Hawk men seeking consistency
A rebuilding project almost always starts with a team performing poorly and losing on a consistent basis.
The next step is a phase of inconsistency when a team’s performance fluctuates between good and bad.
The Iowa men’s basketball team, which is coming off a 79-73 loss to Nebraska at home Thursday, appears stuck in the inconsistent phase under second-year coach Fran McCaffery.
Iowa (11-10, 3-5 Big Ten) has lost two games in a row and four of its last five heading into Sunday’s matchup at Indiana. This comes after a stretch in which the Hawkeyes won five of six games, including victories at then-11th-ranked Wisconsin on New Year’s Eve and at Minnesota on Jan. 4.
Indiana appeared beyond the inconsistent phase in its rebuilding project under fourth-year coach Tom Crean after starting the season 15-1, with national power Kentucky among its victims.
But the Hoosiers (16-5, 4-5) have lost four of five games since then, most recently a 57-50 setback at Wisconsin on Thursday.
Indiana also has lost four games in a row against Iowa and 10 of the last 14 games overall against the Hawkeyes.
“We’re going to try and make it five,” Iowa senior guard Matt Gatens said. “We need it. But they need it, too.
“So it’ll be a big one for us. It’s always a big-time environment. And I’m sure coach Crean will have them going.”
Crean also will have 6-foot-11 freshman center Cody Zeller anchoring his frontline, which is something Crean didn’t have in the previous four losses to Iowa.
Zeller leads Indiana in scoring (14.7), rebounding (6.2) and blocks (31). He is also second on team with 31 steals and fourth nationally in field-goal percentage (64.4).
But he’s hardly a solo act with 6-9 junior forward Christian Watford also emerging as one of the conference’s top players. Watford will be making his 81st career start for the Hoosiers on Sunday.
Junior point guard Jordan Hulls leads the Big Ten in free throw percentage (89.4) and is third in 3-point accuracy at 48.9 percent. Hulls scored a game-high 24 points in the 64-63 loss to Iowa at Assembly Hall last season.
“I think they are a substantially better defensive team this year than they were last year, simply because they’ve got Zeller in the middle,” McCaffery said. “But you’ve got long-armed guys that have been around now. Instead of freshmen and sophomores, you’ve got sophomores and juniors, and then you have the big fella.”
McCaffery has used the same starting lineup for 13 consecutive games, but keeping sophomore forward Melsahn Basabe on the first unit hasn’t paid dividends.
Basabe only scored one point and didn’t attempt a shot while playing 13 minutes against Nebraska on Thursday. He has scored two or fewer points in four of the last six games, including being held scoreless in the 64-62 victory at Minnesota on Jan. 4.
It’s a dramatic change from last season when Basabe averaged 11.0 points and 6.8 rebounds per game, earning Big Ten all-Freshman honors.
He was even better against Indiana last season, averaging 20.0 points and 11.5 rebounds in the two victories.
Iowa escaped from Assembly Hall with a one-point victory last season largely because the 6-7 Basabe dominated the paint by scoring 20 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.
“He’s got to decide where this is going,” McCaffery said after the Nebraska game. “I can’t make it any simpler than that. I told him the same thing. He’s got to decide; does he want to rebound? Does he want to run? Does he want to block shots? Does he want to attack the rim?
“Now I will say this, he’s doing it in practice. So I think that’s probably step one for him because he’s clearly struggling in the games, but he’s not struggling in practice. That’s why he is still in the starting lineup.”
Senior point guard Bryce Cartwright also played well at Indiana last season, finishing with 15 points and eight rebounds. However, Cartwright has struggled this season, but unlike Basabe, he has come off the bench for the past 12 games.
Category: Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball
