3 games defined Hawkeyes’ season

IOWA CITY - When the Iowa men's basketball team faced adversity this season, it responded to the challenge.

A pair of losses in New York City led to a 2-2 start. Then came six straight wins, including a 60-55 victory at then-No. 12 North Carolina.

The Hawkeyes (21-11) lost to instate foes Iowa State and Northern Iowa by double digits. The Hawkeyes responded with three wins, highlighted with a league-opening upset at Ohio State.

A 4-1 Big Ten start quickly became 4-4. Two big wins against Michigan and Maryland drifted into a pair of losses to Minnesota and Northwestern. A 6-6 start to Big Ten play pushed the Hawkeyes into a season-defining stretch run. Then came a six-game winning streak to end the regular season. The Hawkeyes' 12-6 Big Ten campaign was the school's best league mark since 1996-97, and its six Big Ten road wins was the program's high since 1986-87.

The season-long gridlock loosened up, and the Hawkeyes earned their second consecutive NCAA tournament trip.

'You hope to make progress every year,” Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said. 'It's not always easy, especially at this level. But I'm proud of our guys and how they competed. It's been an interesting year start to finish.

'We had a lot of things that came together for us, and that was great to see. We had some different question marks coming into the season that were answered. To win six games in a row in this league is really difficult and it speaks to what we're capable of. Now we've got to go out and perform well in the NCAA tournament.”

In a sport where the season lasts more than five months, the moments often blend together and the outcomes form a mosaic. However, there were three contests that stand out as turning points to the Hawkeyes' season en route to a 21-11 record.

Game 1 - at North Carolina, Dec. 3.

In late November the Hawkeyes had dropped a pair of games to high-profile teams Texas and Syracuse at Madison Square Garden and were a decided underdog to the blue-blood Tar Heels at the Dean Dome.

The matchup was strong, considering both were NCAA tournament teams last year. But UNC point guard Marcus Paige gave it flavor. Paige grew up in Marion surrounded by Iowa fans, both in his family and at Linn-Mar High School. Plus, Paige was an AAU teammate of Iowa players Mike Gesell and Adam Woodbury.

With 10 minutes left, North Carolina scored nine straight points and led 45-40. The Hawkeyes then mounted a run of their own and took a 51-50 lead on three consecutive field goals from Woodbury followed by a Gesell jumper. With the game tied 55-55, Gesell drove to the basket, scored and was fouled. He completed a three-point play to push Iowa ahead by three points. Iowa held off North Carolina on its next two offensive possessions, and Gesell sealed the win with two free throws. Gesell was overshadowed by Paige throughout his AAU career but outscored his friend 16-13 that night.

'I don't think we would have gotten this win last year,” Woodbury said after the game. 'We weren't as mentally tough as we needed to be last year down the stretch. I think that's pretty obvious. We kind of collectively made an attempt this year to turn the page on that and in New York, but we weren't tough enough in New York as you guys saw. I hope this was the turning point to get the momentum going for the rest of the year and get some wins.”

The win gave Iowa proof it was capable of beating top teams at any location. The Hawkeyes finished 7-3 in true road games and won at Michigan, Ohio State and Indiana for the first time in a single season since 1970.

Game 2 - at Ohio State, Dec. 30.

Despite the prowess of both Iowa State and Northern Iowa, it's never palatable for Iowa to lose to either opponent, let alone both by double digits. At raucous Carver-Hawkeye Arena, the Hawkeyes and Cyclones were tied with 46 left in the first half. Then a 26-2 Iowa State run spurred by five Iowa turnovers in a six-possession span led to a crushing 15-point Iowa State win. Eight days later against Northern Iowa in Des Moines, the Hawkeyes led by six at halftime. Then Iowa sank just 3 of 24 second-half shots to lose 56-44.

A home win against North Florida served as a prelude for a road trip to Columbus. Iowa still faced questions about its toughness. Iowa started strong, shooting 50 percent and took a 12-point halftime lead. But the Buckeyes clawed within three points with 3:25 left.

On two of the season's most important possessions, Iowa senior Josh Oglesby hit a jumper in the lane and followed with a pass to Jarrod Uthoff on the wing for a 3-pointer. Iowa led by eight with 2:19 and held on for a 71-65 win.

'We learned a lot (that day), just our toughness as a team and how we well played together,” Oglesby said after the win. 'You just look at the wins and see what you do good and carry that over and what you did bad, work on it. Obviously when you lose and you get beat like you did against Iowa State and UNI like we did, it wasn't kind of like anything wrong with our plays or anything like that. (It was) our defense, our toughness and mind-set going into the game.”

The victory restored confidence to the Hawkeyes after the instate defeats. It also revealed to the team it could compete in the Big Ten.

Game 3 - at Northwestern, Feb. 15.

Two lopsided victories against Michigan and Maryland showed the Hawkeyes how capable they are of beating top-notch competition. However, consecutive losses to Minnesota and at Northwestern showed how vulnerable they are when they lack focus on the defensive end.

The Wildcats had lost 10 straight Big Ten games but attacked the Hawkeyes from the perimeter with six first-half 3-pointers. Iowa trailed by 10 but closed the deficit to three at halftime. Iowa battled back and even took a five-point lead with 4:25 left. But the Hawkeyes' defense failed to contain the perimeter, and Northwestern dropped 3-pointers on its next two possessions to go up 47-46. Although Iowa sent the game into overtime on a contested 3-pointer from Uthoff, the Hawkeyes missed 11 of 13 shots in overtime, and the Wildcats won 66-61.

The loss prompted a players-only meeting and a rededication to finish the season strong, unlike one year ago. The Hawkeyes won their final six regular-season games by an average of 17.5 points.

Iowa recognized its mortality after that loss and how quickly a season can spiral downward. Any team can beat Iowa if it doesn't play well.

'Did we learn something from that game? I'm sure we did,” Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said, 'and just like we learned from beating Ohio State at Ohio State, there were a lot of things we learned that day. I think you look back and say, ‘Well, we lost two in a row and then we won (six) in a row. There was something about that day that changed everything.”

'I think a lot of times earlier this year, we've won two in a row, then lost one, we won two, then we lost one,” said Iowa center Gabe Olaseni after the Hawkeyes beat Northwestern 69-52 in the regular-season finale. 'Just understanding that we have to respect each opponent when we're back on the floor. That's not necessarily to say that we weren't respecting guys, but we weren't fully focused.

'I think those losses, obviously you don't want them, but you should learn from something from them.”

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