Iowa Basketball: Takeaways Against Illinois

The Iowa Basketball team is now at three. Three straight years of losing on Thursday in the Big Ten Tournament to teams that have no business beating them. This year, it was the Illinois Fighting Illini who got the Hawkeyes.

Northwestern, Penn State, Illinois.

Teams that have taken down the Hawkeyes on Thursday’s in the last three Big Ten Tournaments.

Iowa continues to do themselves no favors down the stretch this season. They lost four straight before beating Michigan on the road last Saturday, but they returned to their awful form on Thursday afternoon against the Illini. They weren’t getting any bench production, they were turning it over left and right, and they only had two players contributing offensively.

The Bench

Christian Williams had spurred Iowa’s bench in the last two games, but the reserves for Iowa didn’t help much over the first 35 minutes of the game. Nicholas Baer had eight points over a two minute and twenty second span late in the second half that started Iowa’s comeback. Dom Uhl contributed three in the last four minutes, but other than that, the Hawkeyes didn’t get any help from the bench.

This is going to be a problem in the NCAA Tournament. Uhl has come back down to earth since his hot start to Big Ten play and the other three bench guys are all freshmen. Iowa lacks experience on the bench and it shows.

Turnovers

I said in the pre-game that Iowa would need to limit their turnovers, which is something they did a pretty good job of for a majority of the year. Its got to be a problem late. Today, Iowa turned it over 18 times over the course of 40 minutes. They ranked second in the Big Ten in turnover margin coming into today at +2.7, but were -4 today against the Illini.

The most crucial turnover came with three seconds left on the clock. It was a rough way to end the game if you’re the Hawkeyes. If Iowa turns it over like this in the NCAA Tournament that starts in a week, they could be headed for an early exit.

Lack of a Third Scoring Option

Jarrod Uthoff and Peter Jok were excellent on the offensive end. The duo combined for 50 of Iowa’s 66 points, and that is the issue. The other three starters were a combined 2-20 from the field and totaled just five points (all in the first half). Five points from three seniors who have participated in four Big Ten Tournaments now. That isn’t acceptable. Iowa got the eight from Baer and three from Uhl, but that was it.

I’m curious as to how Iowa will respond when – actually, if – they face a good team with a good coach that knows what to do to limit Uthoff and Jok. They need someone to step up and provide 10-12 points per game. Clemmons, Gesell, and Woodbury are all capable, but have been very inconsistent.

It’s pretty obvious right now, but if Iowa doesn’t get points from someone other than Uthoff or Jok, their stay in the big dance won’t last long.

Next: Early Exits in BTT Are Getting Old

Iowa now gets to sit and watch the rest of the Big Ten Tournament, which is something they’ve gotten used to doing over the last couple of years, and then await the decision the selection committee makes on Sunday as to where the Hawkeyes will land. They’re in, but they didn’t exactly slide in safely. They’ve hit their bumps and got some bruises, but anyone can win it now and that’s the beauty of March Madness.

They get to regroup and prepare for a possible run at a national championship, which remains the goal. The bracket will be revealed on CBS this Sunday at 4:30 p.m. CST.