After a nine-day break following the Iowa State loss, Iowa will face Drake on Saturday.

By Kyle Mann | [email protected]

    The Iowa men’s basketball team has been on a nine-day layoff after an 83-82 loss at Iowa State, but it will get back to action when it travels to Des Moines to face Drake in the Big Four Classic on Saturday.

The break marks the Hawkeyes’ longest stretch of downtime in the 2015-16 season, but they could perhaps have used a few extra days off to get over the heartbreaker on Dec. 10 in Ames. Now, they must regroup as they approach Big Ten play.

Shifting its attention from one in-state rival to another, the Hawks are eager to right the ship.

“Every game you step on the floor, you learn something about yourself,” Adam Woodbury said. “We’ve got to take some things away from it and definitely got to work on some stuff to improve.”

The Hawkeyes came out firing in the first half against the Cyclones, led by Jarrod Uthoff and his 30 points. The offense looked as proficient as it had all season long, and Iowa’s shooting looked to be good enough to compete with a top-five team.

And then the wheels fell off. Uthoff scored only 2 points in the second half, and the defense allowed a 20-point comeback. The Hawkeyes embarrassingly mishandled a late Cyclone full-court press, and much was made about Fran McCaffery’s (non)-use of a time-out in the final seconds.

In one game, the Hawkeyes showed how they can be great, then provided themselves with, as Woodbury said, much to learn from.

“Basically, the offense didn’t have much spacing and ball movement,” Uthoff said about the second half.

The offense became stagnant, and with it, Uthoff was unable to find opportunities for open shots. As the half went on and Iowa State roared back, it became more pressing that the ball get into Uthoff’s hands, but the Hawkeyes simply couldn’t figure it out. Fortunately, they seemed to have learned from it.

“Being more mentally tough,” Uthoff said. “When we need a shot, we get a shot and not turn the ball over. Get a good shot every possession.”

Drake represents a slight dip in competition, entering at 4-6, but it has enough good players to present a formidable challenge. In fact, the Bulldogs have at least one player that the Hawkeyes should have some familiarity with.

“[Guard Reed Timmer] is terrific,” McCaffery said. “But I think what makes him so good is [Kale] Abrahamson and [Graham] Woodward are equally talented.”

Timmer leads the Bulldogs with 19 points per game, and he shoots 55 percent from 3 land. Woodward chips in 13 points and 4 assists per game, and Abrahamson is a transfer from Northwestern who had some success against the Hawkeyes in 2013-14 and now averages 16 points and 4 rebounds for Drake.

Drake as a team shoots 42.1 percent from beyond the arc, which would suggest that the tempo of the game could play into Iowa’s similarly outside-oriented attack. If all goes according to plan, the Hawkeyes should be able to use athleticism and depth to down the Bulldogs. If things get dicey, well, fans will see what the Hawkeyes have learned.

Tip-off is set for 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

Follow @KyleFMann for Iowa men’s basketball news, updates, and analysis.