Toughness essential in Iowa's comeback against Minnesota

IOWA CITY - Wednesday's performance is what Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery had in mind when he talked about toughness.

Toughness doesn't come from undercutting your opponent at the knees out of frustration when he's dunking for the millionth time. Toughness comes from pressure on-ball defense so your opponent doesn't have a chance to dunk uncontested.

The Hawkeyes (12-11, 4-6 Big Ten) showed toughness in a 63-59 win against Minnesota with diligent defense in the first half. Iowa confused Minnesota's offense with multiple looks, often shifting from man-to-man to zone on consecutive trips. In the second half, down 10 and the game slipping away, Iowa showed enough resolve to get back into the game.

"We have been tough at times. We have not been consistently tough," McCaffery said. "We have been tough in games, but not necessarily in the next game and the next game.

"I think that's the challenge. That sort of epitomizes this league. The teams that can rev it up every night, now you have a chance. It just goes to show you, we have played that way, we've played that well."

After the Gophers took a 45-35 lead with 12:20 left in the game, Iowa bounced back with a 9-0 run. Josh Oglesby and Zach McCabe each hit free throws, then McCabe scored on an inside bucket. Matt Gatens ended the run with a 3-pointer to close within 45-44 with 8:54 left.

But Minnesota turned up the pressure, countering nearly every big Iowa score over the next five minutes with a 3-pointer. That's where Iowa's toughness surfaced by not letting down on either end of the court.

When Minnesota's Oto Osenieks nailed a 3-pointer with 3:22 left to give the Gophers a 59-54 lead, Iowa didn't fold. The Hawkeyes kept their composure on both ends of the court. That's toughness to McCaffery and to his players.

"It did show a lot of toughness out of us because probably in the past, that would have went from 10 and maybe stayed at 10 or probably went up," Iowa guard Devyn Marble said. "This team this year has really done a good job of trying to fight through times like that. When it was 10, I'm sure fans probably thought they are going back to their old selves again or something like that. But we hung in there and we fought, and we did a good job."

The Hawkeyes held the Gophers scoreless on their last five offensive possessions. Conversely, Iowa scored on its last four and did it in multiple ways. Marble hit a 3-pointer, then followed with a dunk on Minnesota center Ralph Sampson III. Point guard Bryce Cartwright stole the ball from Sampson, then sank two free throws after being fouled on a drive to the basket. The Hawkeyes iced the game when Marble sucked in Sampson and dished it down low to an open Gatens for a layup.

"Basketball is a game of runs," Cartwright said. "We played phenomenal defense early and then we let them get some easy shots and makes.

"As the time kept dwindling down, we were able to get stops. That was different from last time. We shot 80 percent last game (at Indiana), and we still couldn't make up points. So the difference was getting stops."

For McCaffery that's what it's all about.

"It's a big step for us to beat a team of this caliber twice, a team that is that athletic, has been playing that well," McCaffery said. "So now for us the challenge continues. Where do we go from here?"