Points in Transition: Iowa vs. Ohio State preview

Iowa men's basketball coach Fran McCaffery said after the game Wednesday he and his staff needed to take a step back. Friday's practice was for that purpose, and the fruits of their evaluation will have to wait to be seen when Ohio State comes to town. What is known is whatever struggles the Hawkeyes are having now, they're a mixture of youth and a struggle to not repeat mistakes.

For each Big Ten game this season, we'll look at key players, strengths and weaknesses for both teams and the key to winning for both sides. Here's a breakdown of the matchup between Iowa and Ohio State:

Key player

Iowa: Tyler Cook, forward — This really should be Iowa's entire frontcourt, but Cook gets top billing here because he plays the most minutes and has the biggest role offensively. He's struggled from the field the last few games, and with Peter Jok's health situation, they need him to fix that quickly. He's been in good position, he just hasn't finished. He'll have 7-foot Trevor Thompson to deal with, so the task will be tall on both ends.

Ohio State: Jae'Sean Tate, forward — The Buckeyes have a very balanced offensive attack, but Tate is the most dynamic of the group and packs a punch with his 6-foot-4, 230-pound frame. Especially given how Jok has played with his back issue, Tate could take advantage of that in a big way. He's physical and uses that on both ends of the floor. It'll take a group effort to deal with him.

Strengths

Iowa: When things were right in the second half against Illinois, the ball was moving and isolation plays were limited. Screen and rolls worked, quick side-to-side ball movement worked.

McCaffery has talked a lot about quick shooting and realizing when that is and isn't a good thing to do. When the Hawkeyes were at their best in the last two games, they were patient; they were purposeful with what they were doing offensively. Not having Jok at full strength affects all parts of the offense, but when things spread out, Iowa still is able to work for good shots — it just takes a bit longer.

Playing from behind has put an extra strain on the Hawkeyes, but not everything is gloom and doom.

Ohio State: Things didn't start out so great for the Buckeyes early in the conference season — four straight losses to open, including a one-point loss at home to Purdue. Since getting run out of the Kohl Center — an 89-66 loss to Wisconsin on Jan. 12 — Ohio State has won three of its last four and is finally starting to find a groove.

What the Buckeyes have relied on, among a few things, has been on defense, where they've been strong all season at 0.978 points per possession allowed. Solid defensive possessions late in the last several games have allowed — save for the Northwestern game — them to close out close games.

OSU has size and balance offensively, and if Saturday gets physical, they have the likely advantage.

Weaknesses

Iowa: Peter Jok's back, apparently.

As mentioned in strengths, his game affects every part of what the Hawkeyes do. He couldn't get through double teams on ball screens with any real effectiveness against Illinois, and it was no different from what he's seen all season. When that happens, the flow of the offense halts.

Defensively, ball screen defense continues to have plenty of issues. McCaffery said Friday that has a lot to do with his group trying to do multiple things at once. McCaffery cited assistant Sherm Dillard's 'make the main thing the main thing' mantra as what his guys need to do defensively. When forwards hedging the ball screen get stuck in the middle, the offense ends up with the advantages they want.

Ohio State: Looking at the Buckeyes' analytics, there are a few things that stick out that they've struggled with most of this season.

They don't force a ton of turnovers, sitting 177th on KenPom in turnover percentage. They're 174th in offensive rebound percentage, and 148th in opponent OReb percentage at 29.8 and 29 percent, respectively. They don't get to the line a ton, sitting 139th in the nation, and when they do get to the line, converting is far from a guarantee. They rank 12th in the Big Ten (two spots behind Iowa) in free throw percentage at 66.8 percent. Additionally, at 33.8 percent, Ohio State doesn't shoot particularly well from outside.

Their size and physical nature of play make the Buckeyes' presence inside the arc strong. Speed and elusiveness are lacking in a few areas.

Iowa wins if …

Jok can play more loosely, the forwards can be effective on both ends and, most importantly, if the Hawkeyes are patient on both ends. Oh, it also would help if Iowa didn't start down 8-0 (or 10-0) for the fourth straight game. Turning the spurts of effectiveness into halves of effectiveness would go a long way.

Ohio State wins if …

the game is played with a more physical style than a quick, fast-paced style. The Buckeyes can impose their will physically on most teams and have a definite size advantage that way over the Hawkeyes. If Tate isn't held in check, JaQuan Lyle gets hot or Marc Loving gets in a groove, it'll be a hard train for Iowa to derail.

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