By Blake Dowson
Two days after traveling to Iowa City and putting it on Iowa, 98-89, Nebraska-Omaha went to Ames and lost to Iowa State, 91-47.
A lesson can be taken from the two scores; it’s certainly not a great sign for the Hawkeyes that the Cyclones ran all over Omaha.
But it doesn’t necessarily tell the whole story. Looking at both Iowa and Iowa State’s starting lineups, and dissecting the matchups that will come with those, it paints a picture that looks closer than many are projecting.
Point guard is certainly a mismatch in favor of the Cyclones. Monte Morris, who owns the NCAA record for assist-turnover ratio, was a preseason first team All-American. He leads the Cyclones in scoring at almost 15 per game and adds 4 rebounds and more than 6 assists.
“He has a good sense of when to go and when to not go,” Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery said in a teleconference on Wednesday. “His ability to score, push it, defend, make plays, and make plays late, go off the dribble, be a distributer and facilitator, and then be a scorer and driver … that has been impressive to me.”
Iowa freshman Jordan Bohannon, who will make his fourth career start, will have his hands full. He’s been streaky recently (he hit 6 or more 3s in his first two starts, none in his third), but if he gets his stroke going, it would go a long way for the Hawkeyes.
The matchup at shooting guard is intriguing.
Peter Jok is one of the best scorers in the nation — except he has been in one of the bigger shooting slumps of his career because of nagging shoulder soreness.
Jok has never beaten Iowa State, something that has motivated him and the rest of his team.
“We got to take them down,” sophomore forward Ahmad Wagner said. “Pete mentioned that he hasn’t had a chance to beat them yet, so we got to send Pete off right.”
He’ll need to have a big night if Iowa wants to hang around — one of those 25- or 30-point nights.
Cyclone senior Naz Mitrou-Long will have the task of guarding Jok, and vice versa, tonight. Mitrou-Long is known as a knock-down 3-point shooter, but he’s been struggling this season, only shooting 25 percent from deep.
“He can make tough plays,” Iowa State head coach Steve Prohm said about Jok. “… Just watching Jok and knowing him, he can get his shot anytime he wants it. Whether they run good offense or bad offense, he can make shots.”
The most important matchup of the night will likely be between Iowa State forward Deonte Burton and Iowa’s Cordell Pemsl.
Both are big-bodied (though shorter) forwards, both know how to use their bodies around the rim, and both have a nose for scoring.
Pemsl may well be Iowa’s MVP thus far, and he’ll have to have another performance of around 20 points if Iowa wants to be in the game.
After a rough start to the season, getting a ranked win over an in-state rival for the first time in four years would be a big boost for the Hawkeyes, and that could propel them through January.
Get a win tonight, get Tyler Cook back a few weeks after, and things could start rolling.
But it starts tonight.
“This is a rivalry that is played once a year that means a lot to a lot of people,” McCaffery said. “It means a lot for both teams for RPI, national rankings, and NCAA Tournament potential. It has a lot of importance.”
