NCAA Basketball: Villanova’s struggles, 2K Classic outcomes and other takeaways
By Brian Rauf
6) We need to start taking Iowa seriously
Yet another Big Ten team worthy of their own point, Iowa went from afterthought – they were picked to finish 10th in the conference – to a bonafide top 20 team in just two days thanks to their victories over Oregon and UConn in the 2K Empire Classic.
Iowa returned nearly 71 percent of their minutes from last year’s team, but when that team only wins 14 games, it’s impossible to know if that group will develop into anything good.
However, the Hawkeyes showed they’re a force to be reckoned with in New York. Head coach Fran McCaffery’s squad goes 10 deep and had five different players score in double figures in a game in the Empire Classic.
Big man Luka Garza emerged as a star with 22 points against UConn while Tyler Cook (16.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg) was often the best player on the court in the tournament.
The team excels at getting to the foul line, ranking second in the country in free throw rate, and they rebound over a third of their misses. They’re also great at defending the three-point line, limiting their opponents to just 26.5 percent shooting from deep.
Is this who Iowa is this year or was this just a great week for them? I think it’s more towards the former. With what they showed this week, the Hawkeyes are legit.