Iowa preps for Alcorn State

IOWA CITY - Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery won't disrespect any of his team's opponents, no matter their record or pedigree. So don't expect to hear the coach talk about using games as ways to gain experience.

But for what the coach doesn't say, there are logical places to fill in the blanks. The Hawkeyes (7-2) play host to Alcorn State (1-5) tonight at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. This game (along with Saturday's win against Maryland-Baltimore County) was placed strategically between a road match-up at North Carolina and a home date against Iowa State. With an 18-game Big Ten grind beginning in three weeks, the Hawkeyes need to use few games for open substitutions and building experience. Again, McCaffery won't say that, but the numbers speak to that development.

Saturday in a 77-47 win against Maryland-Baltimore County, sophomore guard Peter Jok, sophomore point guard Trey Dickerson and freshman forward Dominique Uhl each played more than 20 minutes. Jok, who had struggled mightily through his first eight games, scored 15 points, grabbed three steals and dished two assists without any turnovers. Dickerson added six points with three assists, while Uhl scored three points.

'That's how you earn playing time,” McCaffery said. 'You come in there, and you lock into the game plan and you rebound the ball and you don't turn it over, maybe you make some baskets, maybe you don't. But you defend, you rebound, and you don't turn it over. Like I said, if you do those things, you can stay on the floor.”

Senior guard Josh Oglesby has struggled shooting the ball and missed all four shots against UMBC. Oglesby averages nearly 21 minutes a game and 4.6 points and he's shooting just 23.1 percent from the floor and 25 percent from 3-point range. Last year Oglesby shot 43.6 percent overall.

McCaffery needs Oglesby to regain his shooting touch.

'Josh is really close,” McCaffery said. 'I mean, he killed it again. We got back from Carolina and we practiced and worked on our offense, and he was making everything. I thought the pull-up (Saturday) was a good shot. He wasn't hunting 3s. He was wide open at the elbow. He normally makes that shot. The only play that was out of character was the drive on the baseline when he coughed it up. He doesn't usually make that mistake. But he's trying to get to the rim and trying to get fouled, I guess.”

Alcorn State has played two common opponents with Iowa and has lost both games. The Braves lost by 32 to Texas and by 13 to Hampton. Texas beat Iowa 71-57, and the Hawkeyes rolled Hampton 90-56.

But Saturday proved you can't take these match-ups for granted, either. The New Jersey Institute of Technology shocked Michigan 72-70, just four days after the Wolverines beat Syracuse. Also, North Florida beat Purdue 73-70.

Iowa avoid that fate Saturday with a strong start. The Hawkeyes pounced to a 26-6 lead and scored 48 points by halftime against Maryland-Baltimore County.

'You could tell they were going to be ready for this game,” McCaffery said. 'It was not going to be a letdown or anything like that.”

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