Schedule switches in Iowa's favor

IOWA CITY — And now, the schedule flips.

With an NCAA tournament berth in limbo, Iowa plays five of its final seven regular-season games at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. It begins Sunday with a 2 p.m. encounter with 17th-ranked Michigan State, a team coming to the end of a brutal five-day, three-game journey.

'It's ... a difficult stretch for us for sure, but I thought we were a little bit flat coming out,' Spartans Coach Suzy Merchant said Friday after the Spartans lost at Maryland.

Because of a weather-driven postponement earlier this season, the MSU-Maryland game was rescheduled for Friday, giving the Spartans (17-5 overall, 8-3 Big Ten) a Wednesday-Friday-Sunday series.

Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder was empathetic, but 'I'm not too sympathetic,' she said.

After all, Bluder's team has its own issues — namely, how to hold a lead.

Three times in the Big Ten season, the Hawkeyes (15-8, 5-6) have blown double-digit second-half leads, against Michigan, Michigan State and — most recently — Indiana.

'It's disheartening. I feel like we were in good control,' Bluder said of Thursday's 79-74 loss at Bloomington. 'The momentum just changed. We weren't mentally tough enough to handle those swings.'

Iowa led 38-23 at halftime, then allowed 32 fourth-quarter points.

'For some reason, we just need to change that mentality,' Bluder said. 'You can talk about it. But I kind of feel it's an innate quality.'

Now the Hawkeyes are back home for much of the stretch run, starting with the third-place Spartans, who can't help but be a little weary.

Iowa has qualified for the last eight NCAAs. To extend that streak, a strong finish is necessary. Iowa's RPI is 48, and the Hawkeyes were a 10 seed in the last bracketology conducted by ESPN.com's Charlie Creme, and that was before the Indiana loss.

'I think there's still an opportunity for us to finish in the top six (in the Big Ten),' Bluder said. 'In the next couple weeks, a lot can change.'

Sophomore guard Whitney Jennings scored a career-high 22 points at Indiana.

'I'm just happy for her to have played so well in her home state,' Bluder said. 'She's just more aggressive looking for her shot.'

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