Iowa basketball: Hawks’ offense goes ice cold vs #24 Maryland

The Iowa basketball team had an opportunity for a third straight buzzer beater, but they fell just inches short last night vs Maryland.

I sat there wondering if the Iowa basketball could pull it off again. Could they really make a third buzzer-beating game-winning shot in a row?

Unfortunately, the answer to my thoughts was a resounding no as both Jordan Bohannon and Isaiah Moss missed last-second shot attempts at Carver-Hawkeye Arena vs the Terrapins.

That being said, the Hawkeyes really had no business being in the game considering they were down seven points with just over four minutes left in regulation and for most of the second half, they were down by double digits.

Oddly enough, this game went mostly Iowa’s way when you look at it from this perspective:

• Star freshman Jalen Smith was stuck in foul trouble most of the night and played just 14 minutes. That’s a big loss as he is Maryland’s third-leading scorer.
• Future first round draft pick and one of the most efficient shooters in the nation, Bruno Fernando was held to just 11 points on 2 of 5 shooting.
• The Iowa basketball team forced 17 turnovers on the evening.
• The Hawks dominated on the glass outrebounding Maryland 40-34.
• Iowa’s normally inconsistent defense played solid throughout the night leading to the 7th worst scoring performance from an opposing team.

It was this number that factored heavily into Iowa’s loss:

• The Hawks shot 32.8% from the field including 6 of 30 combined from Isaiah Moss, Jordan Bohannon, and Joe Wieskamp. When you factor in the other two starters, the Hawkeyes’ starting five shot just 24%.

The Iowa basketball team had one of it’s worst shooting performances of the season. It was so bad that even Fran McCaffery made a less than discrete comment in the middle of the game.

He also had this to say after the game in his post-game press conference.

"Yeah, kind of the whole game. Shots that normally go in by good shooters weren’t going in."

On a night when the Hawkeyes had an opportunity to control their own destiny in route to a #4 seed (and a double-bye) in the Big Ten tournament, they fell just short. However, the fact that the Iowa basketball team was even in the game late and still was just seconds away from winning this contest, speaks volume to how talented this team is.

Great shooting teams have off nights, and the Hawks are no different. They will pick it up going forward.