Nothing comes easy for this Iowa team. Last week’s games were certainly evidence of that. The Hawkeyes built two eight-point leads against Ohio State Tuesday before falling 60-58. Then on Saturday they let a nine-point lead at the two-minute mark of regulation evaporate. Fortunately for Iowa, it recovered to beat Penn State 75-67 in double overtime.
And what a wild one it was. Penn State reminded Hawkeye fans of the Jan. 24 match up by storming back late in the game. Using pressure defense and some acrobatic lay ups by Talor Battle, the Nittany Lions sent the game into overtime. Neither team was ready to settle it with just one overtime though. Jake Kelly air-balled a 3 as the first overtime expired.
Kelly would atone. He banked in a 3 that actually caromed off the backboard a second time before dropping in late in the second overtime to give Iowa a 71-67 lead -- the game virtually over at that point.
“It was way long, and it ended up going in for me,” Kelly said after the game. “That was pretty lucky.”
Kelly rolled up another impressive stat line going for 22 points, 11 assists and four rebounds -- his second straight double-double. All this while playing with a high fever and coming out of the game to vomit at one point. He upped his season average to 11.7 points per game, tops on the team.
Down low, Jarryd Cole and Cyrus Tate dominated much of the latter 30 minutes of the 50-minute affair. Tate, playing his final game at Carver, registered 15 points and 10 rebounds. Cole went for 14 points and 11 rebounds coming off the bench. The two showed what could have been had both not been affected by injury.
Jermain Davis narrowly missed giving Iowa another home victory when his 3 at the buzzer rimmed out, allowing the Buckeyes to escape with another close victory over the Hawkeyes. Devan Bawinkel stole the show for Iowa. He connected on 8-of-13 3-point attempts, in coming out of a shooting funk to pour in 24 points.
The Hawks couldn’t stop Big Ten Player of the Year candidate Evan Turner though. He came through with 22 points scoring many times in crucial situations. He looks like a future NBA player for sure.
End of Season Thoughts
-Iowa missed Cyrus Tate. That’s been pretty obvious. He is a solid post player and Iowa didn’t have the depth to replace him.
-Jake Kelly will be one of the top 10 players in the conference next year. He is improving in all aspects of his game. Of course he’s been scoring in bunches but he also plays great defense, contributes on the glass and he can dish the rock.
-Matt Gatens must get more assertive next season. He should be more selfish. He and Kelly are the best offensive options Iowa has.
-The Hawks could use help in the backcourt and the frontcourt. They lose Cyrus Tate and gain Brennan Cougill in the post. This means either Cougill will have to play a lot as a freshman or Andrew Brommer must get a lot better. As far as the backcourt, another scorer would help. Chipola point guard Malcolm Armstead would be a nice get but Arkansas is supposedly hot on his heels as well. Newcomer Eric May brings an explosive scoring option.
-Iowa’s nucleus of Kelly, Gatens and Cole should be dynamite. Iowa has a chance to make a move next season. A .500 Big Ten record isn’t ridiculous to hope for.
Up Next: Mar. 12 vs. Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament.
Minnesota probably would have been the best possible match up for the Hawks. Nonetheless, Michigan is a beatable team. On a neutral floor it should be competitive. A loss could be catastrophic for Michigan. They want to avoid the “bad loss.”
I’ll have my picks for the Big Ten Tournament tomorrow.
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What do you think the odds are on Iowa winning in the first round of the tournament?
ReplyDeleteI'd say somewhere in the 20-25 percent range. One thing Iowa has going for them is the inconsistency of Michigan. If Manny Harris and DeShawn Sims shoot like they did at Carver Iowa will have a legitimate chance. However, Michigan should win as the superior team playing on a neutral court.
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