Iowa hoops: Making the Grade, Big Ten Week 7

Maybe the most frustrating part of taking a pair of losses this week for the Iowa men's basketball team was that it felt like both were winnable — and within grasp at one or multiple parts of both games. Instead, the Hawkeyes' two-game road trip brings them back to Carver-Hawkeye Arena with a pair of losses in a row — but with a week to rest and regroup.

Each week of the season, we'll break down the Hawkeyes' offensive and defensive performance and give them grades, as we'll as highlight each player who contributed significantly and his individual performance. This week's Iowa Hoops: Making the Grade highlights Games 23 and 24 against Minnesota and Michigan State.

Schedule/Results

Iowa at Minnesota, L, 101-89 2OT

Iowa at Michigan State, L, 77-66

Offense

CWhy:Offensively this week — and unfortunately for the Hawkeyes — things went back to more of what things looked like before Peter Jok sat out for two games. There were plenty of good things to take away — against Minnesota, the transition game was very effective and once again Iowa shared the ball very well with 20 assists on 30 made shots. The Hawkeyes mixed up sets and motion well in both games to get some open looks, but it was only really effective consistently against Minnesota.

The Michigan State game felt like the first time you play NBA 2K and can't figure out the shooting rhythm while you're playing someone who's had the game for a month and hasn't stopped playing. The Hawkeyes had an effective field goal percentage of 35.8 percent — ice cold from pretty much everywhere but the paint. It's a statistical outlier for Iowa to shoot as poorly as they did, but part of it was that despite some open shots, many were forced.

When ball movement lacks purpose, as Coach Fran McCaffery said after the Michigan State game, and the ball is just moving to move, a late shot clock forced jumpers become the norm.

And for the final time: yes, Minnesota's Jordan Murphy was out of bounds. Yes, Brady Ellingson and Jordan Bohannon were calling timeout. But the final minutes of the first half in that game and the second overtime period (see below) were just as important to that win slipping away.

Defense

C-Why:It's not really a new development that the Hawkeyes have struggled maintaining execution throughout an entire game at various points of this season. Last week, it was good to very good and winning was the result. This week, there were stretches in both games where Iowa's defense was as good as it's been — but offset by longer stretches of inefficiency.

The good: Against Minnesota, the four-minute second-half stretch where Iowa went on an 18-3 run was prompted primarily by the zone press. Jok led the way up front and with Jordan Bohannon, Brady Ellingson, Nicholas Baer and Cordell Pemsl, the Hawkeyes forced several turnovers and worked their way back into the game. Against Michigan State, Iowa forced 21 turnovers overall and held the Spartans to 0.861 points per possession in the first half. Iowa only put Michigan State on the line twice in the first half (1 of 4), got more production from the zone press and three straight steals at one point from Christian Williams.

The bad: In the final few minutes of the first half against the Gophers, old bad habits returned. The Hawkeyes were bit by ball movement and lost shooters — which took the game from tied to Iowa down 11 all after the final media timeout of the half. Then, in the second overtime, Minnesota put up 17 points in five minutes (free throws helped, but still) thanks mostly to more wide open looks. Breaking down Michigan State into 10 minute intervals, Iowa was really good in the first, second and fourth quarters (18, 13 and 20 points in those intervals). But in the first part of the second half, the Spartans went on a run that took the lead to 12. Michigan State exploited the zone press the way other teams hadn't been able to for easy looks, its shooters knocked down both open and contested looks and most of all dominated the glass to a 46-32 advantage.

The bad was worse than the good — and the timing of it was worst of all.

Players (in last two games)

* To view more data, click here.

Peter Jok, guard — We saw the resurgence of pre-injury Pete in the second half against Minnesota, with 26 points in the second half and overtime, but that's really been the only stretch of that since he came back from his back injury. He mentioned 'illegal' defense he thought Michigan State was playing, but 2 of 11 overall and 0 of 5 from 3 wasn't all on the defense. The better news is even with his offensive aggressiveness returning, he still did the other stuff — averaging seven rebounds and 5.5 assists in the two games, including eight assists against Michigan State.

Isaiah Moss, guard — The Minnesota game resembled the game at Nebraska in a lot of ways, but maybe the most was how Moss owned the first half offensively, but then basically disappeared in the second half while Jok took over the scoring. He's popped up with big performances at random times, then fallen back into the shadows multiple times this season. That was this week for him, with 19 points against Minnesota and just two against Michigan State.

Cordell Pemsl, forward — As McCaffery talked about post-Michigan State, the lack of consistency in the rotation has affected Pemsl as much as anyone. He's been effective consistently despite the spurts in which he's on the floor. He affected both ends in both games this week with six rebounds against Minnesota and seven at Michigan State. He also cashed in at the free throw line — 11 of 14 in the two games — which is a big improvement for him.

Tyler Cook, forward — He seemed really frustrated after the Michigan State game, and a few factors likely went into that — the most painful among them the accidental elbow to the face he took from Ahmad Wagner that gave him a scare. On a team of guys who expect a lot of themselves individually, he might expect the most of himself. He produced (despite foul trouble at Minnesota), so it's not like he's playing poorly, but losing has that effect. It's probably good he's frustrated.

Jordan Bohannon, guard — When his career is done, most of us probably won't think too much about or even remember his 0 of 8 night at Michigan State. It would probably be a decent bet, though that he will — but not in a way that will hold him back. He's really good at putting stuff behind him, but a night like that for a shooter is like his Bay of Pigs. He'll do whatever he can to not let it happen again.

Ahmad Wagner, forward — He keeps plugging away in that starting role — not too flashy, but still productive. Six points and four rebounds per game in the last two while shooting 55.6 percent is more than serviceable. His individual defense has slowly gotten better too — as has his ball screen defense. His consistency in all of the above is why he's a starter.

Nicholas Baer, guard — Whenever Iowa answered a big Michigan State moment — which was all of them in the first half — it seemed like Baer was the guy to do it. All three of his 3-pointers came after a Spartans make on the other end and basically shut up the Breslin Center crowd. Problem was, his were three of the only four 3-pointers made.

Dom Uhl, forward — It's hard to ask too much more of a guy who played 28 combined minutes in the last two games. At a crowded position, it's produce when you're on the floor or head back to the bench — and even head back when you are producing, as he dealt with against Michigan State. His passing still is solid and his defense has continued to get better. There are just only so many minutes to go around.

Brady Ellingson, guard — Speaking of frustrated, he seemed down after the Minnesota game for not calling timeout right away, but he was trying to maximize that moment before doing what McCaffery had instructed him to do. He was part of the group that brought them back into that game, so he had no reason to be upset with himself.

Ryan Kriener, forward — Like Uhl, he's a victim of circumstance right now. His minutes have been scarce in the last few weeks, but he's not seemed affected by that when he's gotten on the floor. He had a few really good plays at Michigan State, most especially a really nice off-the-glass hook shot that showed off his inside game.

Christian Williams, guard — His three straight steals against Michigan State came when he was forced into extended action thanks to foul trouble for Bohannon. It was a glimpse into the really important piece he could bring to the Hawkeyes … if his offense was far more consistent and impactful. If he could shoot in the range of Bohannon or Moss, he'd force McCaffery to play him far more.

Upcoming Games

Iowa vs. Illinois, 1 p.m. Feb. 18 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena (BTN)

Iowa vs. Indiana, 8 p.m., Feb. 21 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena (ESPN/2)

Iowa at Maryland, 5 p.m., Feb. 25 at Xfinity Center in College Park, Md. (ESPN/2)

*Full disclosure on grades: First things first, that's by subjective view after covering and re-watching games. Second, grades are an aggregate of the week, based on an 11-point scale. A is worth 11, A- 10, and so on through F, which is 0. Offense and defense are given a grade for each game and then averaged for the week.

Previous weeks: Games 1-2, Games 3-4; Games 5-7; Games 8-10; Games 11-13; Games 14-15; Games 16-17; Games 18-19; Games 20-22; Games 23-24

l Comments: (319) 368-8884; jeremiah.davis@thegazette.com