3 Takeaways: Crucial stretch, Nebraska memories, 2016 sked

IOWA CITY - Questions of inconsistency and toughness hover over the Iowa men's basketball program like fog on a humid summer morning. Whether those questions - like the fog - dissipate is up to the level of sunshine cast upon them.

Iowa (16-10, 7-6 Big Ten) sits on the cusp of a second straight NCAA tournament berth, but the Hawkeyes face a grueling stretch to end the regular season. Iowa plays four games spanning the next 10, including three on the road. They include trips to the east (Penn State), the center (Indiana) and the west (Nebraska). There's also a home game lodged in the middle against fellow NCAA tournament bubble squad Illinois before ending the season at home against Northwestern.

It's not an unfamiliar place for the Hawkeyes. Last year, Iowa sat 8-5 but finished the stretch run 1-4 to end the regular season 9-9. Two years ago, Iowa was 6-7 and finished 3-2 with another 9-9 mark. Last year's team qualified for the NCAA tournament; the squad two years ago barely missed it.

Iowa's mercurial journey this year includes a win at perennial power North Carolina, then losses to in-state foes Iowa State and Northern Iowa by double digits. The Hawkeyes opened Big Ten play 4-1, then dropped three straight. Impressive wins against Michigan and Maryland were followed by losses to bottom-half squads Minnesota and Northwestern. A 34-point pounding of Rutgers on Thursday provided a salve over the Hawkeyes' blistering inconsistency. But the only way to permanently heal it is through winning in this crucial stretch.

'The DNA of this team is still unknown,” BTN analyst Stephen Bardo said Thursday on BTN's 'Basketball Report.” I know that sounds crazy. This is a veteran ballclub. But we don't know what this team is because it's so inconsistent. Three and three in their last six games with a lot on the line ... they've come up short on some opportunities.

'They have the talent to run the gamut. They could run through all these games, but what we've seen from Iowa in past times makes me hesitate.”

Iowa's final five games hardly are daunting on paper. Nebraska (5-9), Northwestern (3-10) and Penn State (3-11) are a combined 11-30 in league play. Iowa plays Illinois (7-6) at home and travels to Indiana (8-6). Based on Iowa's best performances this year, the Hawkeyes have every reason to believe they can win all five. They also are confident Thursday's blowout win has pointed them back into the right direction, one game at a time.

'Every game is big but when you go through a mean losing streak, you always want to get back on track, and it was at a perfect time,” Iowa junior Adam Woodbury said. 'We were able to do it, and now we have to take care of Nebraska. Every game is big, but you've got Nebraska at their place. It's a tough one for us, like every Big Ten game on the road.”

'We had a couple rough games, and you've got to look forward from that,” Iowa junior Jarrod Uthoff said. 'You can't look too far forward. You've got to stay in the present.”

But Iowa's recent track record in close games shows over the last three years quietly halts any overt optimism. The Hawkeyes are 3-15 against Big Ten opponents in games decided by five points or less, 9-20 in single-digit games.

Every upcoming opponent - even those with losing records - presents its own challenges. Nebraska boasts two of the Big Ten's best scorers in Shavon Shields and Terran Petteway, a persistent level of play and a fierce home-court atmosphere. Penn State guard D.J. Newbill leads the Big Ten in scoring. Northwestern has beaten Iowa the last two times they've played, including last Sunday.

Illinois and Indiana hold similar NCAA tournament hopes as Iowa. Those outcomes will determine Big Ten Tournament positioning and possibly NCAA seeding.

Uthoff honestly couldn't recall which team Iowa plays after Sunday's game at Nebraska. It's just as well. That narrow focus is vital for Iowa's big-picture success.

'It all starts with us playing as a team and playing together and being excited for one another,” Uthoff said. 'Coming together in huddles and stuff, that's really a key to our team. When we're doing that and you see us on the court doing that, we're a different team. When we don't do it, we're all individuals. We don't play as well.”

2. Nebrasketball rivalry.

The most exciting recent Big Ten basketball game never shown on television featured a snowstorm, an aging arena and divine intervention, the last of which is Iowa senior Aaron White's interpretation.

Two years ago, Iowa's game at Nebraska was delayed two days after a forecast showed 20-plus inches of snow was set to engulf Lincoln. The game shifted from a Thursday to a Saturday. Outside the Devaney Center, the game was available only on digital platforms because of fears that network trucks couldn't make it to Nebraska.

The Hawkeyes led the Cornhuskers by 19 late in the first half. Then Nebraska mounted a furious rally, which culminated in a late 3-pointer and a 64-60 upset that ultimately knocked the Hawkeyes from the NCAA tournament.

'We've got some guys that are playing right now that still remember that game and were still a big part of that game,” Iowa junior center Adam Woodbury said. 'The memory isn't fresh, but we've still got it in the back of our minds of what happened.”

In a riveting segment of BTN's 'The Journey” that aired shortly after the game, Nebraska Coach Tim Miles' father was shown smiling in the background behind Miles. It was his first game watching his son in person after heart surgery.

'Shoot when I watched ‘The Journey,' that game was fate,” said White with a laugh. 'Coach Miles' dad was sick and I was like we had no chance of winning in the first place because of people above had control over what was going on.”

It was Iowa's final appearance at the Devaney Center, and the Cornhuskers now play at new Pinnacle Bank Arena. That game was crucial to Iowa's season and Sunday's game fits the same description. Iowa (16-10, 7-6 Big Ten) remains a likely NCAA tournament participant, provided it beats teams like Nebraska (13-13, 5-9 Big Ten). But it won't be easy, as that game proved two years ago.

In two seasons at its new arena, Nebraska is 13-3 at home against Big Ten foes. Last year's home loss was by one point to Big Ten champion Michigan. This year's losses were to Indiana and likely Big Ten champion Wisconsin.

The border series has turned into a burgeoning series since Nebraska joined the Big Ten in 2011. Iowa has won the last two and leads 4-2 in their six meetings, but each game was fiercely contested.

Iowa junior point guard Mike Gesell - a two-time Nebraska prep player of the year - heard several catcalls in Lincoln two years ago. Woodbury said the rivalry has grown between the programs.

'I think with football it's pretty big,” Woodbury said. 'Those guys hate each other. We've finally got a little taste of playing against them. They've been a good team ever since I've been around, so they're always tough to play against. They play a unique style, and they've got good players there. They really do. They're tough to play against, and we've always got to play our best to beat them. We'll be ready to go, and I think they'll be ready, too.”

3. 2016 schedule.

Thursday, the Big Ten announced every team's opponents for the 2015-16 men's basketball schedule. Iowa won't play any of its border rivals twice next season. In-state series Indiana-Purdue, Illinois-Northwestern and Michigan-Michigan State, along with other rivalries Minnesota-Wisconsin, Michigan-Ohio State and Illinois-Purdue also are scheduled for just one edition.

With 14 teams and 18 games, there's not much the league can do unless teams don't play one another or coaches agree to add more Big Ten games. So the league's true rotation of five double-plays with eight singles is part of the new Big Ten. But that doesn't mean you have to like it.

Big Ten basketball is different from football because the rivalries are not nearly as embedded. Sometimes it's based on proximity, like those listed above. Other times it's because of competitiveness, like Wisconsin-Michigan State. Plus, basketball teams will play each other at least once. If football went through a true rotation (umm, no Ohio State-Michigan or even Iowa-Minnesota), every morning league officials would have to wipe egg from the B1G sign at its new office building in Rosemont, Ill.

But what makes Big Ten basketball special is the home-and-home aspect of rivalries. From 1986 through 2003 - during the rivalry's most heated period - Iowa and Illinois played 33 times. Iowa was 12-4 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena and 3-14 at Champaign. Players from that era admit they were rattled when they went to the other's arena. Almost every year there was a chance at revenge.

Iowa junior forward Jarrod Uthoff started his career at Wisconsin. He was heckled in his last two appearances at the Kohl Center, and both were Badger victories. He bristled Thursday night when he was told Iowa wouldn't play at the Kohl Center for his senior season.

'That's too bad, actually,” he said. 'I wanted to. That really stinks.”

For league newcomers Nebraska, Maryland and Rutgers, the true rotation makes developing rivalries difficult. Iowa didn't play at Nebraska last year and won't next year. Rutgers and Maryland see Penn State - and each other - just once next year.

There's no way the league will expand from 18 games to 26 games so single-plays are just part of the deal. But I can see a scenario where the Big Ten designates one permanent home-and-home rival for every school. Those rivalries likely would include: Indiana-Purdue, Michigan-Michigan State, Wisconsin-Minnesota, Illinois-Northwestern, Iowa-Nebraska, Rutgers-Penn State and Maryland-Ohio State.

Permanent opponents would allow for easier annual scheduling, too. Of a team's 12 remaining opponents, you'd play them at home on year, on the road the next and then twice every three years. That's four games over three years. It's hardly perfect, but it preserves some of the league's best home-and-home rivalries.

On another note, Iowa better ramp up its travel budget next year. The Hawkeyes play only one squad from a neighboring state (Illinois) on the road. The other trips include games to Rutgers, Penn State, Maryland, Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Indiana and Purdue. Iowa plays Nebraska, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Northwestern, Purdue, Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State and Penn State at home.

l Comments: (319) 339-3169; scott.dochterman@thegazette.com