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Iowa has parallels with 2013 Michigan, 2014 Wisconsin
Mar. 9, 2016 1:04 pm
IOWA CITY — John Beilein's 2013 Michigan squad was freakishly skilled at every position, and his No. 1-ranked Wolverines sat atop the Big Ten standings after eight games.
Then, the league chipped away at his young team. There were a pair of losses to eventual league champion Indiana. The Wolverines lost a road game at 0-14 Penn State. Michigan, a team with four first-round NBA draft picks, was reeling with a 5-5 record in its final 10 regular-season games. With a 12-6 record, the Wolverines were a No. 5 seed in the Big Ten Tournament that year and were out by the second game.
'We had five freshmen playing on that team and it wasn't a surprise at all in February they had some ups and downs against a tough schedule,' Beilein said. '(The Penn State loss) really shook us up for a while.'
Two years ago, Wisconsin started 16-0 overall and was ranked No. 3 nationally. Then the Badgers went into a funk, losing three in a row and five over a six-game stretch. Four of those losses were to unranked teams. Northwestern beat Wisconsin for the first time at Kohl Center to end a 14-game losing streak in Madison. Like Michigan, Wisconsin finished 12-6 in league play but earned a No. 4 seed at the Big Ten Tournament.
'I think what happened during that time was we played some teams that played pretty well,' said Wisconsin Coach Greg Gard, who was an assistant that year. 'But I think the biggest thing that we learned from it was stay true to who we are and not deviate from the plan. We just need to do it better.'
This year's Iowa squad reached No. 3 in an Associated Press poll and led the Big Ten with a 10-1 record. A few close losses became a slump, and the Hawkeyes (21-9) dropped five of their final seven games to finish 12-6. Iowa is the No. 5 seed in this week's Big Ten Tournament.
Iowa regained some momentum in a 71-61 win at Michigan on Saturday after dropping four straight games. The Hawkeyes' slide helped them identify some areas of concern and make improvements, especially on defense.
'You play 30-some games. You're bound to have a stretch where you lose a couple,' Iowa forward Jarrod Uthoff said. 'That's the nature of basketball. You don't win every game. Even Kentucky last year went undefeated until the Final Four, then they lost. The odds are against winning every game. It's how you recover from those losses that's really a true testament of who you are.'
Beilein's crew rebounded in the NCAA tournament. The Wolverines won five straight games — including an epic overtime clash with Kansas in the Sweet Sixteen — to advance to the NCAA title game before falling short against Louisville.
'Once we got some momentum, they started believing again,' Beilein said. 'It was a huge difference for us.'
Wisconsin won its first three NCAA games convincingly before outlasting Arizona in an overtime NCAA Elite Eight game. The Badgers lost by one point to Kentucky in the Final Four.
The parallels among Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa are comparable. All three squads started strong, then hit a lull during league play. Michigan and Wisconsin rallied to put up program-defining moments.
Beilein said last week Iowa's season reminds him of that 2013 experience. Uthoff, a first-team all-Big Ten forward, scored 29 points on Saturday.
'I said the best teams, if you watch them, some of the great teams have these times in February that really make them good in March,' Beilein said. 'They struggle through it, they regroup and I thought Iowa really regrouped well against us. Uthoff just said, 'I've had enough of this.' Then just took that game over the other day.
'Sometimes that's all you need, one game and everybody feels better.'
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Iowa Hawkeyes forward Jarrod Uthoff (20) shoots over Michigan Wolverines forward Ricky Doyle (32) in the first half at Crisler Center on Saturday, March 5, 2016 at Ann Arbor, Mich. (Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports)