By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – A week into February, the Iowa men’s basketball team and the Iowa women’s basketball team are moving in opposite directions.

The men have won five games in a row heading into Sunday’s game against Northwestern at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, while the Iowa women have lost three straight games and don’t play again until facing Washington next Wednesday in Iowa City.

Iowa women’s basketball head coach Jan Jensen posted on X Friday afternoon saying that her players “came in today with energy…ready & committed to getting better. We’ll take this week to work on us.”

Jensen also thanked the fans for being with her team, which barely a week ago was one of just two Big Ten team that still were undefeated in conference play, along with No. 2 UCLA.

The Iowa women are now 9-3 in the Big Ten and 18-5 overall, so it hardly is time to panic.

And while there has to be a heightened sense of urgency as the players acknowledged after Thursday’s 91-85 loss to Minnesota at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, don’t overlook the simple fact that Iowa just has to play better; shoot better, defend better, pass better; all the things that go into winning.

This stale narrative that some teams want to win more than others on a given night is just silly.

Minnesota didn’t want to win more than Iowa did on Thursday. The Gophers just played better on both ends of the floor.

Members of the Iowa men’s basketball team didn’t want to win more than the Washington players this past Wednesday in Seattle. The Hawkeyes just played better in the second half after having been shredded on defense in the first half as the Huskies made 20-of-26 field-goal attempts.

Iowa made the necessary defensive adjustments at halftime then seized the momentum in the second half and eventually pulled away for an impressive 84-74 victory, which came three days after Iowa defeated Oregon 84-66 in Eugene, Oregon.

Following Sunday’s game against Northwestern, the Iowa men will face a struggling Maryland squad next Wednesday in College Park, Maryland.

Northwestern and Maryland had three conference wins combined as of Friday.

So there is a good chance that Iowa will be 19-5 overall and 9-4 in the Big Ten when it faces Big Ten power Purdue before a sellout crowd on Feb. 14 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

First-year Iowa head Ben McCollum probably wouldn’t look at it that way, at least publicly, because coaches live in the moment, taking it one game at a time, partly out of respect for the opponents.

Northwestern and Maryland, even with all of their shortcomings, still are Big Ten opponents that could make Iowa pay if the players aren’t locked in.

But that is also the beauty of this Iowa team under Ben McCollum in that his players are almost always locked in, especially on defense. That’s why the first half against Washington was so surprising, and as it turned out, maybe an aberration, considering how well Iowa played on defense in the second half.

Iowa is allowing just 63.5 points per game, which is the lowest in the Big Ten, while averaging nearly 80 points on offense.

McCollum was known more as a defensive coach during his 14 seasons at Northwest Missouri State and for one season at Drake last season, and rightfully so because his teams usually bring it strong on defense.

But McCollum as the head Hawk has also shown a willingness to play at a faster pace on offense if the circumstances call for it.

Iowa’s win over Washington marked the 10th game this season that Iowa has scored at least 80 points.

Shifting back to the Iowa women, the loss of senior guard Taylor McCabe to a career-ending knee injury was a devastating blow for the team on and off the court.

In addition to being one of Iowa’s best 3-point shooters, McCabe is also a highly respected veteran leader whose all-around game had improved significantly prior to the injury.

So yes, her loss is a massive blow.

But it also does no good to dwell on it, or to use it as an excuse for the current three-game skid.

To say that Iowa would have defeated Minnesota on Thursday and USC on Jan. 29 with a healthy McCabe is just bias conjecture, and comes off as an excuse.

The players faced with the daunting task of replacing McCabe – namely sophomore guard Taylor Stremlow and freshman guard Addie Deal – just have to play better, which starts with being more consistent.

Stremlow and Deal have shown flashes of brilliance, but they also have struggled with defensive lapses and they sometimes make questionable decisions with the ball in their hands.

Graduate guard Kylie Feuerbach is a defensive force and capable of guarding multiple positions.

But she also has been held scoreless in the last two games, and that’s hard to overcome, but even more so without McCabe.

And don’t forgot about 6-foot sophomore Emely Rodriguez, who is one of Iowa’s most talented offensive players. She played in the first six games this season, but she hasn’t played since for reasons that are unclear at this point.

One of the bright spots for Iowa during this current skid, besides the play of sophomore center Ava Heiden, has been Journey Houston’s contributions off the bench.

Houston, a  6-0 freshman from Davenport, has been a solid rebounder throughout the season, but now she’s emerging as a scorer, perhaps enough where Jan Jensen should consider starting her just to see if it would create a spark.

Houston has combined to score 38 points in the last three games, including a career-high 16 in the loss to USC. She also made both of her shots from 3-point range in the loss to Minnesota after having struggled from behind the arc for most of the season.

The Iowa men and women are both on course to make the NCAA Tournament, but the women are at risk of losing the chance to host the first two rounds, which would take a top-16 ranking.

The hope is that having nearly a week off will help to sort of re-energize the Iowa women’s basketball team for the stretch drive, while the Iowa men’s basketball team just has to keep doing what it’s been doing, which is being highly efficient, unselfish, focused and connected.

Senior point guard Bennett Stirtz is almost like having another coach on the floor who is capable of stuffing the stat sheet. The 6-4 Stirtz has an uncanny ability to control tempo and pace with the ball in his hands.

He sometimes plays fast, but never in a hurry.

Stirtz to this point has lived up to the expectations, and so has McCollum in impressive fashion.

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