Iowa has started the season 7-5 with one more non-conference game vs Boise St. Their 5 losses have been to average at best teams. The Hawkeyes will likely finish in the bottom 3 of the B1G this year. Many people thought they were going to make a jump this year under their 2nd year coach. They return a lot of players, including Melsahn Basabe who almost averaged a double double in his freshman B1G season last year.
Iowa has been underwhelming so far, and will not get out of the B1G basemnt without dramatic improvements soon. The Hawkeyes struggling scoring the ball at times, especially when they play a team that has athletic guards and uses a pressure defense.
They are led in scoring by Senior guard Matt Gatens at almost 14 ppg. He is a 4th year starter, and has increased his scoring each year. He can knock down the occassional 3 point shot, but will not take over a game. He is a solid player, but he would not lead most NCAA tourney teams in scoring. Their second scoring option is sophomore guard Roy Devyn Marble from Southfield. He is averaging 11 ppg. He is not a great long range shooter, and usually gets most of his points from driving to the rim. Basabe averages 9ppg. Other than these 3 players, Iowa does not have anyone that can take over a game or put up 20 points.
Iowa likes to play at a high tempo, high possession style game. So on defense they play very aggressively in their backcourt, which will result in a lot of over-pursuits and easy shots. Eventually when the Hawkeyes have some more talent on the team, they will be able to create more turnovers and get some easy buckets in transition. But as of right now, they do not pose a huge threat to shut down most B1G teams.
How they matchup vs Michigan: Basabe will be a tough matchup for our big men. Last year Morgan tried to cover him, but this year Smot and Morgan can switch duties now that Smot has broken the 200 lb mark. Our guards are more athletic and more talented across the board, and will likely result in a lot of open shot attempts. Burke will be a very tough matchup for Iowa, and they will likely have to tone down their aggressive defense to guard against the 3 point line with how well we have been shooting the rock so far this year. If Michigan wants to be recognized as a top tier basketball program in the B1G, they cannot lose games to Iowa this year. Also, a loss to the Hawkeyes will not look good for the selection committee.
Iowa should be better than Penn St and maybe even Nebraska, but that will be about it. They will be shooting for 5 conference wins.
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