By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa –  Probably much sooner than later, the Iowa men’s basketball team will play in a game that isn’t decided by a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

It could be Tuesday’s game against No. 24 Maryland at Carver-Hawkeye Arena because what are the odds of Iowa winning a third consecutive game with a buzzer-beating trey?

The odds of doing it once were slim, so for Iowa to have done it in each of the past two games against Northwestern and Rutgers is truly spectacular and something we’ll probably never see again.

The Iowa players will cherish forever what happened this past week, but it’s time to move on because Maryland presents a huge challenge.

"We've still got six Big Ten games left in the season, plus we want to play deep into postseason," said freshman Joe Wieskamp, who made the game-winning shot against Rutgers this past Saturday by banking in a 3-pointer from the baseline.  

No disrespect to Northwestern or Rutgers, but Maryland is at a different level than both of those teams from a talent and from a performance standpoint.

The 21st-ranked Hawkeyes will have home-court advantage on Tuesday and that’s a big deal under any circumstance because teams traditionally play better at home.

It’s also a big deal that Iowa is ranked because to say that Maryland has struggled to beat ranked opponents on the road under head coach Mark Turgeon would be an understatement.

Maryland has not won a single road game against a ranked opponent since Turgeon took over as head coach nearly eight years ago. In fact, Maryland’s streak of not beating a ranked opponent on the road goes all the way back to the thrilling 82-80 victory over No. 1 North Carolina in 2007-08.

But you could counter by saying the talented Terrapins are overdue for a breakthrough win on the road, and the challenge for Iowa is to make sure it doesn’t happen at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Tuesday.

Iowa coach Fran McCaffery held a teleconference on Monday and he knows that previous events will have no real effect on Tuesday’s game.

Maryland’s road woes won’t matter when the game starts because the current players have only been a part of a few of the losses.

When McCaffery looks at Maryland, he sees one of the most talented and explosive teams in the conference.

Junior point guard Anthony Cowan, sophomore forward Bruno Fernando and freshman forward Jalen Jones from one of the top triumvirates in the Big Ten.

And when they all play well, Maryland is difficult to defeat.

“This league is so unique and so different, especially for young guys, you beat a team and then you look up, okay, we’ve got another monster,” McCaffery said. “They’re pretty good at understanding how you have to lock into the game plan and what’s at stake.”

What’s at stake for the resurgent Hawkeyes is a chance to win the Big Ten regular-season title for the first time in 40 years. It might be a longshot with Iowa trailing by two games in the loss column with six games remaining, but this Iowa team seems to specialize in making long shots.

It also has shown a knack for winning close games, considering Iowa is 5-1 in games decided by five or fewer points this season.

McCaffery was asked on Monday why his team has responded so well in close games.

“There’s a lot of things,” McCaffery said. “I think we have a group that is executing well whether we’re running our late-game action or set plays or whatever. We have good ball handlers and passers. We don’t have turnover guys. I think we have intelligent guys that understand how to score and what we need.

“We’re defending better whether it be any one of our multiple defenses. I think it’s a collective thing with personnel and what we’re doing.

Maryland's roster includes five freshmen and four sophomores, but McCaffery hardly considers the Terripens to be young and inexperienced.

"They have a really good junior point guard," McCaffery said of the super quick Cowan. "They have two sophomores that started as freshmen, one is a first-round pick, maybe a lottery pick. and one of their freshman is a lottery pick.

"And I think they have a really good coach. They have a really good program. And the other veteran guys have accepted their roles and maybe are giving up some playing time to the freshmen. They seem to have a group that's connected and understands, and the veterans contribute when they're asked to."

The 6-foot-10, 245-pound Fernando was the sophomore to whom McCaffery referred as a lottery pick, while 6-10 Jalen Jones was the freshman to whom McCaffery made the same projection.

So it's fair to say that Iowa will have its hands full against Maryland on Tuesday from a personnel and from a strategical standpoint.

It's also fair to assume that Maryland's losing streak to ranked opponents on the road will end at some point.

So in other words, it's time for the Iowa players to move on from last week's incredible drama or risk paying a price in the rugged Big Ten.

 

Iowa vs. Maryland

When:  Tuesday, 7 p.m.

Where: Carver-Hawkeye Arena

TV: Big Ten Network