Harty: Iowa’s loss at Indiana not reason to worry
IOWA CITY, Iowa – There is a simple explanation for why the Iowa men’s basketball team hasn’t won at least a share of the Big Ten regular-season title in 37 years.
It’s not easy.
It takes a special team and a considerable amount of luck to finish on top of the Big Ten standings after an 18-game grind. There is little margin for error and little time to regroup during conference play.
Iowa fans should take that into consideration as they deal with the disappointment from Thursday’s 85-78 loss at Indiana.
Your team is way above having a moral victory, but it’s not above having a temporary setback. The challenge now is make sure that the Indiana loss doesn’t linger against lowly Minnesota on Sunday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
That seems unlikely to happen given Iowa’s ability to bounce back and because Minnesota has been awful this season, currently 0-12 in conference play. There are no sure-things when it comes to Big Ten men’s basketball, but it’s hard to picture any scenario in which Minnesota would prevail on Sunday.
The fourth-ranked Hawkeyes missed 10 free throws, trailed by 16 points in the first half and didn’t have a reserve score a single point against Indiana, and yet still almost prevailed in one of the Big Ten’s toughest environments.
“It’s tough when you start a game off like that, but we did a great job of battling back in the first half,” said Iowa senior guard Mike Gesell.
Just when it looked as if Iowa might have its first stinky performance in Big Ten play, the momentum shifted back to the Hawkeyes.
Iowa’s four seniors and one junior starter refused to wilt. They trusted each other. They trusted the coaches. And they trusted their approach because it had worked so many times before.
They just fell short in a game that had trouble written all over it because of where it was played and because of the opponent.
You could say the same about Iowa’s regular-season finale against Michigan on March 5 in Ann Arbor, Mich. That game also looks dangerous on paper.
All that matters right now, though, is Minnesota. And you can bet that’ll be Fran McCaffery’s message to his players and to the media.
Iowa’s live-in-the-moment head coach doesn’t dwell on wins or losses. He just moves on to the next challenge with little regret or worry.
The loss to Indiana was frustrating because it cost the Hawkeyes sole possession of first place in the Big Ten, which they hadn’t had this late in a season since Feb. 23, 2006. Iowa is now in a three-way tie for first place with Indiana and Maryland.
But it’s hardly reason to panic with six games left in the regular season.
Iowa is in its best position to win a Big Ten regular-season title in 30 nearly years. All the key players are healthy, locked in and loaded with experience.
You worry a little about depth after the bench failed to score any points against Indiana on Thursday. But for now, that appears to be an isolated incident.
Forwards Dom Uhl and Nicholas Baer have done far more good than bad this season while coming off the bench. There is no reason to think they won’t bounce back.
It’s just not easy winning a Big Ten regular-season title.
It takes persistence, perseverance, precision and poise to stay the course.
It also takes the kind of passion that McCaffery brings to each game and to each practice.
Following Thursday’s loss, Iowa radio color analyst Bobby Hansen said to McCaffery:
“Hey coach, if we had talked at the beginning of the year and they told you you’re going to walk out of Bloomington 10-2 and in a first-place tie, you probably would have taken it.”
McCaffery’s response:
“I would have taken it. But you know what, knowing me, I would have said, `let’s go play them.’”
His players would say the same thing because they’re a confident bunch and deservedly so. They also understand that the Big Ten regular season is a marathon and not a sprint.
Even the best teams stumble now and then.
Big Ten standings
Maryland 10-2, 22-3
Indiana 10-2, 20-5
Iowa 10-2, 19-5
Purdue 8-4, 20-5
Michigan 8-4, 18-7
Wisconsin 7-4, 15-9
Michigan State 7-5, 20-5
Ohio State 7-5, 15-10
Nebraska 5-7, 13-12
Northwestern 4-8, 16-9
Penn State 3-8, 12-12
Illinois 3-8, 11-13
Rutgers 0-11, 6-18
Minnesota 0-12, 6-18