Iowa needed this win, but didn’t get it, losing on the road in Ames to Iowa State, 84-78 on Thursday.
With it being an in-state rivalry game and an opportunity to bounce back after suffering three-straight losses, the importance of this game was clear.
For most of the game, Iowa seemingly had an answer for every run Iowa State tried to go on. The Hawkeyes quieted the Hilton Coliseum down in the first half and through a good chunk of the second before the Cyclones went on a run that turned the game around.
Just as they didn’t have an answer for that final run, the answer for the rest of the season is unclear.
“We just gotta keep fighting,” sophomore point guard Jordan Bohannon said. “Obviously this is a game that we should’ve came out on top, and it’s really frustrating for us. We had them in the first half, they made a run, and we just weren’t able to respond. I think just going forward, getting the pieces back tomorrow, get back to work, and we just have to keep fighting because the next game on the schedule’s the most important game.”
Last season, the Hawkeyes were in a similar position and their 14-point win over the Cyclones jump-started the team for the rest of the year.
The 2016-17 Iowa team entered the game against Iowa State with a 4-5 record after losing four of five at the hands of No. 7 Virginia, Memphis, Notre Dame, and Omaha.
This year, the Hawkeyes had lost three-consecutive games before the annual Cy-Hawk battle.
Though they suffered some similar losses, last year’s team was different.
The Hawkeye offense was more high-powered. Peter Jok roamed the court, commanding the attention of opposing defenses.
But this year, Iowa doesn’t have the Big Ten’s leading scorer.
In fact, the leading scorer on the team, Tyler Cook, only had 2 points, although he impacted the game in other facets, recording 8 rebounds and 5 assists.
Some of the team didn’t experience last season, though.
Freshman Jack Nunge was still in high school when the game went down last year, but he played a big role in it on Thursday.
The Newburgh, Indiana native dropped 16 points to go along with 8 boards and 4 assists in 23 minutes of action.
Still, Iowa has struggled to find its groove on offense all season, and it showed again in different parts of the game against the Cyclones.
The Hawkeyes made just one free throw all game, going 1-of-8 from the line, and turnovers continued to be a problem, as Iowa State scored 28 points off the 18 miscues.
Iowa has continuously given up runs this season that it couldn’t bounce back from, and Thursday was no different.
“I think it’s a combination of things. As I said, poor decision making; you’ve got good kids that are trying to make plays that aren’t there,” head coach Fran McCaffery said. “There’s a fine line between understanding being aggressive and being a player and going to make a play, and when there’s no play to be made, the best thing to do is just move it. When you have that figured out collectively, your offense is going to run really smoothly.”
Iowa has bounced back before, but unfortunately, the season is getting shorter and shorter. It’s possible, but the Hawkeyes will have to pick up the pace soon.
Unlike last year, the Cy-Hawk game won’t be the one to get Iowa’s season going.
“Our effort was good today, but we just gotta execute better in all phases of the game.,” sophomore forward Tyler Cook said.