Fourth-ranked Iowa unravels on defense and falls in overtime at Minnesota
Gophers make 17 3-points baskets during 102-95 victory in Minneapolis
By Pat Harty
Bah humbug.
That’s an appropriate reaction to what just happened at Williams Arena in Minneapolis on Friday.
Minnesota defeated fourth-ranked Iowa 102-95 in overtime as Brandon Johnson made eight 3-point baskets after having failed to score in Minnesota’s previous game against St. Louis.
Minnesota center Liam Robbins, who transferred from Drake and is from Davenport, also made a huge 3-point basket in the final seconds of overtime to help secure the upset.
Iowa was on the verge of winning in regulation, but then unraveled on defense in the final minute as Johnson was repeatedly left open from 3-point range down the stretch, and in overtime.
Senior guard Marcus Carr led Minnesota with 30 points and made six 3-point baskets, but it was Johnson who did the most damage with the game on the line.
“Carr hit a couple tough step backs; Johnson was open, and I mean there’s no excuse for that,” said Iowa coach Fran McCaffery. ”
Friday’s game marked just the third time that Iowa has played on Christmas day, and it was also Iowa’s first road game this season.
Senior center Luka Garza overcame a poor first half in which scored just five points on 2-of-11 shooting from the field and finished with 32 points and 17 rebounds.
Sophomore guard C.J. Fredrick also had a solid performance, scoring a career-high 23 points and making 5-of-6 3-point baskets.
But it wasn’t enough as Iowa struggled on defense throughout the game.
“I think we’ve got to do a better job of adjusting to a guy who gets hot, and we did not, so that’s disappointing,” Fran McCaffery said of Johnson, who only missed one of his nine shots from 3-point range.
Asked what lesson his team could learn from Friday’s loss, Fran McCaffery said:
“We’ve got to be tougher and we’ve got to be more connected and we’ve got to be ready at the start. A lot of things. Just have to be better. We weren’t very good tonight.
“There were certain things; I thought Luka Garza in the second half was spectacular, and C.J. But our defense tonight was unacceptable.”‘
Iowa lost despite having 21 offensive rebounds and despite only committing seven turnovers.
Minnesota had 22 assists on 30 baskets, and committed just eight turnovers.
If Iowa has a weakness, it would be defense, and Friday’s loss will only fuel that narrative.
Iowa trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half, and by double figures for much of the first half.
However, the Hawkeyes closed the first half with a 10-3 scoring run, slicing the deficit to 38-33 at halftime.
It was the fewest points that Iowa has scored in the first half this season, but the circumstances could’ve been much worse.
Iowa had the momentum heading into the second half, and would soon have the lead as Garza and Fredrick both were hot at the start of the second half.
But Minnesota (8-1)Â refused to wilt and made enough big shots down the stretch, and in overtime, to pull off the upset.
Iowa, even with all of its offensive firepower, and with all of its hype, isn’t good enough to play poorly and still win Big Ten road games, regardless of the opponent.
That was apparent in the first half as Iowa struggled to make shots, while the Gophers controlled the tempo and had the momentum until the very end of the first half.
“I’ll be honest, in the first half I was just missing layups,” Garza said. “They did a good job on me crowding me. But I was just missing easy shots, the shots I normally make.”
Iowa is 1-1 in conference play and 7-2 overall and now faces on Tuesday the conference’s biggest surprise in Northwestern, which started league play with victories over Michigan State and Indiana.
There is no time to dwell on success or failure during the 20-game Big Ten grind. Players and coaches have to live in the moment, and Fran McCaffery has used that approach since they day he took over in 2010.
It’s obvious that Iowa has to improve on defense in order to live up to the enormous hype and expectations.
Garza and his cohorts had a chance to seal the deal in regulation, but let it slip away in the closing seconds, and then paid a heavy price in overtime.
Iowa missed some free throws down the stretch that could’ve made a difference, but the inability to defend was by far the biggest reason Iowa lost.
Iowa was coming off arguably its best defensive performance of the season in this past Tuesday’s 70-55 victory over Purdue at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
But that same defensive tenacity and awareness was missing from Friday’s game, and that’s disappointing with Iowa being such a veteran team.
“I think our execution down the stretch wasn’t as good as it needed to be,” Garza said. “In the press we gave up some easy shots really early, so they were coming down and getting shots off quick.
“We had the game won, and losing a game like that is tough. It’s a lesson to learn. We’re going to be in a lot of close games and we’ve got to make sure that when we have the game won, we just execute and win the game.”