By Pat Harty

The Iowa men’s basketball team didn't quit after falling way behind against Minnesota on Wednesday, but the end result was yet another loss in what has turned into a lost season.

Iowa fell behind its fellow Big Ten bottom feeder 22-2 and then never fully recovered before losing 86-82 on Wednesday at Williams Arena in Minneapolis.

The Hawkeyes showed a competitive spirit and resolve by overcoming such a large deficit. But to trail a depleted and struggling Minnesota squad by 20 points just minutes into the game was too much to overcome and was inexcusable.

Iowa’s performance in the first eight minutes of the game was arguably its worst stretch for the season, especially considering Minnesota had lost its previous nine games.

But it also wasn’t a surprise that Minnesota allowed Iowa back in the game because the Hawkeyes can score in spurts and because Minnesota is a team in disarray.

Iowa fell to 3-14 in the Big Ten and 12-18 overall and now has to win Sunday’s regular-season finale against Northwestern just to match Todd Lickliter’s worst conference record in three disastrous seasons as the Iowa head coach.

Minnesota snapped a nine-game losing streak and improved to 4-13 in the conference and 15-15 overall.

The good news for Iowa is that Sunday’s game against Northwestern will be played at Carver-Hawkeye Arena where Iowa has at least been competitive this season.

And there were some positives to take from Wednesday’s loss, including the 32-point performance by sophomore shooting guard Isaiah Moss and the 15 points off the bench from sophomore forward Ryan Kriener.

But the fact that Moss scored 19 of his points in the final 1:36 of the game and that Kriener was a go-to player on offense instead of sophomore forward Tyler Cook and sophomore point guard Jordan Bohannon, the team’s two leading scorers, shows just how weird and unpredictable this season has been.

Cook only scored six points, while Bohannon was held scoreless, although, he dished out six assists.

Iowa scored 63 points in the second half after being held to just 19 in the first half. That pretty much describe's Iowa's season in which inconsistency has been a lingering problem.  

Wednesday’s game heading into the season figured to be a pivotal matchup between two teams fighting for the highest seed possible in the NCAA Tournament.

Minnesota was considered one of the top contenders for a conference title, along with Michigan State, while Iowa was considered a team capable of making the Big Dance.

To say that neither team has come close to meeting expectations would be an understatement.

Minnesota is arguably the Big Ten’s biggest failure this season, followed by Iowa or Northwestern. Take your pick.

The two teams that competed in Wednesday's game at Williams Arena have suffered from attrition, injuries and other health-related matters, but also from poor play.

Iowa has been horrendous on defense, while Minnesota has been horrendous at times on both ends of the court.

Minnesota hasn’t been the same since senior center Reggie Lynch was suspended from the team in early January, and that’s understandable, considering the 6-foot-10 Lynch was the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year last season.

The Gophers also were missing 6-8 shooting guard Amir Coffey due to a season-ending shoulder injury, so the team that took the court on Wednesday was a shell of itself.

And yet, thanks largely to 33 points from senior guard Nate Mason on Senior Night, the Gophers still had enough to defeat an Iowa team that has failed to gain any traction this season. The Hawkeyes lost six of their first 10 games and have been sputtering ever since.

Lose to Northwestern on Sunday and Iowa will finish in a tie for last place in the Big Ten at best.

 

 

It’s been brutal anyway slice it.