No excuses from Jacobson on UNI’s play

CEDAR FALLS — Sometimes searching for answers can be frustrating. Sometimes it can be eye-opening.

Most times, when a team is struggling, finding the answers during that search requires a lot of self-reflection. Northern Iowa men's basketball coach Ben Jacobson wasn't down on himself or his team at his weekly press luncheon on Monday, but he was frank about what's gotten the Panthers to 10-9 overall and 2-4 in Missouri Valley Conference play after beating No. 1 North Carolina and No. 2/5 Iowa State in non-conference.

A non-conference schedule full of high-quality opponents and a ton of time away from home led into struggles in execution and confidence from a rotation much smaller than it's been in the past.

There were no excuses Monday, though. UNI knows where to look for the answers — the mirror.

'There's enough things we've had control over, with where we're at and how we've played in some basketball games; the way I've coached and the way the guys have made some plays, we've had enough control that we should be in a better situation for a win-loss record,' Jacobson said. 'That's on us for the way we're playing and the way I'm coaching.

'We've had more than enough opportunities to take care of business and be in a much better spot.'

Jacobson acknowledged the tough non-conference schedule put a strain on the team while it was happening and in the immediate aftermath, but stopped short of saying that's why the Panthers are struggling now. Tough non-conference or not, as he said, some of what UNI has struggled with has been irrespective of travel.

That said, going forward, it's not likely Panther fans will see a non-conference like 2015-16 again.

'As I look ahead to what I'd do next year, (I thought) it was the right thing to do this year, but I won't do that (non-conference schedule) with a team again,' Jacobson said. 'That's too long to be away from home, to be traveling; the amount of time it takes away from practice — all the stuff that goes with that. That's too long a stretch.'

More immediately, the Panthers certainly are working on ways to correct what happened Saturday against Loyola. The historically poor offensive output left Jacobson at a loss for words in how to describe it completely.

He said Monday he 'tried to find a good way — and I've actually had a little time — to find a good way to describe our offense from Saturday, but I'm having a tough time getting that sorted out in my own mind.'

The staff put in changes before the Drake game they thought would help, and saw results. Though that hasn't been the case in the last two, Jacobson said they're working on options for getting players 'in the right spots' — a phrase he used repeatedly Monday — to have the most success possible. What that doesn't mean, though, is starting from scratch.

'We're always adding things to our offense and we're always changing it. When things are going really well, you don't have to talk about it and you don't notice it,' Jacobson said. 'We're always doing these things, but at a time like this when you have a game like Saturday and you struggle a little bit, it gets brought to the forefront a little more. We do have to find a couple things we can really build on.

'We'll tweak it and add some things to it. But it isn't about revamping it or scrapping it and starting over.'

Jacobson historically hasn't been a coach whose passion manifests itself in shouting or foot-stomping — whether things are good or bad.

But he does get on his guys from time to time, and when he does, it doesn't take much for the players to take notice. The 10th-year coach acknowledged in the last few weeks there have been a few cases where he was 'sharper' with them. When asked how he could best get through to the team since he couldn't play for them, Jacobson joked, 'it's a good thing I can't put myself in. That wouldn't help us right now.'

His message will get across one way or another, and it needs to both for the short- and long-term. Wichita State looms Wednesday, as do six more weeks of MVC play after that.

'A couple times over the last few weeks, I've been a little sharper with them, but I haven't lost my mind. That usually happens two or three times a year,' Jacobson said. 'It depends on the guys and the team. I've certainly been a little sharper in a couple spots with practice, but haven't gone crazy.

'We're at a point where we have to do some things better. We'll help them as much as we can on the offensive end of the floor, and then we've got to find a way to get a little more determined defensively — getting some loose-ball and rebounding-type situations so we can give ourselves a few more chances.'

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