With dismal starts to Big Ten play, both Iowa and Northwestern entered Sunday in desperation mode. Come game time, however, only one team showed up.
The Hawkeyes (12-5, 1-3 Big Ten) got their first conference win by taking down the ‘Cats (10-7, 1-3) by a convincing 70-50 final. In front of a student section decimated by Greek rush week, the Wildcats put up one of their worst shooting nights of the season.
Sophomore point guard Dave Sobolewski (14 points) and redshirt freshman Tre Demps (10 points) were the only Wildcats in double figures, and the team shot just 29.4 percent from the field. Sophomore forward Aaron White had 17 points to lead Iowa, which snapped a five-game losing streak against Northwestern.
The first half was similar to the Wildcats’ game with Minnesota last week, featuring suspect shot selection and sloppy possessions. At halftime, Northwestern was shooting 20.8 percent from the floor and under 10 percent from 3-point range.
At one point, freshman center Alex Olah attempted just his eighth three of the season and hit nothing but the backboard, showcasing the offensive struggles that have plagued the Wildcats as of late.
After leading by 10 to start the second half, the Hawkeyes finally broke through. Iowa guard Josh Oglesby took advantage of Northwestern’s 1-3-1 zone with four 3-pointers. When more attention was paid to the perimeter, White was able to sneak behind the defense for an alley-oop jam.
“It’s one of those defenses... the more you see it, the easier it is to attack,” said Iowa coach Fran McCaffery.
The lead stretched to 68-41 with 5:35 to go, but the ‘Cats responded with nine straight points from their reserves. When the final whistle blew, however, it capped off Northwestern’s worst field goal shooting performance of the season.
“We’re having a hard time putting the ball in the basket, and I don’t want to take anything away from Iowa,” said coach Bill Carmody. “They played very well.”
The win was huge for the NCAA Tournament-hopeful Hawkeyes, and it was clear in the effort they showed, especially the veterans. Carmody would have liked to see the same out of his seasoned players.
“White, Marble, (forward Melsahn) Basabe all had really good games,” Carmody said. “It has to be your veterans, and I don’t think our veterans did enough.”
In a brutal conference schedule, a shooting performance like Sunday’s won’t win many games, if any. Senior guard Alex Marcotullio, who scored 5 points, thought that the outcome was as simple as that.
“I don’t think we didn’t play hard. We just didn’t execute on both ends. It’s Big Ten basketball, and you need to make shots,” he said. “It’s a long season, and we have a lot of games to go.”
The Wildcats travel to Champaign on Thursday to take on No. 12 Illinois.
Player Grades (1-10, 10 being best)
Dave Sobolewski, 5.5: The point guard was constantly attacking the rim, although the Iowa defenders did a great job of protecting the basket. Several times, he was caught in the air with no one to pass to, which contributed to his four turnovers.
Reggie Hearn, 3: It may have been as little of an impact as Hearn has had on a game all year. Apart from a steal and a bucket at the start of the second half, we didn’t see much from the Wildcats’ leading scorer.
Kale Abrahamson, 2: The freshman had a tough time getting open for his jumper, making it a frustrating evening. On the other end, he didn’t grab a single rebound.
Jared Swopshire, 4: He had plenty of offensive struggles, scoring just two points on the day. But then again, so did everybody. However, he did crash the boards harder than any other starter, finishing with four rebounds.
Alex Olah, 4: The freshman started well, forcing Iowa center Adam Woodbury into some tough shots, but Carmody described his biggest problem lately: “He’s shying away from stuff and not going up and dunking it.”
Bench, 6.5: Tre Demps, though he went just 3-of-11 from the field, was very aggressive on offense, unlike many of his teammates. Freshman forward Mike Turner played hard defense, preventing easy layups with his three blocks. Marcotullio, though he struggled from the field, was the Wildcats’ rebounding leader with six boards.