter Jok takes them is still true. They have a starting lineup full of potential, but Jok is their golden ticket in big games.

Mandatory Credit: Sandra Dukes-USA TODAY Sports

Bench Is Thriving

After searching for help off the bench to start the season, Iowa now has one of the better benches in the conference. Led by sophomore Nicholas Baer, the Hawkeyes aren’t reliant on huge games from their starters, rather have a rotation now to keep players fresh for late in games.

Without a doubt, Baer has been Iowa’s glue guy off the bench. He has recorded at least five rebounds in all but one conference game, had a 12-point game against Michigan and blocked six shots against Nebraska. For a while, his hustle and all-around play was the only thing saving the bench, although recently other players have started to step up for Iowa.

In the past couple of games, Ryan Kriener has made a case for a spot in the everyday rotation. Kriener has recorded 24 points and 10 rebounds in 45 minutes over the past three games after being a bench warmer for most of the early season. Even Ahmad Wagner scored a career-high 12 points against Maryland on Thursday.

In fact, Iowa’s bench has averaged an astounding 21.8 points per game over their past four games.

Sure, Dom Uhl hurt his thumb on a missed dunk and is lacking confidence even when he plays, Brady Ellingson is struggling to find his outside shot, as he’s just 4-of-12 from three in conference play, and Christian Williams‘ play is more down than up, but McCaffery is still able to give his starters rest without thinking the game will be lost and that’s not something he was able to do earlier in the year.

While the bench deserves a lot of praise for their turnaround this season, McCaffery deserves some, too, for finding a rotation that works.

The Hawkeyes don’t have multiple veterans who can play 30-plus minutes per game like last year, so having a good bench and playing the hot hand is important for a young team. So far in conference play it hasn’t been a train wreck, especially against Maryland when an almost all-bench lineup almost brought Iowa back to win.

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