As of Tuesday morning, the Iowa men’s basketball team was second in all of college basketball in two-point percentage at 66 percent — Kentucky being in first place at 66.2 percent.
After shooting 77 percent on two-pointers in the 99-70 victory over Southeast Missouri State, the Hawkeyes seized the top spot as the most efficient scoring team within 25 feet of the basket throughout the early portion of the season at 68.3 percent.
“You gotta attack the paint, that’s the number one thing,” said Iowa head coach Ben McCollum. “Free throws are your highest percentage at your highest points per possession. Your second highest is probably layups.”
Ben McCollum admitted he wasn’t fond of Iowa’s energy throughout the course of the 40-minute game, mainly in the second half when the Redhawks went on a run to tighten its lead. The first half, however, saw his squad shoot 10-of-13 inside the arc and attempt 26 free throws (17 of which were makes). The Hawkeyes duplicated its inside shooting in the second half and finished 20-of-26 on such attempts.
Ball movement played a key role in its inside efficiency, compiling 17 assists on 30 makes. And while Iowa logged higher assist numbers in its first few games, all 11 players secured a basket, including nine players scoring at least seven points — a balanced scoring attack predicated off unpredictability and ball movement.
“I think we play with really good gravity of our main players and move the ball to the open person,” Folguieras said.
The game plan against SEMO was centered around getting more outside looks, though the SEMO defense gave them constant opportunies to attack the basket. Iowa’s dominance inside in the first half opened up more shooting opportunities for guys like Hausen and Alvaro Folguieras, particularly in the second half.
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The pair of sharpshooters paced the team with three three-pointers apiece.
“Any night that we’re all on the floor, teams have to pick what they want to take away,” said Iowa guard Branden Hausen. “We move the ball so well, and it’s something we take pride in every single day.”
Defense has been the identity of this new-look Hawkeyes team and should remain its identity going forward. The offense is something both players and coaches discussed as a work-in-progress, and while its only four games into the season and all against mid-major opponents, the efficiency has slowly picked up.
As of Wednesday morning, Iowa leads the country with a 57.9 percent field goal percentage, yet it’s the only team within the top 50 teams in the category that attempt less than 50 shots a game.
There’s no secret behind efficiency. Everyday, McCollum preaches a simple style of basketball that’s led to several years of highly efficient offenses: “Just try to get free throws, layups and threes.”
“We don’t sit out [behind the three-point line] and settle, which a lot of teams do,” he said. “We’re still learning how to be at our best every single game. And I think you have an opportunity in a 30-point win to teach that, which is a big deal.”