Well, that was certainly a letdown.
Coming off the high of knocking off a top-ten Nebraska team on Tuesday, the Iowa basketball team hit the road for a tough matchup with Wisconsin. After a back-and-forth first half, the Badgers were the ones who pulled away in the second half to pick up an 84-71 win.
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For the Hawkeyes, it was a frustrating afternoon and result that dropped them to 19-8 overall and 9-7 in Big Ten play. With just four games remaining in the regular season, Ben McCollum’s team finds itself firmly on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament, in desperate need of wins. And they have some things to work on before Wednesday night’s game against Ohio State.
Here are the biggest takeaways from Iowa’s disappointing loss to Wisconsin on Sunday.
The defense wasn’t good enough
Strong defense has normally been a staple for McCollum-coached teams, including Iowa this season. That wasn’t the case on Sunday. The Hawkeyes surrendered a season-high 84 points, allowing the Badgers to shoot 54% from the field and 42% from three. They forced just eight turnovers, and couldn’t get the crucial stop in the second half to swing the momentum.
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Nick Boyd did whatever he wanted to for Wisconsin, finishing with 27 points, nine rebounds, and ten assists. He got the basket at will and gave the Iowa defense fits all game long. Iowa is capable of much better defense than they showed against Wisconsin, and they’ll need that defense to show up the rest of the season. The Hawkeyes don’t possess enough firepower to overcome poor defensive play. That side of the ball needs to respond on Wednesday.
Tate Sage provides a spark
Tate Sage has provided some good moments off the bench this season, and the freshman forward looked especially good on Sunday. He finished the game with 11 points and seven rebounds in 23 minutes off the bench. He was active and attentive on both sides of the ball and brought a ton of energy to a team that really needed it.
With some of the struggles from other members of the lineup at the moment, you have to wonder if Sage ought to be seeing more minutes down the stretch. Whenever he sees the court, good things usually happen for the Hawkeyes. It might be beneficial for McCollum to tweak some rotations going forward to give Sage some more time on the court.
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Bennett Stirtz needs help
It was another strong game for Bennett Stirtz, who finished with a team-high 23 points while playing all 40 minutes again. But it was also another game where the rest of the starting lineup failed to support their senior point guard. Iowa’s other four starters combined for just 24 points, almost being outscored by Stirtz himself. While the Hawkeyes got 11 points from Sage and Alvaro Folgueiras off the bench, they still need more production from everyone else.
Cooper Koch struggled, going just 2-11 from the field, even after draining a pair of early threes. Kael Combs delivered just four points in 25 minutes. Tavion Banks had ten points, but foul trouble limited him to only 23 minutes. It’s been a problem all season, and it’s one that might not have a solution this season. Stirtz can only take this team so far. If they have any visions of making the NCAA Tournament and doing some damage there, the rest of the roster needs to step up.
Wednesday night could decide the season
It’s not necessarily a stretch to say that Iowa’s season comes down to Wednesday night’s home game against Ohio State. A loss to the Buckeyes would drop Iowa to 9-8 in conference play with only three games left. Two of those games come against Michigan and Nebraska, a pair of the best teams in the Big Ten. Going 10-10 in the conference would put the Hawkeyes in a difficult spot, needing to make a run in the conference tournament to have any postseason hopes.
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The Buckeyes are similar to Iowa, a middle-of-the-pack Big Ten team capable of beating or losing to anyone in the conference. At home, this is a game the Hawkeyes have to win. A win over Ohio State and then Penn State next weekend would give McCollum’s team a much better shot at making the NCAA Tournament. Everything is on the line on Wednesday. Let’s see how the Hawks respond.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Takeaways as Iowa basketball drops frustrating game vs. Wisconsin
