By Ian Murphy
Almost one-third of the way through the season, the Iowa basketball team sits at 7-2 heading into a matchup with the country’s No. 4 team.
Success has come early, aside from the two hiccups at the AdvoCare Invitational, and the Hawkeyes played their best game of the season against Western Illinois.
Big man, big minutes
Senior Adam Woodbury has seen his role expand with the graduation of Aaron White and Gabe Olaseni, and the expansion is reflected on the score sheet.
Woodbury averaged 21 minutes per game last season, but now as the only center on the roster, he has seen an increase in his average, although only by a minute.
The increase is only a minute is indicative of the Hawkeyes’ play this season. Big wins saw Woodbury off the court early, while he logged 33 minutes against both Wichita State and Florida State.
Woodbury will be relied on even more so as the season goes on.
He also averages 9.2 points per game.
Scouting the Cyclones
There’s a reason Iowa State is the No. 4 team in the country, or, more accurately, there are five.
The Hawkeyes may have their hands full on Thursday, as the Cyclones starters are more than capable on the offensive end of the floor.
All five of the Cyclone starters average in double digits, and they have a legitimate Player of the Year candidate in Georges Niang.
The Cyclone offense can either run through Niang, a senior power forward averaging 18.6 points per game, or Monté Morris, arguably the best point guard in the country, who averages 14.9 points per game and 7.3 assists.
Then there’s Jameel McKay, a 6-9 rebounding machine who averages 13.9 points and 11.6 rebounds.
Naz Mitrou-Long and Abdel Nader round out the starting five; they average 14.6 and 12.9 points per game, respectively.
Bench play
It’s hard to judge the play of the bench so far this season, as the Hawkeyes early season schedule lacks a tough test.
The bench players have been solid when they have played, however, averaging 27.5 points per game as a unit.
Redshirt freshman Nicholas Baer, who McCaffery has been high on all season, continues to see significant playing time, as does fellow redshirt freshman Brady Ellingson.
True freshman Ahmad Wagner also has seen time in close games.
Absent from significant minutes, however, has been Andrew Fleming. The freshman did not play a minute against Florida State, which would have seen him match up with high-school teammate and five-star recruit Dwayne Bacon.
It’s too early to draw conclusions on the young platoon, but if the promise of the early part of the season translates to the Big Ten, the Hawkeyes will be in good shape.
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