Iowa Hawkeyes Basketball

The Big Ten is one of the nation's best conferences. With Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Indiana and Purdue almost guaranteed an at-large bid, some teams are overlooked. Northwestern, Minnesota and Illinois remain "on the bubble" despite 6-9 and 5-10 respective conference records. Northwestern is eighth, with Minnesota and Illinois tied for ninth.

Iowa is seventh. Why aren't the Hawkeyes on the bubble?

The reason Iowa isn't close to the bubble is because of bad losses. Losses against Campbell, Northern Iowa, Nebraska, Penn State and Northwestern plague the Hawkeyes. Campbell plays in the Big South. Northern Iowa is decent, but an early loss to a mid-major team is always ugly. Penn State and Nebraska are in the cellar of the Big Ten, and Northwestern is a team Iowa needs to beat.

All of these losses pile up, one by one. However, with a 7-8 record in The Big Ten, and a 15-13 showing overall, Iowa still has a chance.

Tournament Resume

Quality Wins

12/31 @. No.11 Wisconsin- W 72-65

1/14 vs. No.13 Michigan- W 75-59

2/19 vs. No.20 Indiana- W 78-66

2/23 vs. No.15 Wisconsin- W 67-66

Granted, all four of these wins are at home or in the Big Ten. However, when you beat four ranked opponents, you get noticed. Wisconsin fell twice to the Hawkeyes, as senior guard Matt Gatens scored 33 points on Iowa's recent victory over the Badgers. All four teams are quality, NCAA-bound teams. These victories are the reason why Iowa is still alive.

Bad Losses

11/23 vs. Campbell- L 77-61

12/6 @ Northern Iowa- L 80-60

1/26 vs. Nebraska- L 79-73

2/9 @ Northwestern- L 83-64

2/16 @ Penn State- L 69-64

Some losses are ugly, while others are just frowned upon. Campbell and UNI are obviously ugly, as both teams are in the middle of their weak conferences. Big Ten losses happen, but losing to Penn State AND Nebraska is just plain ugly. The Cornhuskers and Nittany Lions have a combined record of 8-22 in Big Ten play. Because of its hostile environment, the Northwestern game is only frowned upon. Iowa needed that win, but playing in Evanston is hard enough.

Down the Stretch

2/26 @ Illinois

2/29 @ Nebraska

3/3 vs. Northwestern

Let's be honest, Iowa's remaining three games are fairly easy. Believe it or not, that may not be a good thing. Yes, the Hawkeyes will finish 10-8 with a three-game sweep and improve their seeding for the Big Ten tournament. However, Iowa still needs to add a fifth game to its signature wins. A road victory over Illinois or Nebraska does not cut it in late February. I like to call it "Last Minute."

Playing at Assembly Hall is never easy, even when Illinois is barely on the bubble with a 5-10 Big Ten record. But Nebraska is usually half-empty, and Northwestern is a home game. Iowa will need a sweep to have any shot in playing in the 2012 NCAA tournament.

Prediction

2/26 @ Illinois: W 67-60

Iowa loves to run and make basketball a fast-paced game. So does Illinois. Like I said, Assembly Hall isn't the friendliest arena in College Basketball. Gatens will have another outstanding game, and the Hawkeyes will win their hardest game down the stretch.

2/29 @ Nebraska: W 77-58

Bob Devaney is not intimidating, first off. Nebraska is struggling in its inaugural season in the Big Ten. Bo Spencer is really the only threat, and he's a senior. I like Iowa to roll after its big win over Illinois.

3/3 vs. Northwestern: W 70-62

Northwestern is dangerous. Like Bo Spencer, John Shurna is one of the best in Big Ten. The problem is that Northwestern cannot rebound and defend. Iowa doesn't necessarily roll, but a significant win sets Iowa up with a solid seed for the Big Ten tournament.

Teddy Bailey is a college basketball writer for B/R. Follow him on Twitter @Teddy_Bailey

This season has been a roller coaster ride for the Iowa basketball team. 

After losing some ugly non-conference games, the Hawkeyes have been a pleasant surprise in the Big Ten, beating such teams as Wisconsin (in Madison), Michigan, Minnesota twice and just last weekend, knocking off the Indiana Hoosiers.

Devyn Marble has solidified his spot as a star.  Aaron White has become a fan favorite and has Iowa fans drooling for three more years of the crafty redhead.  But, few would contest that Matt Gatens has been the calming presence for the Hawkeyes on the court and is having, by far, the best season of his career.

I have been critical of Gatens over the past three years.  He couldn't create his own shot.  He disappeared during crunch time.  His defense was not anything close to "lockdown."

All three of those criticisms have been put out to pasture this year.

Gatens has transformed into a great defensive player.  With the regression of Eric May and the departure of Jarryd Cole weakening Iowa's interior defense, Gatens has stepped up. He has become a great on-ball defender and has forced many timely turnovers.

On the offensive end, Gatens has become a intelligent veteran presence who picks his spots and can create off the dribble.  This is a facet of his game that was not nearly as strong in the past.  Threes were forced up, and Gatens was too reliant on someone else to hit him in rhythm for his shot. 

Last season, late in games, it was all Bryce Cartwright.  Two years ago, that situation went to Eric May, Aaron Fuller or even—gulp—Cully Payne.

This season, although Marble has been equally clutch as a late-game playmaker, Matt Gatens has turned into a closer.  He has been making sound decisions and has been hitting shots during "winning time," which has resulted in wins.

Gatens had a career-high 30 points against Indiana on Sunday in one of his last home games as a Hawkeye.  He moved into third on Iowa's all-time three-point list, and will soon be second. 

Gatens came into the year as one of the losingest Hawkeyes of all-time.  While this year's version of the Hawkeyes likely won't be playing in the Big Dance, or even the NIT, Gatens has helped revitalize the program this year and has solidified his legacy as one of the best to ever wear an Iowa uniform.

I would have never said those words last season.  Gatens has redefined his career.  Three months ago, he would have been remembered as a good shooter who played during some of the darkest days in Iowa basketball history. 

Now? Gatens will go down as a shooter, scorer and defender on one of the teams that helped get Iowa basketball back to where it wants to be.

Perhaps most importantly, Gatens will be remembered as a leader of the new generation of Hawkeyes.

After a long nine-day layoff, the Hawkeyes Men's Basketball Team returns to the court tonight to host the Nebraska Cornhuskers for the first time in Big Ten play.

This game is more than just a new border war for the basketball team. It kicks off a four game stretch against Nebraska at home, Indiana on the road and Minnesota and Penn State at home.

Going to Bloomington to play the Hoosiers will obviously be very tough.  The Hawks won there last season, but Indiana was a different team then.  For starters, Cody Zeller was still in high school.

The three home games against Nebraska, Minnesota and Penn State are very winnable.  Iowa went into Minnesota and knocked off the Gophers earlier this season.

If the Cornhuskers have one clear cut advantage over the Hawkeyes, it is experience. Nebraska starts four seniors as compared to one (Matt Gatens) for the Hawkeyes.

If Iowa wants to win tonight, they are going to have to put points up against the Cornhuskers.  Nebraska is one of the rare Big Ten teams that like to get out and run, much like the Hawkeyes.  Usually, this would play in Iowa's favor, but so far this season, Iowa has fared better when they have been able to dictate the tempo against a team that doesn't like playing up-and-down basketball.

Iowa will likely need good shooting games from Matt Gatens and Eric May, and slashing from Bryce Cartwright and Devyn Marble to hold off the Cornhuskers.

Sunday in Bloomington, Melsahn Basabe takes center stage for the Hawkeyes, as he tries to corral Indiana's Cody Zeller.

If Iowa can go split with Nebraska and Indiana, and then win both against Minnesota and Penn State, the Hawks would be 6-5 late in the Big Ten season.

Three wins out of four is a lot to ask, but very do-able.  A 6-5, the Hawkeyes team would get Iowa city excited again and get Carver Hawkeye Arena filled up for the stretch run.

Just hours after the Iowa football team laid an egg at the Insight Bowl in Arizona, the Iowa basketball team came through by giving Iowa fans something to cheer about.

Iowa went into Madison and beat Bo Ryan's Wisconsin team. This does not happen to Wisconsin. Iowa is only the second unranked team to beat Wisconsin at home in Bo Ryan's tenure.

This was also Iowa's first win over a ranked opponent on the road since 2006.

Fran McCaffery called it a "statement win". It was indeed.

Iowa came in to the Kohl Center Saturday unafraid of the 11th ranked Badgers. After the way Iowa played against Campbell, Clemson, Creighton and Iowa State, maybe they should have been a little afraid.

Iowa forced Wisconsin into an abysmal shooting day. The Badgers were just 3-28 from 3-point land. This is a far cry from the games against Creighton and Clemson, where the Hawks were absolutely lit up from downtown.

The defense also stepped up late in the game when needed. After Melsahn Basabe's untimely technical foul, which allowed Wisconsin to cut the Iowa lead to six points, the Hawkeyes responded. Devyn Marble, who has quietly become one of the top players in the Big Ten thus far, stepped up his game on the defensive end by stifling Jordan Taylor.

Taylor continually tried to get around Marble for a drive into the lane, and attempted to get Marble off his feet. Marble wouldn't bite on the fakes. This was a huge change from the crunch time defense displayed in Iowa's loss to Purdue last week, which saw Iowa's perimeter defenders being left in the dust, and the bigs not helping out when needed. Defensively, Iowa was a different team.

The game is not the whole story here though. The story is what this win does for Iowa's future, this season and beyond.

For starters, it gives Iowa confidence going forward that they have not really had in years. Last season's big win, over Purdue at home, came on the regular season finale. They had a nice win in Bloomington against Indiana, but that Indiana team was not this year's Indiana team. This is the signature win to date for Fran McCaffery as the Iowa head coach.

Secondly, this games showed a couple things personnel wise. One, is that Basabe looks just fine. The early season worries about him are not real concerns anymore. Two, Bryce Cartwright finally looked like Bryce Cartwright again. This is huge for the Hawks. With the emergence of Marble, along with a healthy and attacking Cartwright, the Hawkeyes have a very dangerous backcourt. Also, we learned Aaron White is a big time player with big time balls. He took shots that a lot of freshmen would be scared to death to take.

The third major thing that came out of this game is the revelation of who can not be in the game during crunch time. The Devon Archie experiment seems to be over. Josh Oglesby is looking every bit the freshman he is. Eric May still looks lost at times, and Zach McCabe just can't seem to string two good possessions in a row together.

Fourth, the Hawkeyes have a great recruiting class coming in next year. I do not for a second wish to say that any of their incoming freshmen are not as honorable as me and you, but who knows? A winless Big Ten season, which was a real possibility after the rough non-conference games, wouldn't have looked too good to them. It would have been very easy to jump ship for greener pastures. Now, this Iowa team has shown it can make adjustments, handle adversity and can play some top notch basketball. This just gets those recruits more energized to be a Hawkeye.

Finally, a win like this will help put butts in the seats at Carver. Iowa saw fans coming back towards the end of last season. So far this season, there are a lot of empty seats visible on TV. The Hawkeyes start showing they can not only hang with, but beat, the best teams in the Big Ten, and suddenly those seats are not so empty.

One win is one win, but this win meant a little more. Iowa goes to Minnesota tomorrow night, which is always a tough place to play. They then come home to play Jared Sullinger and Ohio State. Both of those games are extremely tough, but the Hawkeyes now have some confidence.

Iowa has a lot to gain in the next two games and not a lot to lose. This win over Wisconsin was a great confidence builder and will stay with the Hawkeyes for the remainder of the Big Ten season.

Let's hope the Hawkeyes can build on the win in Madison, instead of resting on their success. I have a feeling with the fiery Fran McCaffery running the show, we won't have to worry about being satisfied.