Iowa post-game notes: Starting lineup change, sideline outburst, lookahead to Illinois

IOWA CITY - After a grinding season and a current four-game losing streak, Iowa earns a week-long schedule reprieve to heal physically and prepare for the team's final three regular-season games.

Iowa's next game is Saturday at Illinois, which is six days between games. The Hawkeyes had only one other longer break this season, a seven-day break that spanned over Christmas.

Iowa's players and coaches are divided, however, about if the break will help the team.

"I think we need a couple of days right now to step back," Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said. "We've got a couple of guys nicked up, get them in the training room, get them with some ice and get ready for the next one."

Iowa junior guard Bryce Cartwright injured his left ankle against Northwestern and he lacked the necessary burst at times against Michigan.

"We need some time to heal," Cartwright said. "Everybody. We're going to use it wisely and get ready to get on the road for Illinois."

Iowa freshman Devyn Marble said he'd rather put Saturday's 75-72 loss to Michigan quickly behind him and play another game.

"Sometimes you want to get back at it like we did against Northwestern and come back here," Marble said. "I like games like that; you get right back at it. I don't want to sit around at home for a whole week."

LINEUP SHAKE-UP

McCaffery shuffled his starting lineup for the first time in 13 games by elevating Marble to the starting lineup ahead of Eric May against Michigan. May has struggled recently, scoring a combined nine points in the previous three games with four turnovers, four rebounds and one steal.

"The decision to start Devyn is because I thought it would benefit Eric May," McCaffery said. "I thought he'd been struggling, pressing a little bit at the start of the game. I felt if he could take a look at it, come into the game and defend (Darius) Morris. I thought he was pretty good."

May played 18 minutes, scoring three points and grabbing two rebounds before fouling out. Marble, who was told about his starting role on Friday, scored 11 points in 28 minutes.

"It didn't change my preparation; it changed the flow of how to get into the flow of the game because I'm used to coming in off the bench," Marble said. "It's a different flow."

SIDELINE OUTBURST

McCaffery exploded at his players midway through the second half against Michigan. He pulled Jarryd Cole and Matt Gatens and screamed at them to stay on their feet. He called a timeout with 8:36 left in the game went into a tirade and got in players' faces multiple times.

"You know, it's interesting because what they do is when I get into them, they respond," McCaffery said. "And sometimes you have teams that you get into and it makes it worse. So you got to know you team and this team I felt needed me to get into them, and they played better. Give them credit."

Michigan was in the midst of a 17-5 run when McCaffery blew his top. It jolted the players, Cartwright said.

"Our intensity failed dramatically, and we needed to pick it back up," Cartwright said.

AT-LARGE

• Iowa travels to a pair of its historical dead zones for its next two games. Iowa plays at Illinois, which has beaten Iowa 20 of 21 in Champaign and 59 of 73 all-time. The Hawkeyes then play at Michigan State, which has beaten Iowa 16 straight in East Lansing. Those games are Iowa's final two regular-season road trips.
• Iowa's average home paid attendance is 11,602, which exceeds last season's draw by more than 2,000 paid fans per game. Iowa's home finale is either March 5 or 6 against Purdue, and the program is on track to bury each of the last three seasons in attendance.
• Michigan and Iowa played its third straight overtime game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena with the Wolverines winning the last two.
• Michigan and Iowa could meet for the fourth straight season to open Big Ten Tournament play on March 10. Iowa will earn either the 10th or 11th tournament seed and is tied with Indiana for fewest Big Ten wins with three. If the tournament started today, Michigan would be seeded seventh. Three Big Ten teams -- Penn State, Illinois, Michigan State -- are tied for fourth.
• Iowa cannot equal last year's record-setting loss total even if it loses all of its games unless it competes in a postseason tournament. The Hawkeyes have played one fewer regular-season game than the 2009-10 team.
• The Hawkeyes appear set to participate in an exempt tournament next November that will give them three home games and a neutral site meeting against Creighton at Des Moines' Wells Fargo Arena. The details are not finalized but Iowa expects to play the game on Sunday, Nov. 27, one day after the football team completes its regular season at Nebraska.