Iowa players feel sense of urgency

IOWA CITY - Iowa players understand their position is tenuous as they approach the final third of their Big Ten schedule.

With six games remaining, the Hawkeyes (15-10) stand 6-6 in league play. They've had some nice wins - a sweep of Ohio State, wins against Michigan and Maryland - but they're coming off two five-point losses to teams with fewer Big Ten losses than victories.

That's why Thursday's game against Big Ten newcomer Rutgers (10-16, 2-11 Big Ten) is vital for Iowa. Four of Iowa's last six opponents have losing records in league play. A 4-2 record likely nets Iowa a second straight NCAA tournament berth. But that's the big picture view. Iowa's players prefer to examine their season in one-game increments.

'With six games left, there's going to be a sense of urgency with every game left,” Iowa senior Aaron White. 'I don't like to look ahead but obviously with six games and where we're at, every one's big and every one matters. So I'd say there's a sense of urgency from our end.”

'There's always a sense of urgency and every game means a lot,” Iowa junior forward Jarrod Uthoff said. 'We need this one just as much as any other one.

'This is crucial. This is the time where you start playing your best basketball.”

Iowa had a chance to figuratively lock up an NCAA tournament spot entering last week's games against Minnesota and Northwestern. But 16 turnovers led to 19 Gopher points in a 64-59 home upset. At Northwestern, which was 1-10 in league play, Iowa stalled offensively and gave up six Wildcat 3-pointers in the first half of a 66-61 overtime defeat.

The Hawkeyes have lost five of their last seven games but still have a strong case for an NCAA bid. They're 4-5 against ranked competition, including road wins at North Carolina and Ohio State. Iowa's strength-of-schedule remains in the top 20, but its RPI (ratings performance index) is modest at 55.

Beyond the numbers and postseason, Iowa's players just want to build confidence by winning games. Last year Iowa lost seven of its final eight and stumbled into the NCAA tournament. While White won't say that collapse remains vivid - he says it's playing 'not to lose” - but he calls finishing the regular season strong vital.

'It's huge for a couple of different reasons,” White said. 'For one, the confidence with which is gives you to send the season and the Big Ten Tournament and the NCAA tournament is good. You don't want to fall your way into the NCAAs or the Big Ten Tournament. You want to have a little bit of confidence in your game or in your team. Also, the committee looks at that.

'I don't want to overreact or have this negative cloud because we had a great week. We just beat Maryland, we beat Michigan on the road. And then we had a bad week. I don't think there's no need to get super negative. Just like there wasn't a reason to get super positive after a great week. So we're just going to keep that even keel and try not to overreact one way or the other. It's kind of big for, not only the team, but for the program as a whole, fan base, media, coaches, players, everything.”

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