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Hawkeye men try to put woeful defense at Wisconsin in rearview mirror
Iowa has a Nebraska team on a heater coming into Carver-Hawkeye Arena Tuesday night, four days after the Hawkeyes’ 116-85 loss at Wisconsin
Jan. 6, 2025 11:53 am, Updated: Jan. 6, 2025 12:50 pm
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IOWA CITY --- Life comes at you fast in college basketball.
The Iowa men’s team didn’t have a lot of time to dwell on its defensive meltdown at Wisconsin Friday night with a home game against Nebraska on tap Tuesday at 7 p.m. (The game will stream Peacock, with no TV).
Still, what happened in that game raised a bright red flag. When you allow what the Hawkeyes allowed in Madison in their 116-85 defeat, there are defensive issues to be addressed.
The 31 threes Wisconsin attempted wasn’t an eye-raising number. It was the number of open looks the Badgers had. They made a Big Ten-record 21 of the 31.
The 116 points were the fifth-most allowed by a Division I team this season, and the most in any conference game. The most points a Big Ten team had surrendered this season was 100 by Alabama against Illinois.
It was the most points Wisconsin had ever scored in a Big Ten game, and the most any team had in a Big Ten contest since Iowa put up 116 against Northwestern in 1995. It was Wisconsin’s first 100-point game in league play since 1993.
The Badgers shot 64.5 percent overall. Only Missouri’s 66 percent against California on Dec. 3 was better shooting in a game matching two teams from major conferences.
“Our close-outs have to be better,” Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said. “Rotations have to be better.”
That may fall on deaf ears to the public, because Friday was a repeat of what has been seen periodically in McCaffery’s time at Iowa.
Of the six times a team has made 19 or more 3-pointers in a game matching Big Ten teams, Iowa was the one allowing the baskets in five of them. Once was in 2018, once was in 2020, twice were in 2022.
Life coming at you fast is a good thing after a game like that. Iowa (1-2 Big Ten, 10-4 overall) is glad to be home tonight, facing a Nebraska team on a 6-game win streak. The Huskers beat then-No. 15 UCLA Saturday, 66-58, before a home crowd of 15,167.
The Huskers (2-1, 12-2) have a 20-game home winning streak. In their lone conference road game, they fell 89-52 at Michigan State on Dec. 6. That was a bigger margin than what the Hawkeyes endured at Wisconsin.
Comments: (319) 398-8440; mike.hlas@thegazette.com
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