Week in Review: Hawks End Four-Game Skid

The Hawkeyes started the week off rough, losing in uninspiring fashion to a Hoosiers team that had lost 11 straight games. Indiana grabbed their first conference victory and celebrated like the Pittsburgh Steelers after the Super Bowl.

(Photo above: Jeff Peterson versus Northwestern, courtesy of the AP)

Iowa shot only 30 percent from deep (6-for-20) and again had several scoring droughts, including one at the end of the first half and the start of the second half, spanning 4:37 that allowed Indiana to build a 33-20 advantage.

The Hawks never fully recovered. They finally turned it on at the end when back-to-back threes by Aaron Fuller and Devan Bawinkel cut Indiana’s lead to six with 2:40 remaining. It wasn’t enough, however, and left Matt Gatens to question the leadership and character of the team.

Gatens and his teammates responded with a decent performance at home Saturday in a 56-51 win over Northwestern. The Hawks made 12 three-pointers and shot 88.9 percent (16-for-18) from the free throw line to key the victory. Northwestern’s 1-3-1 defense forced 17 turnovers but couldn’t overcome an abysmal shooting night (37.5 percent from the field).

Peterson Emerges as Scorer, Kelly Continues Cold Shooting

Point guard Jeff Peterson is getting better and better. He still turns it over too much (he had six turnovers in each game this past week) but his shooting touch has come a long way. He enters the week shooting 39.3 percent from beyond the arc, a far cry from his 26.9 percent clip last season. His shot’s not pretty, but you no longer have to cringe when he tosses up a three. In addition, he is the best on the team at getting penetration into the lane. Peterson is well on his way to being a quality Big Ten trigger man.

Meanwhile, Jake Kelly was mostly a no-show last week. He totaled 10 points on 3-for-11 shooting. For a team struggling to score, Kelly needs to step up. He should be a consistent double-figure scorer as he’s arguably the second offensive option after Gatens. The play of Kelly and the health of Cyrus Tate will be key factors the rest of the way.

Who’s Playing, Who’s Sitting

-David Palmer played five combined minutes in the two games last week. Palmer got 22 minutes at Purdue, 33 versus Wisconsin, and 28 at Penn State. For now though, it appears Palmer has fallen back to the end of the bench.

-Tate plucked five rebounds in only 13 minutes in the win over Northwestern. After being out for seven games the Hawks are glad to see him back in the mix.

-Bawinkel started and played 33 minutes Saturday, the most of any game this season. He’s played in as little as three minutes in one instance this season. Like some other Iowa players, he’s seen his playing time fluctuate drastically from game to game.

-Todd Lickliter’s not afraid to ride his best players. Peterson and Kelly both played 40 minutes on Saturday. Gatens played only 25 against Northwestern due to foul trouble but saw action in 39 minutes at Indiana.

Up Next: Feb. 11 @ Wisconsin; Feb. 14 vs. Purdue.

This week poses another difficult task for the Hawkeyes. They’ve never won at the Kohl Center, and Lickliter is 0-3 against Purdue. Iowa has the potential to compete with the Badgers but it’s hard to be confident in an Iowa team that is 0-6 in conference road games.

Robbie Hummel could miss this weekend’s game as a stress fracture in his back continues to give him problems. He sat out Sunday’s loss at Illinois. Iowa has a shot to pull the upset if Hummel can’t go. The athletic department should make it a priority to enhance the student section for this one. It could be the difference against a tough Boilermakers squad.

Predictions:
Wisconsin 64, Iowa 56
Purdue 62, Iowa 58