Indiana v. Iowa Preview
On the eve of the New Year, the IU men’s basketball team will commence the conference portion of its schedule this season tomorrow as the Hoosiers travel to Iowa City, Iowa to take on the Hawkeyes.
Iowa is one of the hottest teams in the Big Ten coming into conference play with an 11-2 record, including six-straight wins, and like IU, they have yet to drop a game at home.
Also like the Hoosiers, though, the Hawkeyes haven’t played the most difficult non-conference schedule. Iowa’s opponents through 13 games have compiled a sub-.500 winning percentage, and Indiana’s have averaged just under .600.
The Hoosiers come in atop several of the offensive categories in the Big Ten, including boasting the highest-scoring offense, the highest scoring margin, the best free throw percentage, best field goal percentage and best 3-point percentage.
But the Hawkeyes will pose one of the toughest challenges inside that the Hoosiers have yet to face this season, with six players with some game experience this season who stand taller than 6-feet-6-inches, while IU has eight.
The game may be won in the paint, as IU comes in with the best rebounding offense, with Iowa in second in the Big Ten. The Hoosiers have the second-best rebounding defense, giving them the best rebounding margin in the conference. Also, both teams rank in the top three in defensive rebounds grabbed this season.
Before the players and coaches left for Iowa on Sunday, we were given some quotes on their impression of the Hawkeyes coming into Monday’s game:
IU Coach Tom Crean
“Iowa is playing as well as any team in the Big Ten right now. One of the reasons is their efficiency on offense and defense where they have very few empty possessions which shows great leadership, maturity and talent.
“Fran McCaffery has been one of the better coaches in the country for some time. He and his staff have put their stamp on the Iowa program as is evident by how hard they play and how physical they are.”
Assistant Coach Tim Buckley
“Iowa is a another team that plays 94 feet of basketball. We not only have to put an emphasis on scoring the ball but also getting stops and not lertting them get out in their transition game.
“Aaron White is one of those under the radar guys who has improved in so many areas, as a ballhandler, as a rebounder, as a shooter He is very athletic and long. Devyn Marble is kind of the same way and he has come in a developed into on of the better players in the Big Ten. He is a matchup problem for every team he faces because he is so versatile and can play three positions. Now they have added some good, tough, competitive freshman who have talent and skill and I think that has improved their program.”
Sophomore forward Cody Zeller
“We want to get off to a good start (in the league) and Iowa has been playing really well. Every game in the Big Ten is going to come down to the little details. We have to rebound, take charges and take advantage any time you can. Every game in this league is a fight to the end.”
Nathan Brown is a junior majoring in journalism. A Noblesville, Ind. native, he is currently one of the men's basketball beat writers for the Indiana Daily Student. You can follow him on Twitter at @nathan_brown10.
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Posted by Swooshinspace at 5:05 am on January 1, 2013
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Posted by Swooshinspace at 5:08 am on January 1, 2013
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Posted by nickatdabeach at 7:19 am on January 1, 2013
Cody Zeller is the preseason Player of the Year? That’s rich. Zeller isn’t even the best player on the IU team. Victor Oladipo is. Zeller needs to be benched until he can play with the heart & intensity of Oladipo. Zeller has been on some kind of emotionless cruise-control more often than not. I thought I was watching the reincarnation of Tom Pritchard play last night and we all know that isn’t a good thing, is it Martha? If Zeller continues on this trend, both Michigan and Illinois are going to abuse my Hoosiers this season, and IU can anticipate 2-3 other B1G looses as well. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again in closing: Tom Crean is a great recruiter but he is a horrible coach and tactician. As this season progresses you’ll see what I mean.