After a record-setting weekend against Purdue at Principal Park, the Hawkeyes must gear up for the Big Ten Tournament this week.
The Big Ten Tournament is a 12-team tournament that ultimately decides who receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The top four seeds in the Tournament, including UCLA, Nebraska, Oregon, and USC, have already qualified for the semifinals, and the tournament features a new format this season.
Seeds 5-12 will compete during the first three days of the tournament in a double-elimination format that determines the four teams that qualify for the semifinals.
The four qualifiers and the four automatic qualifiers will then compete in a single-elimination format to determine the conference champion and the automatic bid.
Iowa earned an eight seed in the tournament, and faces nine-seed Illinois in its first game.
The bats must stay hot for the Hawkeyes to advance
Iowa destroyed Purdue at Principal Park in its final regular-season series before the Big Ten Tournament, and the bats could not have been hotter.
The Hawkeyes racked up 39 runs on 52 hits, the most under Rick Heller. For Iowa to advance, the hot hitting must continue.
Iowa's offense has been one of the best in the Big Ten Conference this season, and they have scored a ton of runs by relying on the long ball.
Timely hitting, combined with hitting for average and a high OPS, has guided the Hawkeyes to a top-half finish in the conference this season.
If the bats go cold, Iowa is in BIG trouble (no pun intended).
Limit Illinois' ability to steal bases
The Fighting Illini had an average year at the plate this season, but if there is one thing they do very well, it's stealing bases.
Illinois had a decent .266 team batting average this season, but in a loaded Big Ten Conference, that ranked No. 13 overall.
Even though the team batting average was near the bottom of the conference, Illinois ranked in the top half in on-base percentage at 0.386 and racked up 66 total stolen bases. They are also patient at the plate and will take walks.
If Illinois gets on base, there is a good chance they will try to swipe a bag to make up for their lack of power hitting.
Iowa's pitching has been the biggest area of concern throughout the season, including giving up nearly 250 walks.
If that trend continues, Illinois will hang around and give the Hawkeyes more trouble than they should.
If Iowa limits Illinois' chances on the basepaths, they have a very good chance of advancing to take on either Michigan State or Purdue.
The pitching staff has to overcome a poor regular season
If we have said it once, we have said it a thousand times: the Iowa pitching staff has been a problem this season.
Iowa finished the regular season with a 32-21 (15-15 Big Ten), thanks to stellar hitting and elite defense.
In the postseason, you HAVE to have solid pitching, and the Hawkeyes definitely fall short in that category. It doesn't matter how many runs you score if the pitching staff gives up more, and for Iowa to have any hopes of a deep run, the pitching staff has to have a short memory.
The Hawkeyes ranked No. 13 out of 17 teams in the Big Ten in team ERA at 6.18, giving up 309 total runs and walking 244 batters.
There is no magical formula for the Hawkeye pitchers to simply flip a switch and be lights out in the postseason, but they have to be close to average for Iowa to have a chance.
It's all hands on deck in the postseason, and at the first sign of trouble, Heller needs to have a quick hook for his struggling pitchers.
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