Iowa basketball: Rutgers comes to Carver on Hawk’s Senior Night
By Andrew Wade
Tonight’s contest will be the final home game for the Iowa basketball team this season. Here’s what to expect in the Hawks second game vs Rutgers.
It was less than two weeks ago when Joe Wieskamp made an improbable buzzer-beating three-pointer to beat Rutgers in New Jersey for the second straight last-second win by the Iowa basketball team.
Since that game, both teams have won just one game, and the big news heading into this game is that the Iowa basketball team will need to win without the presence of head coach Fran McCaffery on the bench. In his place will be long-term assistant Kirk Speraw.
Unfortunately for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, this could have a negative effect on the away team. Not only will the Hawks likely be playing inspired ball after taking a 20-point thrashing from Ohio State, but they will also be playing with a few other factors in their advantage. First, they will be playing this game for coach Fran McCaffery and second, they will be working their tails off to send senior Nicholas Baer out on a high note as it will be his final game in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
As we saw in the last matchup, Rutgers defense is better than advertised. Against the Iowa basketball team, they were constantly disrupting passing lanes forcing the Hawks into committing 15 turnovers on the night, 2.8 more than Iowa’s 12.2 average. More impressively, they were able to keep the Hawks under their 24 free throws a game average (Iowa shot just 18 free throws).
Let’s not fool ourselves though, the Iowa basketball team is a much more superior team than Rutgers despite how close the final score was two weeks ago, but the Hawks need to do a better job of starting strong and keeping their foot on the pedal throughout the entirety of the game. Slow starts against teams like Rutgers can be dangerous, and as we saw in the last contest, it resulted in Iowa needed a little bit of a miracle to pull that victory off.
Next. Kirk Speraw to replace Fran McCaffery. dark
Tip-off for this contest will take place at 4 PM Central Standard Time, and it will be aired on the Big Ten Network. As it stands today, ESPN gives Iowa an 87% chance of winning this game while KenPom gives the Hawks an 81% chance.