Iowa men continue to learn lessons with tight win

IOWA CITY -- Every win has value in college basketball, but some provide more lessons than others.

In Iowa's 83-75 win against Nebraska-Omaha, the Hawkeyes learned about humility and playing with a consistent effort. That was a lesson they seemingly need to re-learn every year.

"I think it's definitely a teachable moment," Iowa junior Aaron White said. "Any opponent is capable of beating us and you've got to stay locked in to the game plan, whether it's two days before the game or a day before the game."

"You can't look at a team just because they come from what we consider a lower league than us and then not take them seriously," Iowa senior Melsahn Basabe said. "To their credit, they also played very hard."

Iowa (2-0) had a similar approach last year against Gardner-Webb. The night before the Hawkeyes traveled to Mexico, they trailed by 23 points late in the first half. Iowa rallied to win by nine, overcoming the largest deficit to win in school history.

Two years ago it went in the opposite direction. The Hawkeyes were dominated against Campbell in a 16-point loss.

Sunday, the Hawkeyes trailed by five points with less than 10 minutes to go. For most of the second half Iowa often played three reserves alongside White and Devyn Marble. One of those backups, Iowa sophomore Anthony Clemmons, hit a 3-pointer to ignite a vital 9-2 run.

"Two years ago, three years ago, we lose this game," Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said. "We lost to Campbell. We lost to South Dakota State. I'm not saying we're going to win every game like this, but we did what we had to do to win this game. It's on to the next (game)."

McCaffery lit into his team last week for getting outplayed in its 22-point exhibition win against Augustana. After blowing out UNC-Wilmington 82-39 in its debut, Iowa struggled to defend Nebraska-Omaha's quicker guards. The Hawkeyes gave up nine first-half offensive rebounds, seven of which produced 15 second-chance points. Iowa didn't attack UNO, which disappointed the players.

"We've got to be the aggressor and not let them punch us in the face," McCabe said.

At halftime, White spoke up in the locker room and implored the team to rally with effort and toughness.

"It's not going to turn around just because we were meant to win this game," White relayed to his teammates. "You have to go out there, make some plays and make it happen."

With nearly every player returning on a team that won 25 games last year, this Iowa squad appeared destined for success. But with two sluggish appearances in their first three public games one could suggest the team has traces of overconfidence.

"We talk about preseason hype and the professionalism with which we have to attack that," McCaffery said. "Clearly it was evident on Friday night (against UNC-Wilmington). It's easy to say that it wasn't evident (Sunday).

"But when you do that, you lessen what your opponent was able ... our opponent was ready to play, and they played an incredibly good game, and I want to make sure they're recognized for that. We can sit there and talk about what we should have or could have done. They were making the shots and getting the rebounds, and they were giving us trouble. So it's all part of the journey."