Parallels aplenty for Iowa men at Northwestern

IOWA CITY - On the surface there are as many parallels for Iowa entering its second game against Northwestern as there were for the teams' initial meeting on Jan. 12.

Iowa (10-15, 3-10 Big Ten) competed closely against Illinois and Ohio State in its first two Big Ten losses, then played poorly in a 23-point rout at Purdue. Iowa players and coaches vowed to compete harder against Northwestern but instead were blown out 90-71 at home.

The parallel this time is Iowa played three solid games - including victories against Michigan State and Indiana - before falling apart in a 17-point loss to Minnesota on Sunday. Like the previous matchup against Northwestern, Iowa's players and coaches vow to rebound from the Minnesota loss and compete harder and smarter against the Wildcats.

“There's no time to dwell on this,” Iowa sophomore Eric May said after Minnesota's loss.

In the teams' previous game, Northwestern (14-10, 4-9 Big Ten) hit Iowa with a massive 3-point barrage in the first half, sinking 10 of its first 16 3-pointers. Iowa struggled to identify Northwestern's shooters and failed to guard them adequately once they had the ball in their hands. The Wildcats led by 21 at halftime and never were seriously challenged the rest of the game.

“The thing about them is you almost have to get used to playing against them because of how they get their shots, where they get their shots from,” Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said. “They do things differently from everybody else. They've got good shooters. They're going to shoot 3s and they're typically going to make 3s, so you've got to defend the line.”

Northwestern has collapsed in recent weeks after entering the season with expectations of a first NCAA Tournament berth. The Wildcats have lost five of their last six games and were blown out 65-41 at Penn State on Sunday.

Northwestern missed its first 15 3-point attempts, which is something McCaffery doesn't count on happening again.

“They may have had a couple of losses, but I haven't watched those games yet but I will tell you this, my knowledge of (Northwestern Coach) Bill Carmody is that team ... they play hard and they execute,” McCaffery said. “They might lose, but I'm not anticipating a team that's going to let down. I'm not anticipating a team that's going to play that much harder.”

Northwestern averages a Big Ten-high nine 3-pointers a game, but that's hardly its entire offense. The Wildcats run deliberate sets that force teams to defend each player on every possession.

“On one hand you say they can't possibly shoot the ball as well as they did the last time we played, but I've seen them do the same thing to other teams,” McCaffery said. “You just have to be committed to staying after them the entire shot clock and try not to give them second- and third-shot opportunities and defend the line and the post.”

After Thursday, Iowa has just four regular-season games left, including two at home. Senior Jarryd Cole said the goal right now is to finish strong despite the losing record.

“We just want to end the season on a good note,” Iowa senior Jarryd Cole said. “I think in order to do that we have to prepare well and execute what we practice in practice. It's going to be a big test for us, but we're going to have to be up for the task.”