JonDMiller
Publisher/Founder
Hawkeyes Cruise Against Northwestern
The Hawkeyes have officially entered the 'less insane' portion of their schedule and went out and beat Northwestern 71-57 in front of over 15,000 home fans.
It was a bit of a homecoming for Iowa, after back to back heartbreaking losses at Minnesota and Wisconsin. Devyn Marble was glad to be back in the friendly confines, as he led off the game with a dunk in transition to give Iowa a 2-0 lead. The Wildcats were able to score too many easy baskets due to offensive rebounds, but Iowa would lead 29-25 at the break.
The Wildcats shifted to their 1-3-1 zone and while it had some success, Josh Oglesby hit a pair of three-point shots that helped Iowa open up a double digit lead midway through the second half and they cruised to a 71-57 win.
Marble had at least four dunks in the game and also hit at a three-point shot. He still doesn't look like the same player he was in December as far as driving to the basket is concerned, but he definitely attacked the lane on Saturday without trepidation.
He led Iowa with 21 points on 8 of 13 shooting to go along with five assists and five rebounds, both of which were team highs. Oglesby scored 10 points, which included those two big three-point baskets in the second half.
Iowa outscored Northwestern 20-9 in the paint in the second half after leading there 16-15 at the break. Iowa shot 48 percent for the game and held the Cats to 35 percent shooting as well as 6 of 25 from three-point range. Iowa hit 19-22 free throws after struggling from the line on the road this past week.
It was a solid step forward for Iowa who desperately needed something to feel good about after two crushing losses. Iowa moves to 4-7 in Big Ten play and 15-9 overall, still on pace with my preseason prediction. Their next game is at Penn State, who is still without a conference win. That's a must-win game for Iowa if they have any chance of playing their way into an NCAA bid, which is still a long shot at this point in time.
Iowa returns home a week from Sunday to host Minnesota on February 17th. Given how things are playing out, that game may also be a must-win proposition for Iowa's NCAA chances, their last reasonable opportunity to get a regular season win that enhances their NCAA resume. After that it's on the road at Nebraska and back home against Purdue before the game at Indiana.
Can't Iowa win their next four games? Yes, they are good enough to do that. They'll need Marble to regain his swagger, first and foremost. But you can't win the next four without winning the next game and while the Nittany Lions are a bad team, it's still a road game in the Big Ten in gym where Iowa has not had much success as of late. That game tips off at 8pm Iowa time.
Iowa improves to 12-2 at home this season with today’s victory.
· Iowa sweeps the season series against Northwestern with today’s win.
· Iowa improves to 14-3 when shooting 40 percent or better this season. The Hawkeyes’ 48.0 percent shooting percentage today was their best in Big Ten play this season.
· Iowa improves to 23-0 when holding opponents to fewer than 60 points the last three seasons.
· Josh Oglesby reached double figures in two Big Ten games this season, both against Northwestern.
· Roy Devyn Marble netted 21 points, reaching the 20-point plateau for the fourth time this season and sixth time in his career, and the first time in Big Ten play this year.
· Iowa committed a season-low one first-half turnover today.
The Hawkeyes have officially entered the 'less insane' portion of their schedule and went out and beat Northwestern 71-57 in front of over 15,000 home fans.
It was a bit of a homecoming for Iowa, after back to back heartbreaking losses at Minnesota and Wisconsin. Devyn Marble was glad to be back in the friendly confines, as he led off the game with a dunk in transition to give Iowa a 2-0 lead. The Wildcats were able to score too many easy baskets due to offensive rebounds, but Iowa would lead 29-25 at the break.
The Wildcats shifted to their 1-3-1 zone and while it had some success, Josh Oglesby hit a pair of three-point shots that helped Iowa open up a double digit lead midway through the second half and they cruised to a 71-57 win.
Marble had at least four dunks in the game and also hit at a three-point shot. He still doesn't look like the same player he was in December as far as driving to the basket is concerned, but he definitely attacked the lane on Saturday without trepidation.
He led Iowa with 21 points on 8 of 13 shooting to go along with five assists and five rebounds, both of which were team highs. Oglesby scored 10 points, which included those two big three-point baskets in the second half.
Iowa outscored Northwestern 20-9 in the paint in the second half after leading there 16-15 at the break. Iowa shot 48 percent for the game and held the Cats to 35 percent shooting as well as 6 of 25 from three-point range. Iowa hit 19-22 free throws after struggling from the line on the road this past week.
It was a solid step forward for Iowa who desperately needed something to feel good about after two crushing losses. Iowa moves to 4-7 in Big Ten play and 15-9 overall, still on pace with my preseason prediction. Their next game is at Penn State, who is still without a conference win. That's a must-win game for Iowa if they have any chance of playing their way into an NCAA bid, which is still a long shot at this point in time.
Iowa returns home a week from Sunday to host Minnesota on February 17th. Given how things are playing out, that game may also be a must-win proposition for Iowa's NCAA chances, their last reasonable opportunity to get a regular season win that enhances their NCAA resume. After that it's on the road at Nebraska and back home against Purdue before the game at Indiana.
Can't Iowa win their next four games? Yes, they are good enough to do that. They'll need Marble to regain his swagger, first and foremost. But you can't win the next four without winning the next game and while the Nittany Lions are a bad team, it's still a road game in the Big Ten in gym where Iowa has not had much success as of late. That game tips off at 8pm Iowa time.
Iowa improves to 12-2 at home this season with today’s victory.
· Iowa sweeps the season series against Northwestern with today’s win.
· Iowa improves to 14-3 when shooting 40 percent or better this season. The Hawkeyes’ 48.0 percent shooting percentage today was their best in Big Ten play this season.
· Iowa improves to 23-0 when holding opponents to fewer than 60 points the last three seasons.
· Josh Oglesby reached double figures in two Big Ten games this season, both against Northwestern.
· Roy Devyn Marble netted 21 points, reaching the 20-point plateau for the fourth time this season and sixth time in his career, and the first time in Big Ten play this year.
· Iowa committed a season-low one first-half turnover today.
