No time to dwell on Gonzaga loss with 20-game Big Ten grind waiting
No. 4 Iowa will face Purdue in Big Ten opener Tuesday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – On paper, the Iowa men’s basketball team looks to be among the best in the Big Ten, maybe the best.
With Luka Garza’s dominance in the post, and with multiple veteran scorers and potent 3-point shooters, fourth-ranked Iowa is battled tested and built to win.
Iowa is also highly respected as evidenced by having dropped just one spot in the Associated Press poll in the wake of this past Saturday’s 99-88 loss to top-ranked Gonzaga in Sioux Falls, S.D.
But now comes the daunting task of trying to live up to the enormous hype and expectations during the 20-game Big Ten grind, which starts against 6-2 Purdue on Tuesday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
The Big Ten is considered maybe the deepest and strongest conference in all of college basketball, and that depth was on display on Sunday as underdog Northwestern whipped fourth-ranked Michigan State 79-65 at home, while Rutgers edged No. 13 Illinois, 91-88 at home.
“Well, I pretty much say the same thing every year. It’s top to bottom,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said Monday of the Big Ten’s overall strength. “I don’t know why anybody would be surprised about what Rutgers is doing. They did it last year. I think as it relates to Northwestern, you could see this coming. They were young last year, a couple injuries, good recruiting class and they had some good freshman and sophomores last year, and so now you’re year seeing those guys now be sophomores and juniors.
“So it’s not surprising. They almost beat Michigan State last year. It’s indicative of the quality of players and coaches in this league top to bottom that separates it from other leagues. Other leagues have good teams, but every team in our league is really good.”
Iowa has won 19 of its last 20 games inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena, dating back to last season. However, the lone setback during that span was a 77-68 loss to Purdue on Senior Day last season.
In fact, Purdue was the only team that beat Iowa twice last season, and has won four consecutive games against the Hawkeyes.
“Losing to them on our home floor on Senior Day is something that definitely doesn’t sit well with me, or anybody on our team for that matter,” Garza said.
Purdue always seems to have a massive frontline, and at least one exceptionally tall player, and this current Purdue squad is no exception with 6-10 junior Trevion Williams and 7-4, 285-pound freshman Zach Edey.
The Boilermakers defeated then 20th-ranked Ohio State 67-60 in the Big ten opener last Wednesday as Williams scored 16 points, grabed nine rebounds and had eight sassists in the victory over Ohio State.
Purdue also defeated Notre Dame 88-78 this past Saturday in Indianapolis, so Matt [painter’s squad has reason to be confident heading into Tuesday’s game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
“They execute really well,” Fran McCaffery said of Purdue. “They run their stuff; they share the ball; they defend; they rebound; they can play fast; they can play slow; they do a really good job of getting the ball to their good players.
“Some years it’s bigs; some years it’s guards; some years it’s both. They usually have a little bit of an inside-outside punch, which they did this year.”
Garza and 6-6 junior Joe Wieskamp led Iowa with 30 and 20 points, respectively, in the loss to Gonzaga. Garza has scored at least 30 points on 72 percent shooting or better three times in seven games to start the season.
He is also five points from passing Greg Stokes for fourth and 16 points from passing Acie Earl for third in Iowa career scoring.
Garza and Wieskamp just didn’t have enough help against Gonzaga as senior point guard Jordan Bohannon was held to two points.
Bohannon has shown a knack for bouncing back from a poor performance, and he is also one of the top clutch shooters in program history.
He made seven 3-point baskets and led Iowa with 24 points in the 93-80 victory over North Carolina on Dec. 8 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Maybe that’s why Fran McCaffery doesn’t seem too concerned about Bohannon’s confidence because McCaffery has seen Bohannon rise to the occasion so many times before.
“I won’t tell him anything different. I trust him,” Fran McCaffery said. “Just keep firing. He made seven to beat North Carolina. Tells you what he’s made of, and we already knew that.
“So I have complete confidence in him. He takes good shots. He’s done a good job running the offense. Few more turnovers Saturday than he normally does. Never been a turnover guy at all, and his assist numbers are really good. So I think the more games he gets under his belt the better he’ll play.”
Following Tuesday’s game, Iowa will face Minnesota in a rare Christmas day game in Minneapolis.
Fran McCaffery was asked Monday his feelings about playing on Christmas day. The idea came as a way to best handle the COVID-19 global pandemic.
“We were all in from the beginning,” he said. “When the discussion first began about playing on Christmas there were a lot of factors, not the least of which is we’re trying to stay in a pseudo bubble.
“As hard as that is in particular at Christmastime when everybody wants to see their families, trying to limit as much as we can where we go, who we see. If we’re going to be here over the break, then we need to play games. We’re locked in now. The games come every couple days. We left some time on the back end in case we have to postpone and reschedule.”
Iowa vs. Purdue
When: Tuesday, 8:07 p.m.
Where: Carver-Hawkeye Arena
TV: Big Ten Network
Radio: Hawkeye Radio Network
Series: Purdue holds a 92-76 advantage in the series. The Boilermakers have won the last four in
the series, including sweeping both contests a season ago. Iowa holds a 52-29 advantage in Iowa City, including winning four of the last six meetings, dating back to 2014.
So I think the more games he gets under his belt the better he’ll play.