Iowa Basketball: 3 keys for Hawkeyes to beat No. 1 Gonzaga Bulldogs

3. Win the rebounding battle

West Virginia was able to keep it close with Gonzaga by outrebounding them. That’s exactly what the Hawkeyes have to do.

While this Gonzaga squad is full of good shooters, pesky defenders, and nightmarish depth, the one thing they don’t have is size. Now, it’s not like Iowa physically dominates them in that category, but having a 7-foot Luka Garza is enough.

Gonzaga’s leading rebounder is Joel Ayayi at 7.7 per game. Joe Wieskamp will have to keep Ayayi off the glass and create rebounding opportunities for his guys. The Bulldogs don’t have a lot of experience in their big man department either, so Garza should be able to feast on the boards.

Creating opportunities off missed shots and rebounding the offensive glass is going to be a major key if Iowa wants to win this game. This season, Luka Garza is averaging 3.8 offensive rebounds per game, a career-high. As a team, the Hawkeyes average about 14 per game. The Bulldogs only average around 10 a game, so Iowa has an advantage in that aspect.

The Hawkeyes will need to expose this weakness in order to beat the Bulldogs and gain an impressive win early in the season.