Iowa basketball: Fouls will be key in matchup vs Wisconsin

The #14 Iowa basketball team is starting Big Ten play after beginning their non-conference schedule 6-0. Here is a preview of the matchup vs #22 Wisconsin.

In somewhat of a surprising twist, the a ranked Iowa basketball team and a ranked Wisconsin basketball team are squaring off on the opening night of Big Ten Conference play Friday night. Both teams started off the season unranked but have seen their stock rise quickly with hot starts to the season much like the rest of the Big Ten Conference.

With the Iowa basketball team sitting at 6-0 and ranked #14 in the nation and the Wisconsin Badgers sitting at 6-1 and ranked #22 in the nation, this is a fantastic early-season matchup in the Big Ten that we haven’t typically gotten in the past. With the expansion of Big Ten Conference games, however, we are now given the opportunity to watch some pretty meaningful basketball at the end of November.

These two programs have many similarities including that both teams run through their big men with the Iowa basketball team relying on strong interior post play from Tyler Cook and Luke Garza and the Wisconsin Badgers relying on Two-time All-Big Ten forward Ethan Happ and athletic Nate Reuvers. The similarities, however, don’t stop there.

At the guard position, scoring can come in bunches with diminutive Jordan Bohannon (last year’s leading scorer standing 6’1”) on the Iowa basketball team and 6’0” sophomore D’Mitrik Trice (averaging 17 points per game) on the Wisconsin basketball team.

Collectively as teams, both teams in their hot start to the season are averaging roughly 13-14 points per game more in each contest than their opponents (Iowa 13.3 PPG and Wisconsin 14.4 ppg). Moreover, each of these teams is coming back from incredibly disappointing seasons. Wisconsin had its worst season since 1994 and the Hawkeyes had their worst season since Fran’s first year in Iowa City.

Where they begin to differ though is how they are winning games. Wisconsin plays engaged defense and runs the ball through Ethan Happ consistently throughout the game whereas the Iowa basketball team relies on a plethora of scorers to overwhelm the opposing defense, and they put pressure on the opposing defense with the amount of fouls they create. Badger of Honor co-site expert

"I have never watched a Badger that can stuff the box score like Happ. He’s a legitimate point-forward who can score, facilitate for his teammates, and crash the boards, not to mention he is excellent defensively as well. At the moment, he is leading the team in points, rebounds, and assists. Last year, he made history by leading the Badgers in those three categories, plus steals and blocks."

This is where we will see the biggest difference in the game, and it quite possibly could be one of the keys dictating the outcome of the game. Wisconsin is adept at limiting fouls, averaging just 13.6 fouls per game (ranked 4th in the nation).

Meanwhile, Iowa’s strength is creating an advantage at the free throw line. Through six games they have taken 210 trips to the line and they are connecting on 77% of those trips. Their 210 free throw attempts is sixth best in the nation, but keep in mind that four of the five teams ahead of them have played in seven or more games.

That’s almost 27 points Iowa is getting from the free throw line per game.

In addition to a key for Iowa winning is by getting to the line, another key is whether the Hawks key players can stay out of foul trouble and whether Iowa can force the Badgers star players into foul trouble.

Bohannon quickly got into foul trouble against UConn forcing pressure on McCaffrey to expand the minutes of some of his reserve players while Ethan Happ has fouled out once already this season in large part because of his overzealous defense.

If the Iowa basketball team can get Ethan Happy in foul trouble early and continue making it to the free throw line with impressive consistency, tomorrow night’s game at Carver Hawkeye Arena should fall in the Hawkeyes’ favor.