JonDMiller
Publisher/Founder
Here is how you know the prospects for the Iowa basketball team are improving:
-The scored 95 points
-They win by 16
-Five players score in double figures
-Two players score at least 20
Yet you can find plenty of areas where the team has to improve.
Iowa beat North Carolina A&T 95-79 on Monday night in Carver Hawkeye Arena, their second straight game over 90 points to open the 2011-2012 season.
However, the Hawks committed 22 turnovers and their half court defense in the second half left plenty to be desired. There was a five or six minute stretch of the second half that looked more like a Prime Time League game than a college basketball contest.
Matt Gatens led Iowa in scoring with a career best 27 points on 9-15 shooting from the floor, including 4-10 from beyond the arc. Eric May added 20 points making 8 of his 12 shots and he grabbed nine rebounds but committed a team high five turnovers. Melsahn Basabe had 15 points and 10 rebounds, Bryce Cartwright had 12 points, six assists and just one turnover and Zach McCabe scored 12 off the bench for Iowa and pulled down six boards.
Aaron White, who was named the Big Ten's Freshman of the Week earlier in the day, scored two points and had four turnovers in just 12 minutes of play. Andrew Brommer took the court for the first time this season after suffering a knee injury on the first day of practice. He left the game early in the second half favoring that same knee and never returned.
As a team, Iowa dominated the backboards hauling in 53 rebounds to 32 for NCAT. Iowa was 33-67 from the floor and 20-27 from the free throw line while shooting 9-26 from beyond the arc.
Iowa's half court defense needs to tighten up and they need to identify fast break situations where it's best to pull the ball back out and set up their half court offense. Basabe still looks to be a bit disinterested at times, but I am guessing he'll get over that as the competition level gets better these next two games.
Iowa hosts Northern Illinois on Thursday before traveling to Wells Fargo Arena to take on Creighton on Sunday at 3pm.
Creighton beat this same North Carolina A&T team 97-65 and beat Chicago State 95-61 on Sunday, a team Iowa beat 96-53 on Friday night.
-The scored 95 points
-They win by 16
-Five players score in double figures
-Two players score at least 20
Yet you can find plenty of areas where the team has to improve.
Iowa beat North Carolina A&T 95-79 on Monday night in Carver Hawkeye Arena, their second straight game over 90 points to open the 2011-2012 season.
However, the Hawks committed 22 turnovers and their half court defense in the second half left plenty to be desired. There was a five or six minute stretch of the second half that looked more like a Prime Time League game than a college basketball contest.
Matt Gatens led Iowa in scoring with a career best 27 points on 9-15 shooting from the floor, including 4-10 from beyond the arc. Eric May added 20 points making 8 of his 12 shots and he grabbed nine rebounds but committed a team high five turnovers. Melsahn Basabe had 15 points and 10 rebounds, Bryce Cartwright had 12 points, six assists and just one turnover and Zach McCabe scored 12 off the bench for Iowa and pulled down six boards.
Aaron White, who was named the Big Ten's Freshman of the Week earlier in the day, scored two points and had four turnovers in just 12 minutes of play. Andrew Brommer took the court for the first time this season after suffering a knee injury on the first day of practice. He left the game early in the second half favoring that same knee and never returned.
As a team, Iowa dominated the backboards hauling in 53 rebounds to 32 for NCAT. Iowa was 33-67 from the floor and 20-27 from the free throw line while shooting 9-26 from beyond the arc.
Iowa's half court defense needs to tighten up and they need to identify fast break situations where it's best to pull the ball back out and set up their half court offense. Basabe still looks to be a bit disinterested at times, but I am guessing he'll get over that as the competition level gets better these next two games.
Iowa hosts Northern Illinois on Thursday before traveling to Wells Fargo Arena to take on Creighton on Sunday at 3pm.
Creighton beat this same North Carolina A&T team 97-65 and beat Chicago State 95-61 on Sunday, a team Iowa beat 96-53 on Friday night.
