JonDMiller
Publisher/Founder
Iowa's Wednesday night win at Nebraska will not be remembered for the quality of play, but it may be remembered as another brick in the foundation of the Fran McCaffery era.
Iowa beat the Huskers 62-53, picking up their third Big Ten road win of the year. It's the first time since 2005-2006 where Iowa had won that many conference road games in a single season.
The win also moved Iowa's record to 16-14 with one regular season game remaining. It means Iowa will end the regular season with a winning record, regardless of what happens at home on Saturday against Northwestern. Iowa hasn't ended a regular season with a winning record since 2006-2007.
Iowa shot 37.5% in the first half while Nebraska was ice cold at 28.6%. Yet Iowa led by just four points at the break, going the final 5:31 of the first half without scoring a point after taking a 23-15 lead at that juncture. Things started slowly in the second half for both teams before Iowa went on an 18-5 run, making seven straight shots at one point.
Matt Gatens came back down to earth on this night, leading Iowa with 16 points which is right at his season average. He was 3-8 from beyond the arc. Bryce Cartwright scored 11 points and had a team high five assists. Devyn Marble scored 11 and Aaron White scored eight points, all of those coming in the first half. Josh Oglesby added six points for Iowa, coming on two, three-point shots in the midst of Iowa's second half run.
Iowa improves to 8-9 in Big Ten play, the first time Iowa has won that many conference games since the 2006-2007 team finished 9-7 in league play. Iowa is guaranteed a 7th place finish in the Big Ten, being unable to improve or hurt that position regardless of the outcome of their final game.
One more thought on the 'progress' train; Iowa held double-digit leads in nine of their 17 games thus far this Big Ten season. They are 7-2 in those games, with the losses being at home against Nebraska and at Purdue. The other six games were at Wisconsin and home against Minnesota, Penn State, Penn State, Indiana, Wisconsin and Wednesday night at Nebraska.
BIG TEN TOURNEY SCENARIOS
The Hawks will have a chance to secure the 7th seed in the Big Ten tournament with a win against Northwestern on Saturday. The Wildcats are 7-10 in league play but would hold the tiebreaker against Iowa due to their win against Michigan State.
If Iowa gets the 7th seed, they play the 10th seed in the first round and that looks like it will be Minnesota. The 7-10 winner gets the two-seed, which looks like Michigan at this point.
If Iowa loses on Saturday, they will be either the 8th or 9th seed which won't matter because the 8 plays the 9 with the winner playing the #1 seed which is Michigan State.
Iowa beat the Huskers 62-53, picking up their third Big Ten road win of the year. It's the first time since 2005-2006 where Iowa had won that many conference road games in a single season.
The win also moved Iowa's record to 16-14 with one regular season game remaining. It means Iowa will end the regular season with a winning record, regardless of what happens at home on Saturday against Northwestern. Iowa hasn't ended a regular season with a winning record since 2006-2007.
Iowa shot 37.5% in the first half while Nebraska was ice cold at 28.6%. Yet Iowa led by just four points at the break, going the final 5:31 of the first half without scoring a point after taking a 23-15 lead at that juncture. Things started slowly in the second half for both teams before Iowa went on an 18-5 run, making seven straight shots at one point.
Matt Gatens came back down to earth on this night, leading Iowa with 16 points which is right at his season average. He was 3-8 from beyond the arc. Bryce Cartwright scored 11 points and had a team high five assists. Devyn Marble scored 11 and Aaron White scored eight points, all of those coming in the first half. Josh Oglesby added six points for Iowa, coming on two, three-point shots in the midst of Iowa's second half run.
Iowa improves to 8-9 in Big Ten play, the first time Iowa has won that many conference games since the 2006-2007 team finished 9-7 in league play. Iowa is guaranteed a 7th place finish in the Big Ten, being unable to improve or hurt that position regardless of the outcome of their final game.
One more thought on the 'progress' train; Iowa held double-digit leads in nine of their 17 games thus far this Big Ten season. They are 7-2 in those games, with the losses being at home against Nebraska and at Purdue. The other six games were at Wisconsin and home against Minnesota, Penn State, Penn State, Indiana, Wisconsin and Wednesday night at Nebraska.
BIG TEN TOURNEY SCENARIOS
The Hawks will have a chance to secure the 7th seed in the Big Ten tournament with a win against Northwestern on Saturday. The Wildcats are 7-10 in league play but would hold the tiebreaker against Iowa due to their win against Michigan State.
If Iowa gets the 7th seed, they play the 10th seed in the first round and that looks like it will be Minnesota. The 7-10 winner gets the two-seed, which looks like Michigan at this point.
If Iowa loses on Saturday, they will be either the 8th or 9th seed which won't matter because the 8 plays the 9 with the winner playing the #1 seed which is Michigan State.
