The Hawkeyes have a road win against North Carolina, blew out Maryland at home and swept the season series against Ohio State.
They’ve won their last four Big Ten games in a row by an average margin of 18.5 points per game, but those immediately followed losses to Minnesota and Northwestern.
One of the Big Ten’s most experienced — and inconsistent — teams, Iowa (19-10, 10-6) finds itself with IU (19-10, 9-7) fighting for a higher seed in the Big Ten Tournament that starts next week.
The Hoosiers and Hawkeyes will meet 7 p.m. today at Assembly Hall with postseason ?implications firmly on the line.
“They’re outstanding everywhere,” IU Coach Tom Crean said of Iowa. “I think Fran (McCaffery) has done an outstanding job with that team because they just keep getting better.”
One of the challenges that stood out the most to Crean when dissecting Iowa was its speed, despite its height.
McCaffery typically starts three frontcourt players who stand 6-foot-9 or taller and a shooting guard that is at least 6-foot-5.
IU has traditionally tried to use its speed advantage to overcome a lack of size, but that’s not as easy against Iowa. Junior guard Yogi Ferrell said the Hawkeyes are the quickest team in the ?nation.
That makes the league’s fourth-leading rebounding team difficult to contain in transition. Once they’ve gathered in a rebound, they’re off and running.
“They are as fast after your made basket as they are after your missed shot,” Crean said. “There’s got to be a high level of urgency on getting back, getting matched up, getting to the corners and getting to the rim. The running ability of guys like Aaron White is just amazing.”
White, a senior forward, might just be the Big Ten’s hottest player right now. He’s averaging 22.7 points and 11.3 rebounds per game during his last three ?contests.
“He’s always been an athlete that was a pretty good basketball player,” Crean said. “Now he’s a great basketball player that’s a tremendous athlete.”
The Hoosiers will look to contain White and 7-foot-1 center Adam Woodbury on the glass.
IU has been outrebounded in each of its last three losses, most recently struggling to contain Northwestern on the defensive glass.
The Hoosiers will likely be without sophomore forward Collin Hartman tonight, putting more emphasis on the other forwards and guards to crash the glass.
“Just keep attacking the rim,” sophomore guard Troy Williams offered as a solution. “Block-outs, learning how to escape and get the rebounds on offense. Just use athleticism.”
With games winding down, IU knows it’s running out of opportunities to bolster its Tournament résumé.
Like IU, Iowa will also be desperate for a win.
Most Tournament projections have both teams firmly in the field entering today, but all that could change with a loss on either side.
The battle-tested Hoosiers aren’t as concerned about faltering under the pressures of a late-season run.
Williams said IU is sticking to the “one game at a time” cliché, while ?Ferrell said the experience throughout the season has prepared IU for the closing stretch.
“I feel like since we’re getting towards the end of the season, we know ourselves pretty well,” Ferrell said. “We kind of feel like we’re becoming one of the veteran teams, too.”
