Bench production wanes for No. 6 Hawkeyes

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — The way Iowa has blended its reserves with its starting unit is one reason why the No. 6 Hawkeyes lead the Big Ten with only five games left in the regular season.

Over Iowa's first 10 league games, bench players averaged 16.1 points and 55.6 minutes a game. Five times reserves totaled at least 19 points in a game, including in critical junctures against Michigan State and Purdue. But in Iowa's last three games, its bench production and minutes have come to a halt so hard and fast it's almost to the point of statistical whiplash.

In those games, Iowa's bench has scored 14 points to its opponents' 71. The minutes have fizzled along with the points. Iowa's reserves total 105 minutes in those three games,

In Iowa's 85-78 loss at Indiana, the Hoosiers' bench outscored Iowa's 28-0 and doubled up the minutes 62-31. That's compared to a 28-point, 78-minute bench outing against Penn State — Wednesday's opponent on the road — two weeks ago.

'In retrospect I should have played them all a little bit more,' Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said. 'But the starting five played so well that I thought we would ride them. We had four media timeouts in the second half; I had three left. I figured Tom (Crean, Indiana's coach) might take one. He had three left. I thought we'd get them home. I thought we had a good rhythm in the second half offensively. So I just sprinkled in three guys. I didn't even play Brady (Ellingson) in the second half, but I have confidence in those guys and I'll go back to them.'

Points and minutes aside, Iowa's bench wasn't productive in many other areas in its last three games. Bench players combined to sink just four of 20 shots. They've grabbed 19 rebounds but have committed two turnovers compared to one assist and one steal.

Unlike in years past, Iowa's bench players are significantly younger than its starters. The Hawkeyes open with four seniors and a junior in their starting lineup. The four reserves who see the most action include sophomore forward Dom Uhl, red-shirt freshmen Nicholas Baer and Brady Ellingson and Wagner, a true freshman. A college season is longer and far more intense than any form of basketball they've ever experienced, which could have resulted in mental and physical fatigue as well as advanced scouting by opponents.

'I think everybody hits some kind of wall throughout the season,' Iowa senior point guard Mike Gesell said. 'It's hard not to do that; it's such a long season. It's the way you respond to that, and I know those guys are working hard every single day in practice. They're not doing anything different.'

Uhl became a major weapon for Iowa, especially from 3-point range, early in Big Ten play. In Iowa's first five games, Uhl connected on nine of 11 3-pointers. He since has cooled off at five of 15, but still shoots better than 53 percent outside the arc. Through 10 games, Uhl averaged 7.9 points a game. He has totaled seven over the last three.

Baer's minutes and points have fluctuated throughout Big Ten play, but he has taken just one shot and scored no points in Iowa's last two games. Wagner played only five minutes at Indiana but rebounded in both production (seven rebounds) and action (16 minutes) against the Gophers.

Ellingson, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard, was decent as a perimeter shooter in non-conference play but has struggled in Big Ten action. He's missed his last seven shots over six games and connected on just two of 13 from beyond the 3-point line in Big Ten play. He's totaled eight minutes in the last three games.

'He's been shooting it well in practice,' McCaffery said. 'We try to get him plenty of opportunities to do that in practice. We do a lot of scrimmaging.

'His shot looks fine; he's just got to go out there and make some in games.'

McCaffery doesn't set numerical goals for his bench players based on minutes. He substitutes based on feel and situation.

'I'm just going to sub kind of in a consistent rotation,' McCaffery said. 'I look to see who's tired. I try not to sub too many guys at once. I sometimes do that anyway. See how guys are playing, and it's always going to be a function of foul trouble. Sometimes you go big, you go small. You can go bigger if you're playing zone, you can smaller if you're playing man. It's game to game.'

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