Lickliter says a young team and challenging schedule to blame for 1-4 start

Iowa's worst five-game start in 80 years has taken a toll on its coaches and players.

Iowa Coach Todd Lickliter said pairing a young team with a challenging schedule has caused many of the Hawkeyes' on-court problems. Iowa is 1-4 for the first time since 1929, and nobody associated with the problem is happy about it.

“It's excruciating,” Lickliter said Friday. “But the nice thing is we've got the right kind of people. They're high character, they're competitive.

“The balance is being realistic but not accepting. I don't want to accept, and they don't want me to. I tell them all the time, would you want me to accept less than what you're capable of? That wouldn't be fair.”

The results so far are obvious, starting with the win-loss record. Finding the reasons for the tough start is buried in the statistics and details.

Iowa's four losses are to teams that are a combined 15-3. Sophomores Matt Gatens (10.2) and Anthony Tucker (9.8) are the team's scoring leaders, but neither has hit from the perimeter on a consistent basis. Both are shooting 25 percent from 3-point range. Each made better than 40 percent of their 3-point shots last year.

Perhaps the worst statistic is the assist-to-turnover ratio. Iowa has 71 turnovers to just 58 assists. Only two starters - freshman point guard Cully Payne (20 assists, 16 turnovers) and freshman center Brennan Cougill (2, 1) - are in the positive category.

“That tells you we're trying to do things that we shouldn't be trying to do,” Lickliter said. “That's more alarming than the shots. That's a skill. If you're shooting good ones, you're shooting good ones. But if you're throwing (the) ball away or losing it more than assisting, you're obviously pressing and trying to do some things that you shouldn't be trying to do. And we've got to get that straightened out.”

Iowa's freshmen have been a rare bright spot. Payne, Cougill and Eric May have combined for 24.6 points and 11 rebounds a game. Lickliter is willing to accept some growing pains but not without expectations.

“What I try to do is give them a bottom line ... here are the tools that we're going to use to achieve that,” Lickliter said. “(The freshmen) haven't had enough repetition to always utilize the right tools at the right time, and so it puts us behind in some regards. But it's not a lack of effort. It's not a lack of caring. They're going to get there.”

Iowa plays host to North Carolina Central (1-5) today.