Hlas: As usual, it was On, Wisconsin

IOWA CITY - It was a week of worry about Aaron White's shoulder and blather about Dan Dakich's, uh, blather.

But lo and behold, the play was the thing at Carver-Hawkeye Arena Saturday.

The game was basketball, something Wisconsin plays better than Iowa, better than anyone in the Big Ten. The fifth-ranked Badgers' 74-63 victory was typical for them. Which is to say it showcased artfulness, intelligence, and toughness of mind and body.

Iowa played a terrific offensive first half and still had its psyche chipped at intermission. When you shoot 64 percent from the field, make just two turnovers in 20 minutes, and yet trail by six points, you aren't playing Northwestern or Rutgers.

Or anyone but Wisconsin, for that matter.

Iowa had 1.4 points per possession in the half, which is really good. But Wisconsin had 1.6.

'It seems every possession they can get the shot they want,” said White. 'It's frustrating.”

This time, there was no inflammatory Dakich comment on ESPN to divert attention from the beating the Hawkeyes took from their northern neighbors like the ones he made about Iowa center Adam Woodbury during Wisconsin's 82-50 romp on Jan. 20.

The indelible memory from this game was of Iowa getting handled by double digits for the third time this season at home, and the sixth occasion overall.

A large part of that memory was caused by Wisconsin discipline and talent. You're talking two, perhaps three future NBA first-round draftees in senior Frank Kaminsky, junior Sam Dekker and sophomore Nigel Hayes.

How many does Iowa have?

You can lobby for Duke's Jahlil Okafor as the nation's Player of the Year and make valid points. Same with Notre Dame guard Jerian Grant. There's several weeks of evidence left to examine, but right now I'd vote for Kaminsky.

'There's really no one like him in the country,” Northwestern Coach Chris Collins said a few weeks ago.

What, there aren't conferences stuffed with 7-footers who are terrific at dribbling and passing, of sticking 3-pointers, of scoring with either hand, of being an excellent rebounder, and of scoring 19.4 points a game in league play?

Frank the Tank had 24 points, nine rebounds Saturday for his 19-2 team. He won't darken Carver-Hawkeye's doorstep again, and that's a good thing for the Hawkeyes.

'He's different,” Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said. 'He's really a forward, maybe even a guard.”

Kaminsky didn't seem to think all that much of his own effort here. 'They had 20-something points in the paint in the first half,” he rued. 'Personally, I wasn't doing my job defensively. I think everyone in the locker room knew we weren't doing as well as we could.”

That's a winner's attitude. Wisconsin is playing like a team that doesn't just want to win the Big Ten, but to lay waste to it before trying to return to the NCAA's Final Four for a second-straight year.

'We haven't done anything yet,” said Badgers Coach Bo Ryan. 'That's our motto. We haven't done anything.”

After the game, a television creature asked Ryan what separated a Top Five team from a team that hovering just outside the Top 25.

The coach said there was a thin line between the two. Then, for unclear reasons that had nothing to do with the question or the game, he cited a song called 'Thin Line Between Love and Hate,” which he said was written by Bob Marley, and recorded by the Dramatics and Annie Lennox.

He was two-thirds right. Marley didn't write it. But Bo Ryan referencing Bob Marley and Annie Lennox was something you could never have seen coming.

Which was a stark contrast to the performance his team gave and the result it got.

Comments: (319) 368-8840; mike.hlas@thegazette.com