Iowa not new to speed, athleticism of Florida State

IOWA CITY — Iowa has not been short on early season tests.

Fresh off facing two ranked teams at the Advocare Invitational, the Hawkeyes come home and ready themselves for the Big Ten-ACC Challenge and a date at Carver-Hawkeye Arena with Florida State.

The way in which Iowa was tested in defending speed and quickness against a team like Dayton will have a direct correlation to what it should expect Wednesday night. The Seminoles (4-1) average 74.4 possessions per 40 minutes (28th quickest in the country) and deploy two guards who average more than 20 points per game and each shoot better than 57 percent from the field.

The Hawkeyes' ability to stay composed in a running game will go a long way toward a victory.

'Yeah, they're fast. They've got speed. They attack, kind of that attack mentality. It will be more up and down, similar to the Dayton game,' said Coach Fran McCaffery. 'The key oftentimes in situations like that is shot selection. You shoot crazy shots. A bad shot is often the same as a turnover. If you turn it over, that's a problem against Florida State. If you take a bad shot, it's a problem.

'It's any team that plays that way with those kinds of athletes. So you've got to take care of the ball and take good shots. Then get your guards back and get everybody else to sprint and keep fresh bodies out there.'

McCaffery and his players made no bones about the fact that Iowa (4-2) struggled with that against Dayton, and that played a big role in the loss in Orlando.

Add in the new freedom of movement rules that are being emphasized by officials this season, and a team that runs in transition can have a distinct advantage against a team that hasn't gotten completely comfortable guarding under the new ruleset. McCaffery said Monday neither he nor his team can blame officiating to this point because, 'they (sent) you a videotape and said, this is what the new rules are and this is how it's going to be officiated. You can't complain when they officiate it that way. They told you. You've got to get your guys to get their hands out, and you're happy you have depth, which we have.'

So along with Mike Gesell, Jarrod Uthoff, Peter Jok and Anthony Clemmons, guys like Brady Ellingson, Dale Jones and Andrew Fleming will have to figure it out quickly.

'I think that was a focal point (out) of the Dayton game, that we need to work on. We'll try to work on it and try to remedy it,' Uthoff said. 'Other guys that take charges (and) do different from me might try to do something different, but I just play the same way I always have. I'll try to go for the block or try to contest it somehow.'

McCaffery has lauded the Hawkeyes' depth so far this season, but they'll face a Seminoles team with depth of their own. They have six guys who average 20 minutes-played per game, and nine who average 12 minutes per game.

Those two 20-point scorers, Dwayne Bacon (20.6) and Malik Beasley (20.0), are freshmen. Bacon played with Iowa's Fleming last year at Oak Hill Academy in Virginia. With upperclassmen and starters from last year there to bring experience, that combined with their style of play will be something to deal with.

'It's rare that you have two freshmen that average 20. Those two guys are special,' McCaffery said. 'But (Xavier Rathan-) Mayes kind of makes them go. He had some 30-point games last year as a freshman, which you know doesn't happen too much at this level. So those three are a handful.

'What's interesting, if you think about it, they had five starters back, and two freshmen are averaging 20. So I don't know that's ever happened.'

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