Game Awards: Iowa Basketball Rolls Over Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
Game awards for Iowa basketball’s 83-63 win over Rutgers on Tuesday night.
Iowa basketball improved to an impressive 2-0 in games without Peter Jok. They handily beat Rutgers 83-63 in a game they rarely led by fewer than 20 points in.
Just like against Ohio State, the Iowa Hawkeyes won because of a team effort. 10 players played at least 10 minutes and 11 players played at least seven. Plus, eight players scored at least five points, while four of the five starters chipped in at least nine.
The ball movement has been exquisite over the past two games and has led to a lot of easy baskets for the Hawkeyes. They recorded 24 assists, which is their second most of the season. It helped Iowa shoot an impressive 50 percent from the field and 61.1 percent from three.
Now, the Hawkeyes are 13-10 on the year and back to .500 in conference play at 5-5. With a little over a month still left to play, Iowa is starting to gain momentum at the right time. It might not last, as Iowa has been up-and-down all season, but this would be the right time for the Hawkeyes to go on a hot streak.
That said, here’s a look at who played well and who didn’t in Iowa’s first true road win of the season.
Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports
Starter of the Game: Jordan Bohannon
Jordan Bohannon had one of the best games of his freshman campaign. In just 26 minutes, Bohannon scored 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting and 5-of-7 three-point shooting to go along with four assists and zero turnovers. Despite Iowa turning the ball over 14 times, Bohannon had his third turnover-less Big Ten game.
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Also, it ended a four game stretch of Bohannon shooting under .500 percent from the field. In the prior four games, Bohannon shot just 27.5 percent from the field and 29.4 percent from three.
Against Rutgers, he let the game come to him and didn’t force shots. Usually, Bohannon searches for his outside shot and even settles for shots five-plus feet behind the three-point line. While he has that range, it has led to him being a streaky shooter.
Although, against Rutgers, Bohannon didn’t attempt his first shot, a layup, until 4:21 elapsed and didn’t shoot his first three until he had an open transition look 4:46 into the game. As a result, he started Iowa’s ball movement early and it stuck.
Even though Bohannon only recorded four assists, his passing became contagious and helped Iowa record 24 assists. Iowa’s willingness to pass is most telling by the fact that 10 players recorded at least one assist.
The Hawkeyes are significantly better when Bohannon’s shot is falling, but Bohannon is better when he doesn’t search for his shot rather waits for an open look. He did that against Rutgers, and he became Iowa’s most reliable offensive weapon.
Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports
Bench Player of the Game: Cordell Pemsl
In Cordell Pemsl‘s second game off the bench since being removed from the starting lineup, he played like he did when he first entered the starting lineup. Pemsl record 15 points, seven rebounds and two steals in just 19 minutes.
Pemsl dominated in the paint. He shot 6-of-10 from the field and even had a couple of good drives when Rutgers bit on his pump fakes. Plus, he went 3-of-5 from the line and even made both free-throws on one trip. It’s the best his offensive game has looked in a long time.
The last time Pemsl scored 15 points was December 5 against Stetson when he scored 21. He also hadn’t grabbed seven rebounds since January 12 against Purdue, which is also the last time Pemsl played 19-plus minutes.
Pemsl’s role likely won’t increase into the 20-minute range this season, but he evidently can still be an offensive catalyst off the bench for Iowa. He needs to continue to be aggressive and looking for his shot because he’s a very good post player and gets defenses to bite on his pump fake, even though he never takes jumpers.
Still, Pemsl has recorded 21 points, nine rebounds and five assists in 34 minutes over his first two games coming off the bench.
Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
Please Be Better: Ryan Kriener
After scoring 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting and grabbing seven rebounds against Ohio State, Ryan Kriener looked like a freshman against Rutgers. It’s no reason to panic. Kriener simply made freshman mistakes that all young players make.
In seven minutes, he missed his only shot and committed four fouls while turning it over once. Kriener did have a nice assist in transition, but his four quick fouls out-weighed it.
He got called for offensive and defensive fouls, so it wasn’t a particular thing that Rutgers did to confuse him. Kriener just couldn’t get into the flow of the game and it cost him a lot of playing in a blowout.
Kriener likely would have played 20-plus minutes tonight if it wasn’t for his foul trouble. The last blowout game Iowa was in, against Northwestern, Kriener played 22 minutes and scored 14 points as one of Iowa’s only bright spots.
Fran McCaffery wanted to play him, but he realized it wasn’t his night when he turned it over once and picked up his third and fourth foul in the span of 1:20 midway through the second half. He took Kriener out, although it’d be surprising if Kriener’s role changes against Nebraska, especially if Peter Jok sits out again.
There’s nothing to worry about, it’s just growing pains.
