Northwestern guard Collier Drayton doesn’t look at Iowa stars Reggie Evans and Luke Recker as the most dangerous threat to the Wildcats. Instead, the senior looks in a mirror.
Although Evans and Recker burned the Cats in the teams’ first meeting on Jan. 9, Drayton said NU’s downfall in the 70-60 loss was self-inflicted.
“We don’t feel that they beat us, we beat ourselves,” Drayton said. “We know we should have beaten them the first game, so we’re already going in on Saturday saying we’re going to get a victory.”
The Cats (9-6, 1-3 Big Ten) will get their chance to knock off the No. 17 team in the nation Saturday night, when the Hawkeyes (13-6, 2-3) visit Welsh-Ryan Arena for a 7 p.m. matchup.
NU is in a different position than when the teams last met and Recker and Evans combined for 41 points.
Fresh off its first Big Ten victory of the season, the Cats are filled with confidence, second-year head coach Bill Carmody said.
NU won’t have to deal with the noisy crowd in Iowa’s Carver-Hawkeye Arena. They now know what to expect from the Hawkeyes, and they’ll be facing an Iowa team fresh off a hard-fought loss to No. 11 Illinois.
“There’s a familiar feeling,” Carmody said, “not just about the court, but about the guys you’re playing.”
NU’s prior experience with Iowa aside, the Cats must eliminate their own mistakes to be successful, Drayton said.
Last time the two teams met, NU had 17 turnovers and could barely hang on to the ball, as the Hawkeyes used scrappy play around the basket to recover loose balls.
Iowa outscored the Cats 28-18 in the paint and held a rebounding advantage of 28-26.
NU will also be looking to come out
with the same fast-paced style of play it displayed against Michigan on Wednesday night, Drayton added, which allowed the Cats to jump out to an early lead. Against Iowa, NU fell behind 10-4 in the early going and never recovered.
“We just have to cut down on the turnovers,” Drayton said. “They got a couple easy transition baskets. Reggie Evans started the game off with a couple fast-break dunks and took the momentum that way.”
The Cats played tight defense in the first meeting, forcing 22 Iowa turnovers and grabbing 11 steals.
Carmody said he may try applying full-court pressure more often, and that he was hesitant to use the press in the first game against Iowa because of Drayton’s injured
ankle.
Saturday, however, NU will apply the press in an attempt to keep the ball out of Evans’ hands.
Drayton said the few times NU pressed in the first matchup allowed the Cats to shake Iowa out of its rhythm.
“The press bothered them, so we’re probably going to press the whole game,” Drayton said. “I’ll try to keep (the ball) away from (Iowa guard Pierre) Pierce and make somebody else bring the ball up.
“When there’s an opportunity, me and (guard) Jitim Young, we go for steals and we’re quick. So the press is going to help us out a lot.”
While the Cats have been working toward making the necessary changes to improve their chances against Iowa, Carmody noted that his team could not ignore the dangers Evans and Recker present.
“You have to stop that one-two punch of Recker and Evans,” Carmody said. “Last time, Recker got too many open looks. We did a decent job on Evans, but he stole about two or three balls and went in for layups. We just have to be tougher.”
