Video: Fran McCaffery evaluates Iowa’s defensive struggles vs. Wisconsin
Fran McCaffery discusses a variety of topics after Iowa’s loss to Wisconsin.
MADISON, Wis. — After splitting a pair of Big Ten games in December, Iowa resumed conference play on Friday at Wisconsin with a major dud.
In a 116-85 win over Iowa, Wisconsin put on an offensive masterpiece against an awful Iowa defensive showing.
The Badgers exposed Iowa’s defense, shooting 65% from the field and 67.7% from 3-point range. Wisconsin entered the day shooting just 32.5% from deep on the season but went 21-of-31 from long range on Friday.
Iowa has put together some strong defensive efforts this season but on Friday reverted to the type of performance that has become all too familiar to the program.
“Our closeouts weren’t nearly what they needed to be, whether we were man or zone,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said of Iowa’s 3-point defense. “They do a great job moving the ball. They move the ball side to side. They’ve got some really talented drivers, so you’ve got to close off penetration. But they’ve got multiple 3-point shooters as we saw today. A lot of different guys that can make them and we were a little slow getting out.”
On top of that, Wisconsin shot an efficient 15-of-17 from the free throw line, compared to Iowa’s 12-of-18.
Iowa had few answers for Wisconsin’s John Blackwell, who accompanied Owen Freeman on the All-Big Ten Freshman team last season. On Friday, Blackwell had 32 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
Beyond Blackwell, Wisconsin had four others in double-figures. John Tonje had 12 points, Steven Crowl contributed 14, Nolan Winter added 18 and Kamari McGee had 12.
Iowa didn’t have a bad day offensively. The Hawkeyes shot 48% from the field and 38% from deep. Iowa’s defense was just that bad.
In roughly two minutes in the first half, Wisconsin gained some separation, turning a 3-point deficit into an 11-point lead. The Badgers torched Iowa’s defense in the first half, shooting an absurd 9-of-13 (69%) from deep and putting up 54 points. That allowed Wisconsin to take an 11-point advantage into halftime.
“We got a little sideways with our offense there, which gave them transition opportunities and easier shots,” McCaffery said. “We were trying to score too quickly. When you’re on the road and they’re on a run, you’ve got to keep the ball moving a little bit more on offense, make them play defense. We quick-shot it and they took advantage.”
There was no major turnaround out of the break for Iowa. Wisconsin’s lead ballooned to as many as 20 early in the second half. Iowa never got back within shouting distance.
Poor rebounding, which has been a recurring problem this season, hurt Iowa again on Friday. The Badgers outrebounded the Hawkeyes 37-21. The fact that Iowa now starts just one traditional big (Freeman) puts the Hawkeyes at even more of a disadvantage on the glass.
On Friday, Wisconsin made so many shots that there were simply not many rebounds to grab for Iowa.
“It would help if they didn’t make every shot,” McCaffery quipped. “There weren’t a lot of rebounds to be had.”
The Hawkeyes did not get nearly enough from Payton Sandfort scoring or Freeman on the glass. Sandfort notched just two points on 1-of-9 from the field. Freeman had just three rebounds.
Drew Thelwell was one of the few bright spots for the Hawkeyes. He had 25 points. Josh Dix was also in double figures with 16. Freeman had 14. Pryce Sandfort had 10.
Video: Drew Thelwell was one of few bright spots in loss to Wisconsin
Drew Thelwell discusses a variety of topics after Iowa’s loss to Wisconsin.
With the loss, Iowa dropped to 10-4 overall, 1-2 in Big Ten play. Wisconsin is 11-3 and 1-2.
Friday was another missed opportunity for the Hawkeyes to bolster their NCAA Tournament resume as Wisconsin presented a coveted Quad 1 opportunity (valued the highest in the eyes of NET). But with the loss, Iowa is now 0-4 in Quad 1, 3-0 in Quad 2 and 7-0 in Quad 4.
Losing on the road to Wisconsin is not a devastating blow to Iowa’s NCAA Tournament chances. But the Hawkeyes will likely need to stack some Quad 1 wins over the next couple of months to have a good shot at the NCAA Tournament. Missing on another Quad 1 win on Friday would mean that Iowa needs to make up for it later on.
Video: Brock Harding on why Iowa unraveled against Wisconsin
Brock Harding discusses a variety of topics after Iowa’s loss to Wisconsin.
“I just think early in the game, we kinda did everything we didn’t want to happen,” sophomore Brock Harding said. “We just kinda let back cuts happen, front cuts, gave up open threes, late on rotations, stuff we knew we were gonna have to do getting into Big Ten play. I thought we didn’t do a great job executing that.”
Iowa returns to Carver-Hawkeye Arena for its next two games, which is strictly Big Ten play for the remainder of the regular season. The Hawkeyes host rival Nebraska on Tuesday, followed by Indiana on Saturday.
Follow Tyler Tachman on X @Tyler_T15, contact via email at ttachman@gannett.com
