Iowa Basketball: Three Takeaways From Win Over Iowa State
Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
Three things we learned from Iowa’s upset win over Iowa State
Prior to upsetting Iowa State, Iowa basketball had few positives to build on. The Hawkeyes season had been summed up by losing Tyler Cook for three weeks to injury and a loss to Omaha at home that extended their losing streak to four games.
Wins against Kennesaw State, Savannah State, Rio Grande Valley and Stetson aren’t that impressive and don’t say much about a team, even if they did come in blowout fashion. Therefore, the negatives outweighed the positives from the first nine games of the season.
That makes their win over a ranked Iowa State team even more impressive. It’s the first respectable opponent Iowa out-played. Sure, it wasn’t all good, however they looked like a completely different team than over the past couple of weeks.
Now, the Hawkeyes are 5-5 and a win over Northern Iowa next Saturday would give this young team a lot of confidence. That’s in the future, though. As of now, we got out first glimpse of the capabilities of this young team when they play their best basketball and show confidence in a big game.
Here are three things we learned from their win over the Cyclones.
Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
Freshmen Shined
A year after Iowa’s starting lineup featured four seniors and a junior, the Hawkeyes have just one senior alongside three freshmen and a sophomore this year. Not to mention freshman forward Tyler Cook being out, so Iowa could have a four freshmen starting lineup in a couple of weeks.
On a young team, someone has to step up, especially with Cook out. Cordell Pemsl, Jordan Bohannon and Isaiah Moss all had huge games for the Hawkeyes, as each played at least 28 minutes against Iowa State.
They combined for 33 points, 14 rebounds, five assists and two blocks, while shooting 46.2 percent from the field and making three three-pointers. To put in perspective their role, Iowa’s freshmen accounted for 42.3 percent of their points, 33.3 percent of rebounds, 38.5 percent of assists and 66.7 percent of Iowa’s blocked shots.
In a big game against their rival, they could have easily been overwhelmed by the talent Iowa State possesses. Instead, Iowa’s freshmen attacked the Cyclones and used their strengths to their advantage.
Bohannon spread the floor and was a solid playmaker, Pemsl controlled the paint and Moss got to the basket and defended pre-season All-American Monte Morris very well.
It’s telling of how bright Iowa’s future is and how much potential this team has this year. As good as Peter Jok is, the Hawkeyes season relies on the play of their freshmen.
Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
Peter Jok Looked Like A Star
Big players step up in big games, and that’s exactly what Peter Jok did against Iowa State. He showed why Fran McCaffery believes in him as the leader of the team by his play, composure and ability to act as a coach on the floor.
Jok finished with 23 points, nine rebounds and two steals in 35 minutes. He also shot 9-of-17 from the field and 4-of-7 from behind the arc.
Peter Jok was a major ???? in @IowaHoops' win over Iowa State. pic.twitter.com/8C6up1yPiw
— Campus Insiders (@CampusInsiders) December 9, 2016
After scoring just 15 points in two of the prior three games, Jok seemingly put his struggles behind him and looked as aggressive as ever. He took Iowa State one-on-one multiple times and hit tough shots with a hand in his face.
That being said, he didn’t force bad shots like in prior games, rather he acted when he felt Iowa started to lose momentum. Plus, even if his three assists don’t show it, he tried to set up his teammates a lot more when the Cyclones honed in on him.
Concerns about Jok not being able to create for himself and not being able to handle extra defensive pressure evaporated for at least one game. Many times he reset the offense with a 10-15 seconds left on the shot clock and then waited for a couple of second before creating space and knocking down a jumper with a hand in his face.
Shooters have rough patches, but this game could signify the end of Jok’s three-game skid.
Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
Iowa Can Play Defense
Iowa has allowed fewer than 70 points just two other times this year — Rio Grande Valley and Stetson. Even though Iowa State doesn’t own the same explosive offense as in year’s past, the Hawkeyes ability to hold them to a mere 64 points is impressive.
The Hawkeyes still left shooters open on the perimeter and their press or zone imploded a couple of times, which resulted in easy baskets for Iowa State. Although, helped by missed open shots by the Cyclones, the Hawkeyes had their best defensive effort of the season.
The Cyclones shot a miserable 35.7 percent from the field and 26.7 percent from three. In fact, Nick Weiler-Babb, who shot 4-of-8 from the field, was the only Cyclone to 50 percent or better from the field while attempting more than two shots.
Iowa gave Iowa State fits when using a full-court press and forced them into tough shots at the end of the shot clock.
The Cyclones got flustered when Iowa pressed and fell into a trap at half-court multiple times. It resulted in Iowa State burning a timeout and Nicholas Baer ripping the ball out of Darrell Bowie‘s arms and finishing through traffic on a fastbreak.
They played great defense without fouling, too. The Hawkeyes only committed 15 fouls, compared to Iowa State’s 25 in the game and 11 in the first half alone. Winning the free-throw battle 24-9 is a huge advantage for any team, even if Iowa continues to struggle from the line.
It shows that Iowa is capable of playing good defense, but it’s a work in progress and they need to play with that intensity every night. Of course, it’s easier to get excited about playing your rival, but Iowa can’t afford to play the poor defense or have as many defensive breakdowns like they’ve become accustomed to early in the season.
Either way, it’s a positive sign that Iowa’s defense is getting better.
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