Iowa extends layoff into layover in loss at Northwestern

EVANSTON, Ill. - Iowa's men's basketball team extended its nine-day layoff into an extra layover last night at Northwestern.

Iowa had no offensive flow and no answer for John Shurna in a 74-57 loss to the Wildcats. Iowa (9-19, 3-12 Big Ten) tied the school record for most losses in the season, which was set two years ago. Conversely, Northwestern (18-10, 7-9) set its school record for wins in a season.

The Wildcats scored on multiple backdoor cuts and shot 58.3 percent from the field. Iowa hit only 39.5 percent of its shots.

“We didn't come ready to play, I think,” Iowa guard Cully Payne said, “Coach (Todd Lickliter) said it right. We thought we were going to come in here and take care of business again. We didn't have the mindset to do that.”

Iowa last played Feb. 16 against Michigan, and Lickliter hoped the layoff would provide the team with rest. Instead the Hawkeyes appeared flat and lethargic, and Northwestern made the Hawkeyes pay right away.

The Wildcats drilled Iowa early, shooting 63 percent from the floor in the first half. At one point Northwestern scored on seven consecutive possessions to extend an eight-point lead to 20 at 31-11. Iowa had 10 turnovers in the first half and lacked consistency at either end of the court.

Northwestern switched its standard defense from a 1-3-1 zone to more of a match-up zone set. Iowa struggled from the outside, hitting just 3 of 21 3-point shots. Matt Gatens led Iowa with 15 points but missed all six 3-point shots. Eric May scored nine points but missed on his seven 3-point attempts.

“Compared to the last time we played, I wasn't as open,” Gatens said. “They didn't play as much zone. They did a good job on us. We didn't hit many early and I think our confidence went down a little bit.”

“I don't want to make excuses. It's disappointing, but we've got to learn from it.”

Iowa trailed by as many as 25 midway through the second half. The Hawkeyes cut their deficit to 12 points with 3:54 left but Northwestern scored on its next five possessions to ice the game.

Shurna virtually was unstoppable, scoring 29 points on 10-of-14 shooting. He entered last night's game ranked fourth in Big Ten scoring at 18.1 points a game. He scored 18 in the first half.

Shurna scored the game's signature play with 15:13 left. Northwestern guard Jeremy Nash tossed a backdoor alley oop pass that Shurna popped up toward the basket but was fouled by May. The ball sprung straight up and came straight down into the net. Shurna completed the three-point play with a free throw.

The Wildcats avenged a 13-point loss to Iowa two weeks ago. That defeat, coupled with a loss last week to Penn State, likely will keep Northwestern from reaching its first NCAA Tournament despite its record.

“I'm sure they were kind of a little mad at how we handled them at our place and came out ready to play,” Gatens said.