Battered Hawkeyes getting a break

Iowa's men's basketball team gets an eight-day reprieve from the losing and furious pace of the Big Ten season.

After dropping an overtime heartbreaker Tuesday to Michigan, 80-78, Iowa doesn't play until Feb. 25 at Northwestern, giving the team a chance to focus on schoolwork and healing sore body parts before the season's final stretch.

“It's a good point in the season to get a little rest,” Iowa sophomore Matt Gatens said. “A bunch of guys played around 40 minutes (against Michigan) and to get a few days off (is good), but at the same time stay hungry and keep working on the things we need to work on.”

Gatens is one of several players battling injuries. He sprained his ankle Jan. 27 but has fought through the injury and hasn't missed a game. Sophomore forward Aaron Fuller sprained an ankle in November and it took him a month to get over it. Freshman guard Cully Payne wears bags of ice like winter jackets after each game.

Fuller said the bye comes at a good time.

“Especially after this overtime game,” said Fuller, who posted career highs in points (30) and rebounds (13) against Michigan. “We've got to take time to regroup and just keep getting better. We've got a couple of days off to kind of rest your body. This season kind of wears on you. It gives you an opportunity to rest up for our next game.”

Iowa has played on the road four consecutive weekends so staying home is a welcome relief. The losses continue to mount as the Hawkeyes (9-18, 3-11 Big Ten) edge closer to the school record for season losses. Iowa lost 19 games in 2007-08, Coach Todd Lickliter's first season.

Iowa rebounded from a 63-40 loss Saturday at Purdue, the fewest points scored by the basketball program since 1949, to nearly beat Michigan. But Iowa surrendered a five-point lead with 15 seconds left in regulation.

“We can't be satisfied with losing in overtime,” Gatens said. “We've got to get over that hump and get that ‘W.' But I'm definitely proud of the way our guys fought, and I thought we were a lot smarter than we had been, and we executed a lot better on both ends of the floor. It's just a matter of finishing off the game.”

Iowa has one more home game, Feb. 28 against Indiana.