Basketball Opponent Pregame Glimpse: Iowa Hawkeyes
Iowa Hawkeyes 12-5 (3-3 in Big Ten)
Last Result: Iowa Hawkeyes 75, Northwestern Wildcats 62
After a tightly contested first half, in which no team led by more than six, the Hawkeyes were able to pull away from the Wildcats in the second half, taking the lead by as many as 19, to capture their first Big Ten road win of the season. Iowa was led by center Luka Garza who had 27 points on 10-of-14 shooting in just 24 minutes of action. The Hawkeyes were also helped by the fact that they only turned the ball over seven times, while also going 10-of-22 from behind the arc. Iowa got a nice boost of the bench from senior forward Ryan Kriener, who reached double digits in points for the third time this season. Iowa’s defense was also able to hold Northwestern to just 5-for-17 on its attempts behind the arc. Though the Wildcats are the worst team in the conference standings with a 6-10 record, any road win in the Big Ten is a big one, so the Hawkeyes will be heading into their game against the Wolverines coming off a big conference win that allowed them to stay near the middle of the pack in the Big Ten standings.
Iowa’s Last Matchup Against Michigan: Michigan Wolverines 103, Iowa Hawkeyes 91
Despite a career high 44 points from Luka Garza, the Hawkeyes were unable to pull off a road win against the then No. 4 ranked Wolverines in Ann Arbor. In the game the Wolverines had all five of their starters reach at least 13 points. It was a scoring outburst for Michigan, as they had at least 50 points in each half. Franz Wagner led the team in scoring with 18, Zavier Simpson added 16 points, seven assists and six rebounds, and John Teske had 16 points and four blocks in the contest. This game for Teske, though, was the start of his struggles becoming apparent in one on one matchups against quality bigs, as he struggled to stop Garza and got into foul trouble, picking up his 4th foul with 11:17 remaining in the game. It was also the first night that Juwan Howard’s no doubling strategy become noticeable, as he refused to double team Garza despite his 27 first half points. Michigan was able to escape with a win due to Iowa’s struggles shooting the three going just 3-for-15 and the Wolverines offense firing on all cylinders, shooting 55.2%. However, Michigan can’t rely on shooting that well again if they want to win today especially with no news on big time scorer Isaiah Livers.
Players to Watch:
Luka Garza, Center, Junior
Luka Garza leads the Big Ten in points per game at 22.3 and ranks second in the conference in rebounds per game at 10.4. There is no secret that the Hawkeyes want to feed the big man, as he averages 15.8 shots per contest. He also can occasionally step outside and make a three pointer, as he averages one made three per game. Garza is clearly Iowa’s best player; however, he is not a very good passer averaging just 1.1 assists per game with a season high of 3 assists in a game. With one of Iowa’s best shooters Jordan Bohannon sidelined for the remainder of the year, the Hawkeyes just shooting 35% from three and the poor passing ability of Garza, tomorrow seems like the day Howard may finally deviate from his no doubling strategy.
Joe Wieskamp, Guard, Sophomore
The 6-6 guard seems to be starting to find his rhythm this season, as he has had more than 20 points in three of Iowa’s last four contests. Wieskamp is shooting 38.3% from behind the arc and has hit five threes in two of the last four Hawkeye games. Wieskamp will need to have another big scoring day in order for Iowa to win if Howard actually does end up deciding to double team Luka Garza.
What are you going to be watching for in tonight's game? How do you think Luka Garza will do in round two against the Wolverines? Comment below!!!
