Iowa needs wins

Disappointment has run high at Iowa, where the Hawkeyes started the season by playing well enough to be ranked in the top 10 nationally. After the hot start the Hawkeyes folded in Big Ten play, stumbling to a disappointing record in Steve Alford's third year as head coach.\nLuke Recker had a disappointing senior campaign, scoring less than expected even though he had a relatively healthy season. Reggie Evans disappointed, getting shut down at times and being relegated to the bench after Alford said Evans wasn't taking school as serious as Alford thought he should.\nBut if last year is an accurate gauge, the Hawkeyes (16-14, 5-11 Big Ten) just might be right where they want to -- at the Big Ten Tournament with no expectations and a chance to erase any disappointments. The rest of the Big Ten knows they did it last year.\nIowa showed up in Chicago last year under the same circumstances, minus an injured Recker, and won four games in four days to win the tournament and get into the NCAA Tournament.\nIowa is the only team to have won the Big Ten Tournament over four days, and if the Hawkeyes want to win it again, they will have to pull off the same feat again.\nIowa begins play as the eighth seed Thursday morning against ninth-seeded Purdue (13-17, 5-11) at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The winner will play top-seeded Wisconsin Friday.\nAlford knows how hard it was to win four games in four days last year, but now he knows his team can do it.\n"It's very difficult. We're the only team that's been able to do that," Alford said. "You have to be deep, stay healthy. We shot the ball very well. For those four days, we stayed healthy and we guarded and made shots. \n"When you're on a neutral setting, it's important to take care of the basketball, make your shots and prevent easy shots from your opponent."\nLast year the Hawkeyes got some breaks on the way to the championship game by beating Northwestern, Ohio State and Penn State. The Nittany Lions knocked off Michigan State in the quarterfinals, so Iowa didn't have to face either Illinois or the Spartans to get to the title game.\nThe Hawkeyes breezed into the finals against IU. With a lot of help from Indiana-native Brody Boyd, Iowa beat the Hoosiers at the United Center, 63-61. Iowa had entered the tournament on a three-game losing streak, losers of seven of eight and owners of a record (18-11, 7-9) that had them squarely on the bubble.\nBut after beating the Hoosiers, Iowa beat Creighton in the first round of the NCAAs before losing to Kentucky in the second round.\nIn a year where the Big Ten might be nervous that only five or six teams will get in the Big Dance as opposed to the usual seven teams, the tournament is wide open, and a team on the bubble can get an automatic bid by winning the tournament.\n"Without question, we'll have five. If they do well in the tournament, maybe we'll get six," Ohio State coach Jim O'Brien said. "I think we're going to get five teams in for sure, and a lot will be determined with how Minnesota does in the tournament."\nWith four teams sharing the regular season title, this year's tourney seems to be wide open. Michigan State closed the regular season strong, and Minnesota is on the bubble after blowing a lead and losing to Illinois Sunday to end the regular season.\nAlford said both teams can remove any doubts about their postseason future by winning the tournament, and that will motivate every team.\n"If you're Big Ten champ, you know you have games past there," Alford said.\nFor the Hawkeyes, they are almost in the same situation as they were in last year. Iowa has lost six of seven and 10 of 13 to end the season. Recker is ready, and Evans is out of Alford's doghouse.\n"We're starting to play pretty decent basketball. We're starting to do some good things," Alford said. "We still get way too many breakdowns at the defensive end. Our offense has been in a better flow, and a lot of that has to do with taking care of the ball."\nWith such a wide-open league, nobody appears to be safe.\n"Anybody can win it. All 11 schools have a shot at doing it," Purdue coach Gene Keady said. "It's going to be fun, interesting and challenging."\nAlford would have liked to put away any doubts about Iowa being in the NCAA Tournament weeks ago. But there were too many disappointments, and the Hawkeyes are further away from where they want to be than last year. Although the same opportunity to make up for any shortcomings presents itself again this weekend, Alford knows Iowa has a lot of work to do.\n"If you're like us last year, that has its own mental stress to it," Alford said. "We have to win four games in four days. It's a have-to situation, and that's even more mental stress"