Iowa hoops: Making the Grade, Big Ten Week 6

What a difference a couple weeks makes. The Iowa men's basketball team saw its improvements from Illinois to Ohio State backed up and even raised further in the last week with two more wins against Rutgers and Nebraska. The first road win and avenging a close loss are enough to put Iowa at the high water mark of its conference season.

Each week of the season, we'll break down the Hawkeyes' offensive and defensive performance and give them grades, as we'll as highlight each player who contributed significantly and his individual performance. This week's Iowa Hoops: Making the Grade highlights Games 23 and 24 against Rutgers and Nebraska.

Schedule/Results

Iowa at Rutgers, W, 83-63

Iowa vs. Nebraska, W, 81-70

Offense

A-Why:There's very little that can do more wonders than seeing the ball go through the hoop with consistency. We're talking wonders of morale as well as results. How Iowa got its groove back (shoutout to all the Gen-Xers who love Angela Bassett and Taye Diggs) was outlined pretty simply by Coach Fran McCaffery after the Nebraska game by pointing out the ball movement improvements.

The only reason, though, that those improvements happened and why they're a story is because the players realize why it's important, not just the simple fact that it is important. It's not sensible to say Peter Jok's injury is addition by subtraction in a macro view, but zooming in, McCaffery acknowledged that his absence forced the acknowledgment. That Jok made a conscious decision to work with that instead of force it to work with him means he was paying attention.

Iowa's adjusted offense moved into the top 50 on KenPom.com thanks to a week in which it had 1.163 points per possession. Its efficiency was evident in the assist rate over the last two, which was an eye-popping 80.7 percent. It was a good week, and it came at a good time.

Defense

BWhy:At different points of this season, if you looked at a rebounding margin of minus-9 per game (85-67), a points in the paint margin of minus-4 per game (80-72) and allowing 15 second-chance points per game, it would be a sign that the Hawkeyes' defense had gone down a bad road that kept them from success.

At this point, though, those stats result as footnotes thanks in part to the aforementioned offensive flow, but also because a pair of the biggest struggles the Iowa defense has had looked way better this week.

While guards from both Rutgers and Nebraska got into the paint a bit, Iowa kept that at bay much better with effective help defense on ball screens and precise rotations when in zone. Both rematches, Iowa went from getting burned by Corey Sanders, Tai Webster and Glynn Watson to holding Sanders to eight points and five turnovers, Webster to 14 points and four turnovers and an ailing Watson to three points on 0 of 4 shooting.

Whether in zone or man, improvement in closeouts was evident in the way the Scarlet Knights and Huskers shot. Rutgers went 4 of 15 from 3-point range and Nebraska was 3 of 20. Rutgers' effective field goal percentage was 42.2 percent and Nebraska's was 44.5. The best defense is a missed shot, right? The Hawkeyes forced both into plenty this week.

Players (in last two games)

* To view more data, click here.

Jordan Bohannon, guard — It's gotten to the point where you almost forget this guy is a freshman. Sure, mistakes still happen, but — as Fran McCaffery put it — his 'incredible amnesia' leads him to carry himself like a much more mature individual. He was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Monday thanks to averaging 16 points, three assists, 2.5 rebounds, and one steal in the last two games. He broke the freshman 3-point shooting record and shot 69.2 percent from deep. Solid week.

Peter Jok, guard — His return to the lineup was muted, all things considered, in terms of his offensive impact. He had a season-low seven shot attempts. He barely dribbled, and didn't hunt for his shot. He did that on purpose. His five rebounds and five assists in his return were emblematic of that, and shows his awareness and intelligence for what impact he can have. He'll get back to what he was before his back injury, but this was a solid transition.

Tyler Cook, forward — In comments after the game, Nebraska forward Jordy Tshimanga said, 'I thought these big men were way more softer than the guys I've been playing in past games,' as told to the Omaha World-Herald. This guy, and the next one, probably beg to differ. Cook was 6 of 10 from the field and had 13 points — oh, and was a big part of luring Tshimanga into foul trouble. Is that soft or smart?

Cordell Pemsl, forward — Pemsl leads the Big Ten in shooting percentage at 62.3 percent. Despite losing his starting spot, he's not lost his effectiveness. He had 15 points and seven rebounds at Rutgers. He dealt with some foul trouble against Nebraska, but like Cook, got Huskers frontcourt players in foul trouble while getting six points and four rebounds.

Brady Ellingson, guard — 'He's smart. He's tough. He's cerebral.' That was what McCaffery said about the sophomore guard following 11 points on 3 of 4 shooting from 3 on Sunday. Kid has emerged as a vital part of the offense after several games where he was essentially an also-ran. His biggest contribution, though? Probably 10 assists to no turnovers in the last two games.

Ahmad Wagner, forward — Speaking of vital, Wagner has worked into that conversation while stepping into the starting lineup in the last few games. His impact isn't really on the stat sheet, even if 7.5 points per game in the last two is a solid number. His defense has been very good individually, and his presence on the glass clearing other defenders out so someone in white or black can snag the board has been crucial.

Isaiah Moss, guard — He's been overshadowed a bit recently by Ellingson and Bohannon, but he's still been effective in 15 minutes per game. He got back to being a little more aggressive in finding his shot this week, and while it didn't work out great against Nebraska, it's still something the Iowa coaching staff wants from him. Those shots will fall for him if he keeps finding them.

Dom Uhl, forward — The eye test can be deceiving, but Uhl seems light years from where he was to start the season in terms of body language and confidence with the ball. He's still not as productive as was maybe expected, but he's picked his spots well offensively and has continued to get better individually on defense. Making the most of bench minutes is tough, and he's gotten better at it.

Nicholas Baer, guard — Even an objective observer can admit that watching Nicholas Baer block an unsuspecting big man via back side help is amusing and more than a little impressive. Looking at Baer, he doesn't scream shot-blocker. But he had three blocks Sunday and two at Rutgers — most impressively via a volleyball spike of Isaiah Roby on Sunday.

Christian Williams, guard — As Bohannon gets ever better, Williams' minutes continue to become scarce. He played just six minutes against Nebraska after 14 against Rutgers. Before the season there was an option of playing him with Bohannon thrown out, but the rise of Ellingson and Moss has hurt that, too. None of the above, though, seems to have affected his effort.

Ryan Kriener, forward — Foul trouble visibly frustrated the freshman at Rutgers, where every time he stepped on the court it seemed the first time his assignment on defense touched the ball, he was called for a foul. He barely played against Nebraska, as Iowa went small for long stretches and Cook and Pemsl were very effective. Given how he's played, this week likely is an outlier.

Upcoming Games

Iowa at Minnesota, 8:06 p.m., Feb. 8 at Williams Arena in Minneapolis (BTN)

Iowa at Michigan State, 5 p.m., Feb. 11 at Breslin Center in East Lansing, Mich. (BTN)

Previous weeks: Games 1-2, Games 3-4; Games 5-7; Games 8-10; Games 11-13; Games 14-15; Games 16-17; Games 18-19; Games 20-22

*Full disclosure on grades: First things first, that's by subjective view after covering and re-watching games. Second, grades are an aggregate of the week, based on an 11-point scale. A is worth 11, A- 10, and so on through F, which is 0. Offense and defense are given a grade for each game and then averaged for the week.

l Comments: (319) 368-8884; jeremiah.davis@thegazette.com