The Hawkeyes have been inconsistent over their past five games, going 2-3 in that stretch, including a bad road loss to Penn State.
Iowa made their path to a double bye in the Big Ten Tournament much harder after their most recent loss to the Nittany Lions, going from a 90 percent chance before the game to under 65 percent after the loss.
It doesn't get any easier to close out the regular season, with a Senior Night matchup on March 5 against No. 3 Michigan, and a rivalry game against Nebraska in Lincoln on March 8.
No. 3 Michigan presents a lot of challenges for any team they face, but we have three keys to victory for the Hawkeyes as they welcome a tough Wolverines squad to Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Play clean, mistake-free basketball
The Hawkeyes rank in the top 50 in assist-to-turnover ratio this season (1.60), they also turn the ball over only nine times per game, and it is important it stays that way against Michigan.
The Wolverines are way too good to give extra chances to, and Iowa must play clean basketball to give itself a chance.
Michigan excels at blocking shots inside with its plethora of talented bigs down low, so the Hawkeyes will have to move the ball swiftly around the perimeter and find the open shooters to pull those bigs out of the pain.
Iowa's offense does not excel when forced inside, but that could be an advantage for the squad this game, since they definitely want to avoid the painted area.
Ramp up the defensive pressure and make Michigan uncomfortable
Michigan is strong offensive team, but they do not shoot three-point baskets at a prolific rate.
The Hawkeyes like to pressure the ball at the point of attack, and that will be even more critical against the Wolverines, who excel in the paint.
Iowa needs to apply full-court pressure and zone defense to force the Wolverines out of their half-court sets, because if they are allowed to slow the game down and force it inside, Iowa is in big trouble.
Forcing Michigan to take contested jump shots and keeping the ball out of the paint as much as possible are critical in this game.
Get off to a fast start
Despite Michigan's strengths, they have a bad habit of getting off to slow starts and playing with their food.
Iowa also struggles with slow starts, and that cannot happen against Michigan.
The Wolverines are much better on offense than defense, but they still outscore their opponents by an average of 20.2 points per game.
Iowa cannot afford to get behind the eight-ball early in this game, or they might blink and be down 20-plus points.
Get the ball to Bennett Stirtz early and often and let him cook!
Final predictions
It's senior night for Iowa, and they will come out ready to defend homecourt in front of a raucous Carver-Hawkeye crowd.
Unfortunately for the Hawkeyes, they don't have the size or strength on the inside to match up with the Wolverines, and they are going to have to work extremely hard to keep them out of the paint.
The final will be closer than people think, but if Iowa suffers any lingering effects from the loss against Penn State, we could have a blowout on our hands.
Michigan dominates inside, and ultimately win by a close margin.
Final score: Iowa 62, Michigan 69