Iowa hoops: Making the Grade, Big Ten Week 2

Fran McCaffery wanted no part of the narrative that the Iowa men's basketball team was dealing with any kind of hangover — or whatever term you want to use — following two overtime games in a row, punctuated by the double overtime loss at Nebraska. Still, there's got to be an explanation for the slow start to Sunday's win against Rutgers. And, let's be honest, who wouldn't be a little weary after two games in a row like that?

Each week of the season, we'll break down the Hawkeyes' offensive and defensive performance and give them grades, as we'll as highlight each player who contributed significantly and his individual performance. This week's Iowa Hoops: Making the Grade highlights Games 15 and 16 against Nebraska and Rutgers.

Schedule/Results

Iowa at Nebraska; L, 93-90 2OT

Iowa vs. Rutgers; W, 68-62

Offense

BWhy: There's something holding this offense back from being great. At 1.107 points per possession overall this season, the Hawkeyes are right on the edge of being a top-level offense. They run with effectiveness and are an above-average shooting team overall (52.9 effective field goal percentage). But if Iowa keeps turning the ball over like the Hawkeyes did this week, it won't really matter.

Iowa got to the rim with its guards and crashed the offensive rebounds well against Nebraska. When patient, the Hawkeyes moved the ball well against Rutgers. Their actions — used less this week — still were effective.

But with 19 turnovers against Nebraska and 18 against Rutgers, that patience was nowhere to be found on too many possessions. In many cases, it's a player trying too hard to do something, but sometimes it's carelessness — throwaways by Dom Uhl and Peter Jok in the second half against Rutgers come to mind. Not to pull the youth card again, but there still seems to be an adjustment going on, and it's cost Iowa a few times.

All that said, it's probably a good sign they're still scoring and operating offensively while still far from their ceiling.

Defense

CWhy: Rebounding had gotten better, it seemed coming into this week, but it took a hit this week. Rutgers doesn't possess a giant size advantage on Iowa, yet the Scarlet Knights owned the offensive boards for most of the game. Iowa did OK in that area against Nebraska, but reverted to look like some of its worst outputs rebounding in the non-conference.

Iowa only ranks in the top 100 in one category of KenPom's Four Factors (effective FG percentage, turnover percentage, offensive rebound percentage and free throw rate), and that's a 27.2 percent free throw rate, good for 36th in the nation. Otherwise? The Hawkeyes are 115th in defensive eFG, 228th in TO and 242nd in OReb. All those areas took another hit this week.

At one point against Rutgers, it looked like Corey Sanders was dribbling in a cone drill and Iowa players were the cones. Midway through the second half, he dribbled around three defenders who didn't move and got to the rim. The Hawkeyes got away with it against the Scarlet Knights, but just barely.

Iowa found itself defensively late against Rutgers, and the team defense and help was good. Cordell Pemsl cited seeing a few individual plays encouraged the rest to play as a unit, and followed that up with, 'we need to learn to not let that be the reason we play defense. We need to do that from the start.'

He's right.

Players (in last two games)

Peter Jok, guard — It says a lot when 18 points and 11 rebounds in a win aren't the stats that a coach — or most observing the game in general — points to as the difference-maker. Jok has set the bar high, and his Nebraska performance cleared it. He found himself in foul trouble late in that game and probably could've found a better look at the end of regulation, but it's hard to fault him for much more offensively. Even with some lapses defensively against Rutgers, it was a couple steals at midcourt that helped spur Iowa's comeback. Kid is good, and only has 14 regular season games to go.

Isaiah Moss, guard — As much as Jok's 30-point second half and overtimes were vital at Nebraska, Moss' first half was its counterpart. He looked every bit of an elite-level scorer in the first 20 minutes, and has shown that ability in spurts several times this season. He didn't see the ball a ton against Rutgers, but made the most of it there, too. His transition game remains a big strength, and will be relied upon.

Cordell Pemsl, forward — His insane non-conference shooting percentage has dipped a bit four games into conference play — all the way to 66 percent from the field. Per KenPom.com, his 66.7 percent on 2-point field goals is the 46th best number in the country. He had a really good week offensively while working against a pretty good player in Ed Morrow for Nebraska, and being a bit outsized against Rutgers.

Tyler Cook, forward — He still doesn't look or feel totally comfortable yet, but has played well in a few moments for the Hawkeyes since his return. He was important inside against Nebraska, but couldn't stay out of foul trouble again. Then, against Rutgers, he seemed off on both ends. His defense was a step behind and he never found a groove offensively. He's not playing poorly, but it's easy to assume that against the expectations for him coming in. He'll be fine, it'll just take a bit.

Jordan Bohannon, guard — Bohannon didn't score like he did last week, and wasn't as integral as he was before. His turnovers at Nebraska were his first in Big Ten play — impressive it took him into the third game — but they were costly when they came. His bounce-back against Rutgers came in the form of a career-high eight assists. His individual defense still needs plenty of work, but he's working his teammates open consistently.

Nicholas Baer, guard — To be honest, it's hard to come up with new ways to say this guy affects the game in every way. But hey, he affects the game in every way. His foul at the end of regulation at Nebraska was brilliant not because no one else would've thought of it, but because he seemed to be prepared for that scenario before it happened. It ultimately was for naught, but it just showed how high his basketball IQ is.

Dom Uhl, forward — It had been a while since we saw the Dom Uhl we saw against Rutgers. Good for him, but it remains to be seen if he can return that to a regular occurrence. McCaffery said he should've played more against Nebraska, but, frankly, Uhl hadn't given him a ton of reason to before Rutgers. Now he has reason to, and it's up to Uhl to keep it that way.

Ahmad Wagner, forward — Once again, he made a few plays but was largely absent from the key plays and moments from Iowa's week. Granted, his minutes in vital spots have waned since Cook's return, but like Uhl, he has to take advantage of his moments on the floor. It's easier said than done, to be certain.

Brady Ellingson, guard — We saw Ellingson emerge as an option at point guard this week, as McCaffery ran him at the point in both games against Nebraska and Rutgers. It's not going to be a regular thing, but it's a chance for him to get a few more minutes — especially if Christian Williams deals with any more back injuries.

Christian Williams, guard — Williams offered a defensive effort individually against Rutgers that his teammates didn't come close to matching until well into the second half. Unfortunately for him, his defensive effort didn't turn into offense — his missed layup a rough example. He got down on himself for that, McCaffery said, and that's a fair reaction. But he and McCaffery can be encouraged by his defense.

Upcoming Games

Iowa vs. Purdue, 8 p.m. Jan. 12 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena (BTN)

Iowa at Northwestern, 6:30 p.m. Jan. 15 at Welsh-Ryan Arena, Evanston, Ill. (BTN)

Previous weeks: Games 1-2, Games 3-4; Games 5-7; Games 8-10; Games 11-13; Games 14-15

*Full disclosure on grades: First things first, that's by subjective view after covering and re-watching games. Second, grades are an aggregate of the week, based on an 11-point scale. A is worth 11, A- 10, and so on through F, which is 0. Offense and defense are given a grade for each game and then averaged for the week.

l Comments: (319) 368-8884; jeremiah.davis@thegazette.com