Just Like Football: Iowa downs Michigan State
By: Mike Rabon
Devon Archie swats a Kalin Lucas lay-up (Cliff Jette/Sourcemedia Group via the Cedar Rapids Gazette)
Chants of “just like football” reverberated through Carver-Hawkeye Arena Wednesday night as the Hawkeyes put the finishing touches on a declining Spartan squad 72-52. Just like football, Iowa jumped to a seemingly insurmountable lead in the early stages of the game. At halftime on October 30th, 2010 in Kinnick Stadium, Iowa led powerhouse Michigan State 30-0. The Spartan basketball team managed to record points but the feeling was the same as they trailed 41-20 as the buzzer sounded to conclude the first half.
Michigan State turned the ball over on consecutive possessions to start the game and Iowa took advantage by capitalizing with a Matt Gatens 3 pointer and an Eric May jump shot. Reserve Center Derrick Nix returned the favor by scoring a lay-up on Jarryd Cole and then the floodgates opened. A variety of buckets and efficient distribution of the basketball facilitated a 25-6 run for the Hawkeyes. 30-8 read the score with 7:41 left in the first half and surely Tom Izzo’s Spartans were stunned at the determined effort of Fran McCaffery’s bunch.
The Hawkeyes were playing as if they were “mad again” and this was manifest in the 65.5% first half shooting. In a timely fashion, the Iowa defense rotated effectively in the 2-3 zone and held the Spartans scoreless from beyond the 3 point line after 20 minutes of play.
Playing well in the first half is nothing new for this Hawkeye team in 2010-2011. Competitive first half performances against Penn State, Michigan, Ohio State and Iowa State, just to name a few, always lead to the inevitable second half collapse. In this game, the storyline was different. Cole, May, Cartwright and Gatens rallied early in the second half to avoid a letdown. A lay-up by Jarrd Cole and a break away dunk from Matt Gatens secured a 56-30 lead for the Hawkeyes 6 minutes into the second half. This deficit was the largest of the season for the vapid Spartans.
Draymond Green momentarily employed his strength and athleticism with a lay-up and a 3 pointer, which forced Fran McCaffery to burn a timeout. This demonstration was, unfortunately for Michigan State, ephemeral in nature. Gatens, Cartwright and May punished the Spartans in an 8-0 run making the score 70-47 with 4:33 left in the game.
As the time expired, Hawkeye fans who battled the elements to enjoy one more Big Ten basketball game in Carver-Hawkeye Arena stood tall and cheered proudly as the team celebrated with students underneath the basket on newly dubbed Mediacom Court.
Gatens ended the game with 19 points to lead all scorers and 3 other Hawkeyes scored in double-digits. Bryce Cartwright ended his stellar performance with 10 assists to only 4 turnovers. Jarryd Cole just missed a double-double as he recorded 13 points (6-6 FG) and 9 rebounds.
While the celebration was underway in Iowa City, Tom Izzo was melancholic and downright disturbed by his team’s performance.
“Well I think that was the worst performance of a team that I’ve coached since I’ve been at Michigan State. I didn’t feel our best players played very well and then we tried to rely on other people,” Izzo quietly said.
The dichotomy was apparent after listening to Fran McCaffery say, “This is our most complete game without question at both ends.”
Michigan State, a preseason top 5 program, has now fallen to 13-9 overall and 5-5 in Big Ten play. While there is still hope for an NCAA tournament bid in East Lansing, much work and an overhaul in team leadership will have to take place.
“You know, I’m going to make some changes probably. There is going to be some guys that are going to have to grow up. I’m very disappointed with the leadership with this team,” Izzo reiterated in the post game press conference.
Meanwhile, Iowa is still in the beginning stages of a massive rebuilding job but McCaffery was ecstatic about the performance of point guard Bryce Cartwright.
McCaffery praised Cartwright by saying, “He always was a scorer and he could play point and get the ball in the lane. But there’s a lot more to being a point guard, especially at this level, and I’m really proud of him and how hard he’s worked.”
The Iowa Hawkeyes are 9-13 overall and 2-8 in Big Ten play but everyone watching this program closely can see the daily progress of Coach McCaffery and his veteran staff on this dilapidated program.
Iowa will travel to Bloomington on Saturday to face an Indiana Hoosier team they defeated handily in Iowa City 91-77 just a short time ago. The Hoosiers have upset two ranked teams in a row at Assembly Hall, Illinois and Minnesota, and lost a 1 point heartbreaker in East Lansing to the Spartans in overtime. The game will tip-off at 3pm Saturday and both teams will come in fresh off of signature program victories.
Big Ten Basketball “Expert” Predictions
By: Mike Rabon
Ohio State Head Coach That Matta (Photo by the AP via dispatch.com)
Minnesota Junior Forward Trevor Mbakwe (Photo by the AP via features.rr.com)
Indiana @ #21 Minnesota
Winner: Minnesota
Both teams are 0-2 in conference play but the Gophers maintain superior athleticism and preeminence in the post. Junior College transfer Trevor Mbakwe averages 13 points and 10 rebound a game and sharp-shooter Blake Hoffarber will remember his 2008 Big Ten Tournament miracle and facilitate a Gopher victory over the smaller, less versatile “Crimson and Crean.”
#2 Ohio State @ Iowa
Winner: Ohio State
Sullinger and Craft, the present and future of Buckeye basketball, are only the beginning of a deep, skilled and mature bunch that Thad Matta has expertly groomed to make a run for not only a second Big Ten Championship but the possibility of dethroning Coach Krzyzewksi and “Dook”….I mean Duke.
Fran McCaffery and the “Let’s get mad again” mantra will do little to cauterize the impending wounds in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Matt Gatens, Eric May, and well…everyone need career performances to slay the mighty Buckeyes from Columbus.
Iowa State Snipes the Hawkeyes
By: Mike Rabon
Iowa State Guard Diante Garrett (Photo by Brian Ray via thegazette.com)
The large crowd roared as Andrew Brommer slammed the basketball through the cylinder at Carver-Hawkeye Arena and pounded his chest while staring down the Hawk’s Nest. If only that moment could characterize the final result for Fran McCaffery’s bunch. Unfortunately, turnovers and youth are more accurate characterizations of Iowa’s 75-72 defeat to in-state rival Iowa State.
Iowa State Junior Scott Christopherson stole the show and quelled the deperate Hawkeye comeback attempt over and over again in the second half. Fred Hoiberg described Christopherson’s contributions as “huge” and iterated the necessity of establishing game tempo from the outset. 30 points and active transition defense sum up Christopherson’s near perfect performance in Saturday night’s game.
Melsahn Basabe not only garnered the opening tip but drove thunderously to the basket and gave the Hawkeyes a 2-0 lead only seconds into the first half. Iowa State responded with 9 unanswered points coming in earnest from Jamie Vanderbeken and Scott Christopherson. At the first TV timout, The Mayor was running Carver Hawkeye Arena and his team led 12-4. Matt Gatens caught fire and scored 9 of Iowa’s 13 in a 13-2 run that ended at the second TV timeout.
Iowa extended its lead in the final minutes of the half with a basket by Eric May and a coast-to-coast “Ty Lawson” like drive and score as time expired. McCaffery and company took a 40-31 lead into half with Carver’s crowd energized and smelling blood.
Just like the the beginning of the first half, Iowa State came out hot with Christopherson drilling yet another 3-point basket along with field goals from Diante Garrett and Jamie Vanderbeken. The Cyclones continued their hot shooting and transition offense with dunks from freshman Melvin Ejim and floaters from Diante Garrett. Gatens frantically tried to stick with Christopherson but time after time the ball slid through the nets and the crowd groaned.
Iowa’s transition defense and 2-3 zone was exploited by Garrett and Christopherson and with 7:43 remaining the Cyclones had built a 61-52 advantage. Cartwright, Gatens and Basabe led a final charge against Iowa State scoring 6 points in just over one minute to cut the lead to 61-58. Christopherson once again silenced the crowd and Diante Garrett engineered two more baskets in the lane extending the ISU lead to 10 with less than 4 minutes to play.
Iowa struggled from the charity stripe all night and finished a coarse 12 of 23. Trailing 73-68, Roy Devyn Marble was fouled while shooting a three pointer but missed the first two free throws. Christopherson scored one more time and Diante Garrett picked off an errant Cartwright pass and put the finishing touches on a solid Iowa State victory in Carver Hawkeye Area. Zach McCabe gave Hawkeye fans one final chance to cheer as he nailed a near half court shot to narrow the final score to 75-72 in favor of the Cyclones.
Brommer, McCabe and Marble combined for 32 points off the bench but this positive note was not enough to secure a 3 game winning steak for the Hawks.
McCaffery was pleased with Brommer’s 12 point 3 rebound performance saying “Brommer was great tonight. And he’s been getting better. I’ve been really impressed with him, his work ethic, his determination. It was good to see him have some fun tonight, it really was.”
The transition defense problems seemed to come as a result of Iowa State’s up-tempo brand. McCaffery opined on the defense claiming it was, “Not what it needed to be. It just wasn’t. They run on makes and misses. For the most part we got back on makes with a couple of exceptions. But then in the second half, a running team like that, if you miss four, five, six, seven possessions in a row, I don’t know how many it was, but it seemed like it was about that many, they’re going to get out and they’re going to get space, and they’re going to find shooters.”
Iowa will face Drake on December 18th in Des Moines and look to move above .500. The Cyclones move to 8-2 on the season and will face Dartmouth on December 19th in Ames.
Cartwright Engineers Victory for the Hawks
By: Mike Rabon
Bryce Cartwright (Photo by Ben Roberts via hawkcentral.com)
Gatens for 3….Good! Assist by Bryce Cartwright. Iowa led Idaho State 33-7 with 5:29 remaining in the first half and all signs pointed to a route until 6 seconds later when Kenny McGowen drained a 21 foot basket. With 10:15 left in the Second Half Deividas Busma punched in a 2-point layup to cap a 35 -15 run for the Bengals.
48-42 the score read in Carver-Hawkeye Arena leaving Hawk fans listening on the radio and in attendance stunned at the impending metldown. During the next four minutes the teams traded baskets until finally Andrew Brommer created a turnover and dished the ball to Bryce Cartwright for a 2-point layup. ISU Head Coach Joe O’Brien called a timeout with 6:09 left in the half.
Fortunately, Iowa continued to respond and extended the lead to 65-53 with 1:25 left in the half. Senior Jarryd Cole made a layup, drained a free throw and Bryce Cartwright nailed a 2-point jumpshot, assisted by Eric May.
As the clock ran out on Idaho State, the final score read 70-53. Eric May accentuated the victory with a thunderous dunk in the final minute leaving Hawkeye fans excited about the finish but wary about the scant performance in the second half.
Bryce Cartwright scored in double-digits for the 5th straight game but the indelible mark he placed on this game resided in the assist department. A season high, 8 assist performance, faciliated the play of Eric May, Matt Gatens and Jarryd Cole.
Matt Gatens struggled from behind the arch but ended the game with 14 points, 5 assists and 5 steals. Eric May finished with 11 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists.
Iowa’s defense held Idaho State to a coarse 38% shooting and forced 23 turnovers. ISU Guard Broderick Gilchrest played all 40 minutes and scored 14 points but to his detriment turned the ball over 8 times.
Saturday’s game was reminiscent of Iowa’s second half debalce against Wake Forest in terms of protracted scoring droughts, turnovers in the second half and a lack of leadership. Idaho State does not have a wealth of talent like Wake Forest and this was acute in the final stages of the second half in terms of turnovers and sloppy ball handling.
Nonetheless, Iowa moves to 4-4 on the young season and will welcome intrastate rival Northern Iowa to Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Tuesday night at 7:05pm. Northern Iowa defeated TCU on Saturday 64-60 and smothered Iowa State at the McCleod Center 60-54 on December 1st. The Hawkeyes suffered a humiliating 67-50 loss to Northern Iowa a season ago and look to reclaim preeminence in the state of Iowa.
Iowa Men Bounce Back in Win Over Alabama
By: Mike Rabon
Matt Gatens (Photo via Hawkeyesports.com)
After a difficult 86-73 loss to Xavier Friday night, the Iowa Hawkeye men rebounded with a 55-47 victory over the Crimson Tide in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Iowa trailed Alabama 15-5 minutes into the game but a pair of free throws by Jordan Stoermer and contributions from Bryce Cartwright and Zach McCabe allowed the Hawks to gain the lead 29-27 at halftime. Freshman Zach McCabe led the Hawkeyes in scoring with 13 points and Eric May added 12 points.
34.5% shooting will not win many more games this season but a stifling Hawkeye defense ensured the victory Saturday night. Alabama shot 33.9% from the field and was led in scoring by JaMychal Green who had 17 points.
The glaring statistic and likely reason for the Hawkeye victory was bench play. Iowa’s bench outscored Alabama’s bench 31-5. Fran McCaffery said “Our offense was good enough, but it needs to get better.” Iowa was fortunate to win Saturday evening but for a young and rebuilding team a win breeds much needed confidence. The Hawks were victorious one time away from Carver-Hawkeye arena last year.
Junior Matt Gatens returned from injury this weekend and scored 4 points in 34 minutes of playing time against Alabama. Iowa overcame an assist-to-turnover ratio of 5:16, which must improve before the Big10 season.
Iowa will play Long Beach State on Monday afternoon in the U.S. Virgin Islands and look to leave town with 2-1 record at the tournament and a 3-2 overall record before playing SIU-Edwardsville in Iowa City on Friday, November 26th.
The Anti-Lickliter Philosophy
By: Mike Rabon
Andrew Brommer (Press-Citizen/John Richard via The Des Moines Register)
The Iowa Hawkeye men defeated the Louisiana-Monroe WarHawks 68-40 on Tuesday earning new head coach Fran McCaffery his first win with the Black and Gold. Iowa jumped out to a quick 15-5 lead within minutes but a protracted scoring drought left the score 15-11 with 7:51 left in the first half.
Coach McCaffery was apoplectic with his team’s play and his coaches for not executing on either side of the basketball. McCaffery smacked the drawing board out of an assistant coach’s hand and pursued his players with a rage and passion I have not seen in my years watching Iowa basketball. His words were not discernible from press row but his intent could be easily understood. The small crowd in Carver-Hawkeye Arena was enthralled by this gesture of passion and conviction and so was Kirkwoood JUCO transfer Jordan Stoermer.
Stoermer immediately nailed a 3-point basket, which brought the fans to their feet and gave coach McCaffery much needed therapy. Roy Devyn Marble added 9 points off the bench along with Paris JUCO transfer Bryce Cartwright who added 7 points and 4 assists. Sioux City Bishop Heelan product Zach McCabe led the Hawkeyes in scoring with 12 points.
Iowa’s defense held ULM to 40 points and 34.5% shooting. McCaffery mixed in full- court 3-2 zone defense and man-to-man rotations to keep ULM off-balance and it culminated in Eric May stealing the basketball at mid-court and slamming the basketball through the net.
In short, McCaffery is the antithesis of former Iowa coach Todd Lickliter. He is publicly passionate, declares that he is culpable for lack of preparation, and energizes the team by mixing different defensive strategies and utilizing bench players even if they may not be deemed as “ready” by prognosticators. McCaffery does not sulk in the press conferences and he demands excellence just like any good business man from the Wharton school would.
Fran’s conviction and public display of determination is enough for me and it is a refreshing divergence from the morass created by Todd Lickliter.
Iowa plays Xavier on Friday night in the US Virgin Islands and will play either Alabama or Seton Hall this weekend as well. Xavier defeated IPFW 76-75 on Tuesday night but nonetheless is less than a year removed from a double-overtime loss in the sweet 16 to Kansas State.
No Chemistry in Loss to South Dakota State
By: Mike Rabon
Iowa Head Coach Fran McCaffery (AP Photo via rivals.com)
Fran McCaffery discusses loss to South Dakota State
For the second consecutive season, the Iowa Hawkeyes lost t he home-opener. South Dakota State, who had failed to beat any Big10 program since 1930, stole the show in Carver-Hawkeye Arena defeating Iowa 79-69. Iowa Head Coach Fran McCaffery, who spent the entire off-season eating lunch with students, touring the I-Club circuit and complimenting Iowa fans for their basketball IQ, sophistication and tradition, provided the lackluster Iowa crowd with a deflating loss.
On two straight possessions in the first 4 minutes, Cully Payne traveled with the basketball and when JUCO transfer Bryce Cartwright entered Iowa’s fortunes did not change. Sophomore Eric May was Iowa’s only true bright spot as he registered 20 points, 6 rebounds and 2 steals. The Hawkeyes accumulated 14 turnovers in the first half Sunday evening, a site reminiscent of the Todd Lickliter Era, which is clearly still impacting this program. Senior Jarryd Cole contributed 17 points in the Hawkeye loss but showed little sign of improvement in terms of fundamentals and foot work in particular.
McCaffery was questioned about the chemistry of his basketball team and candidly responded by saying, “That’s going to take time. Eventually they’ll develop chemistry. I think we were starting to develop that. Then, of course, we’re moving Eric May to the two spot, he was in the three spot. He’s done fairly well there I thought. Zach played a good part of the preseason in the four spot, now he’s playing the bulk of his minutes at the three spot. There was a big learning curve there for him in particular.”
Implicit in this remark is McCaffery’s failure to adequately prepare this team for Sunday’s game. McCaffery is a business man with a strategy that integrates conditioning and regular schematic changes in order to effectively disrupt the competitor’s execution. Clearly, the precondition for implementing his strategy, which is a complete comprehension of all the schemes, was not satisfied.
Payne and Cartwright combined for 10 assists, 7 turnovers and 4 points. McCaffery commented, ” We were blowing the ball down the floor and we didn’t get anywhere near as many opportunities as we did in the last game. Cully just didn’t penetrate tonight. He did one time, took it all the way through, laid it in. I want him to do more of that. I think he got a little tentative when he had the traveling calls earlier, started playing more conservatively. Bryce has to play at a more intense pace. He’s talented and can really impact the game more I think.”
In comparison, SDSU Guards Nate Wolters and Clint Sargent combined for 10 assists, 5 turnovers and 41 points. Sargent, a native of Sioux City, Iowa has now defeated Iowa and Iowa State during his career with the Jackrabbits. Wolters, a Sophomore from St. Cloud, Minnesota controlled the tempo and his 9 assists facilitated a smoothly executed offense that is far from perfect but effective in providing jump shooters like Clint Sargent, Griffan Callahan, and Chad White opportunities to extend leads.
South Dakota State may legitimately have more talent on the roster than the Iowa Hawkeyes and McCaffery is likely in for a long season that endeavors to simply satisfy the preconditions of his system. Iowa must turnaround quickly as Louisiana-Monroe comes strutting into Iowa City tomorrow. In 2007, Louisiana-Monroe defeated the Iowa Hawkeyes 72-67 in overtime.
Commenting on the quick turnaround, McCaffery said, “ I would rather have more practice. We need as much time together as we possibly can have just to get comfortable with what we’re doing, how we’re doing it, why we’re doing it, and who’s doing it, what combination. We’ll still take advantage of the time. We’ll meet tonight. We’ll watch film tonight. We’ll have an opportunity to introduce our next opponent and get ready to play them.”
Iowa desperately needs a win before they travel to the United States Virgin Islands to play Xavier on November 19th.
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