The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

Mens’ basketball loses to Badgers

Mens+basketball+loses+to+Badgers

 

Even with a week’s worth of rest, the Iowa men’s basketball team struggled in its 67-59 loss to Wisconsin on Wednesday in Carver-Hawkleye.

Wisconsin (18-10) improved to 10-5 in Big Ten play, while Iowa (20-7) fell to 11-4.

Peter Jok scored 21 for the Hawkeyes, and teammate Adam Woodbury crashed the glass in a career night. The senior grabbed 18 rebounds, 10 offensive.

“We didn’t score enough points to win,” Woodbury said. “We made too many mistakes, and they beat us.”

For the Badgers, Bronson Koenig led the way with 15 points.

Senior Jarrod Uthoff struggled to make shots while in the midst of foul trouble. He connected with 3-of-12 shots en route to 11 points. He finished with 4 fouls.

“I think [the fouls] got him sideways,” Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery said. “In the first half, he hit that 3 early, but I thought he was effective. I thought he was active, and he got his second foul, and then of course he gets his third foul early. He sat for a while, and that’s hard. We debated when to bring him back, we brought him back, he got going a little bit, and then he got his fourth.”

After shooting well in the first half, the second half was not kind to the Hawks; their shooting collapsed to 26.7-percent from the field and 1-of-11 from deep. They finished the game with a 32.7 field-goal percentage, 27.8 percent from 3.

Iowa could not manage a field goal in the last six minutes of the game, and Wisconsin ended the game on an 11-3 run.

McCaffery thought that Iowa’s offensive woes were a product of many issues, including turnovers and the stingy defense from the Badgers.

“I think it was a combination of things,” he said. “I think Pete got tired a little bit, and you know, I think they were up into us a little bit, and I think they did a good job that way.”

The Hawkeyes turned the ball over 14 times, including 4 in the final 4:30 of play.

On the other hand, Wisconsin shot just over 48 percent throughout the game and nailed 43.5 percent of its 3-pointers.

“We didn’t get the stops we needed,” Iowa’s Mike Gesell said. “They hit some big shots at key moments. Wisconsin is not a team you want to hang around with.”

Gesell finished the evening with 4 points.

At the half, the Badgers led 35-34. Wisconsin’s offense came in a balanced scoring effort — three players had 7 points at the intermission (Jordan Hill, Khalil Iverson, and Vitto Brown).

Hill’s and Iverson’s play off the bench were Wisconsin’s only points other than those of their starters, yet their bench outscored Iowa’s 14-2. In total, Wisconsin outscored Iowa’s bench 23-4.

Moving on from their third loss in four games, McCaffery believes his team will be able to bounce back on Feb. 28 at Ohio State.

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About the Contributor
Adam Hensley, Pregame Editor
Email: [email protected] Twitter: @A_Hens83 Adam Hensley is the current Pregame Editor at the DI, covering football, men's basketball, and baseball. Formerly the DI Sports Editor, Hensley has been on staff for all four years of his time at the University of Iowa, covering a wide range of sports, including cross-country, track and field, and women's basketball.