Iowa Basketball: 3 biggest takeaways from defeat to No. 1 Gonzaga Bulldogs

3. Iowa’s offense can still improve

The plan for this game was to feed Luka Garza the ball in almost every halfcourt possession and let him go to town. And that happened, with a 30-point effcient effort against the No. 1 team in the country. Yet there were plenty of times where the offense stalled focusing too much on feeding the ball to Garza in certain spots and not enough movement elsehwere.

Whenever Garza got the ball inside and a double-team was coming, the star big man would either find a way to score against them or throw a bailout pass back to the perimeter. But it was done in a way where a Hawkeye guard wasn’t open to shoot the 3 to make the Bulldogs pay. In terms of his offense, passing is one weakness for Garza. He has just nine assists in seven games played, despite having the ball as much as he does.

Part of that has to do with the other Iowa players not getting opened outside of beyond the arc. There are few cuts and backdoor moves in the offense, making it a bit predictable for defenses to find way to double Garza and not get completely punished. Not too many guards on this roster are comfortable slashing into the paint but just an adjustment or two into the offensive gameplan can make everyone better as a hole.

This Iowa team should feel no shame in losing to Gonzaga and with a better shooting night, who knows how this ends. But they got some work to do before feeling confident that they can win a title in late March. Good news for them is that they have plenty of time, and plenty of competition next to work things out.