Tale of two halves
The good, the bad and the ugly all made an appearance Thursday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa’s 60-52 loss to Michigan was filled with a little of each.
The good? During opening 17 minutes of the game, Iowa played as well as it has on both ends of the floor in some time. The Hawkeyes moved the ball well and put their teammates in positions where high-percentage looks were available. That is the way the Iowa offense is supposed to look. That level of execution carried over to the other end of the floor, where the Hawkeyes defended well and forced Michigan into eight first-half turnovers.
The bad? It followed the good. Iowa reverted to some bad habits as the Wolverines rallied for the win. Michigan made plenty of shots early in the second half. Some were defended well. Others weren’t, but with each make, the Hawkeyes lost a little of the patience that had allowed them to build that 16-point lead. They made poor decisions with the basketball and more often than not, put the ball up too quickly. That only played into the hands of the Wolverines, who dictated tempo while rallying to the eight-point win.
The ugly? It came after the game. Iowa players filled notepads and recorders with the usual words of disappointment and frustration. Hawkeye coach Todd Lickliter opened up a bit though, talking about the difficulty he has had in getting his message across to this team. He went as far as to say it would be a “novel idea” if Iowa players actually attempted to execute the plays in situations that they’ve worked on in practice. That paints a pretty clear picture of what is taking place, albeit if they are the words of a coach who is every bit as frustrated as his team.
Wednesday’s loss was costly. Its ramifications will likely be felt when seeds for the Big Ten tourney are served up in a little over three weeks. The only way the Hawkeyes will be able to avoid a further freefall is to look in the mirror and understand the reasons behind their frustrations, then learn from them.
