Nebraska’s basketball tenacity under Miles evident to Iowa

IOWA CITY - Iowa has firsthand experience with Nebraska's basketball tenacity under Coach Tim Miles in the team's most recent two meetings. One game ended positively for the Hawkeyes in a hard-fought, 10-point home win last season. Another was about as negative as the Hawkeyes could encounter.

Two years ago in a weather make-up game at Lincoln's old Devaney Center, Iowa led by 19 points late in the first half and appeared to cruise to an easy win. But through aggressive defense, the Cornhuskers (5-13 in the Big Ten) crawled back in the game, took the lead on a 3-pointer with nine seconds left and won 64-60. That loss likely cost Iowa an NCAA tournament spot.

The Cornhuskers (8-5, 0-1 Big Ten) showed the same resiliency Wednesday afternoon in a 70-65 home defeat to Indiana. Nebraska trailed by 16 points in the first half and cut its halftime deficit to eight with a 10-2 run. Then Nebraska opened the second half with a 14-2 run and led 46-42 with 15:28 left. The Cornhuskers couldn't sustain their effort and the Hoosiers' athletic ability ultimately prevailed.

But the narrative under Miles remains clear. No matter the depth - Iowa led by 20 late in the second half last year before Nebraska cut its deficit to five points - the Cornhuskers will fight until the end.

'Tim has done a fabulous job,” said Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery, whose team is 10-4 and 1-0 in the Big Ten. 'They have a team that is tenacious defensively and with their offense. They keep coming at you at both ends.”

Part of Nebraska's tenacity stems from its talent. First-team all-Big Ten forward Terran Petteway has scored in double figures for 24 consecutive games. Against Indiana, forward Shavon Shields, the son of NFL 12-time Pro Bowler Will Shields, exceeded 20 points for the fifth time this season. Petteway (19.5 points per game) and Shields (17.4) rank second and third, respectively, in Big Ten scoring this season. Their production is enhanced in part because of injuries to posts Moses Abraham (broken hand) and Leslee Smith (summer knee injury). That in turn has hurt the Huskers on the boards, which makes the tandem's success that much more impressive.

Iowa and Nebraska post comparable numbers in nearly every statistical category but rebounds. Iowa leads the Big Ten with 40.3 per game, while Nebraska ranks 13th at 35.2. On the offensive glass, Iowa is first at 13.8 and Nebraska is last at 8.6. But that doesn't take away from the impact of Petteway and Shields. In fact, it may enhance their impact.

'The thing that I like about them is they can bring it down, they can post up, they can make 3s, they get to the free-throw line, they're really good late-game players,” McCaffery said. 'Tim uses them in a lot of different ways. He involves them.

'You look at their numbers and how many shots they've taken, they have the ball a lot. Both of them all over the court, not in one location, which makes them obviously harder to stop when you don't know when they're going to get it. They're also both, I think, even though they're shooting it a lot, I still think they're both unselfish. I think that says a lot about both of them.”

The teams meet at 8 p.m. Monday (BTN) at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Border Battle

Iowa is the only Big Ten state that shares a border with Nebraska, which is in its fourth season in the league. But proximity has little relevance in how McCaffery views his western competitor.

'I have tremendous respect for that program,” McCaffery said. 'I have a lot of respect for Tim and the job they've done. But they're another team in our league that does a really good job. That's what makes it special here (in the Big Ten). Any league I've ever coached in has had a couple of teams that weren't as good or didn't put emphasis in winning. That's not the case in this league. Everybody wants to win, everybody puts in the resources, has great coaches and recruits great players. We just have a lot of respect for what they're doing. I don't get into the ‘Hey, they're closer to us' proximity. That's irrelevant.”

The Hawkeyes do have a Nebraska transplant in guard Mike Gesell, who was the state's Gatorade Player of the Year after his prep junior and senior seasons. Gesell downplayed his connection to his roots and called it 'just another game.”

'It's from my home state, but it's not that much different to me,” Gesell said. 'I'm not going to do anything different. I'm still going to be aggressive. I'm still going to be the same player I am out there and try to engineer victory for us.”

Starting Roles

Sophomore Peter Jok will continue as Iowa's starting shooting guard for the third straight game, McCaffery said. Jok replaced junior Anthony Clemmons in the starting lineup for the Hawkeyes' non-conference finale against North Florida and then in the Big Ten opener at Ohio State. Clemmons played sparingly against North Florida with two sprained ankles.

Tuesday, Jok scored seven points in 16 minutes but was withheld for most of the first half after two quick fouls. Clemmons played 19 minutes and scored three points but grabbed five defensive rebounds, ranking second among all players. Clemmons also helped defend Ohio State guard D'Angelo Russell, who shot 4 of 16 from the field.

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