Iowa Basketball: 3 takeaways from dismantling of Michigan State
3. If there is an area of concern for the Hawkeyes defensively, it is working on their physicality inside
It’s a bit oxymoronic and hypocritical to critique Iowa’s defense just after praising it, but there is one major area of concern that has plagued the Hawkeyes during their woeful stretch – and it was one of the few areas where Michigan State enjoyed success.
Points in the paint have been an issue for Iowa as of late – and not because they are not scoring there, because they are, but the Hawkeyes are struggling to shut teams down inside – particularly due to their lack of physicality and size inside past Luka Garza.
Across Iowa’s last four games – where they have been 2-2 – the Hawkeyes have scored 98 total points in the paint. That is absolutely not awful – but what is bad is that they have given up 112 points inside. They have been outscored in three of those four tilts – Ohio State, Rutgers, and Indiana – and only outscored Michigan State by two, 28-26.
The Hawkeyes do not necessarily feature a physical backup post – Nunge is 6-11 and 245 pounds, but is not as strongly built as Garza – and Murray, who has seen the most time at power forward as of late, is just 6-8 and 215 pounds. Additionally, because of Iowa’s lackluster defense, they easily give up drives to the basket and layups.
It has not necessarily been an issue against stellar post play – they did hold Illinois’ Kofi Cockburn to just nine points, and – for the most part – shut down North Carolina’s highly-touted frontcourt – but the fact that the Hawkeyes continuously give up inside play is a worrying concern, and it rears its ugly head if and when the Hawkeyes are unable to make their three-pointers.
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Iowa will have another opportunity to scoop up another quality win on Thursday, traveling to an up-and-down Wisconsin crew that is looking for a huge win. The Hawkeyes cannot afford to drop this one if they hope to remain in the fight for a top-four seed – and all eyes will be on whether CJ Fredrick will return to propel Iowa back to the top of the league.