Iowa men’s basketball coach Steve Alford was left scratching his head when he learned that his Hawkeyes slipped from No. 15 to No. 24 this week in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. But the shock didn’t come because his squad lost its No. 15 spot.
Alford was surprised that his team was still ranked at all.
“I’m still trying to figure out how we’re a ranked basketball team,” he said.
Although Iowa (14-7, 3-4 Big Ten) knocked off Michigan State (11-8, 2-4) 75-71 on Tuesday night, the Hawkeyes had previously dropped three straight games.
One of the key problems, Alford said, has been his team’s lack of energy.
“We got off to a very good start,” Alford said. “Christmas hit, and everybody got to go home and apparently got a bucket load of Christmas presents, and we’ve been very spoiled since.
“We’re trying to get back to basics and go back to old school and try to figure this thing out.”
Iowa is struggling with both its mental and physical toughness, Alford added.
The Hawkeyes have been playing less-than-stellar defense over the three-game skid, giving up an average of 72.3 points. Their offensive execution and ball movement have also been subpar, Alford said.
Another of Alford’s main concerns is his team’s lack of focus. Alford sighed at the fact that some of his players were complaining about what they received for their pregame meal before Iowa’s game at Northwestern on Saturday.
“Now we’ve gotten so picky that our pre-game meals aren’t right,” Alford said. “We’ve got issues of trying to learn how to guard people and how to move the basketball without turning it over at the offensive end. We’re not a very good basketball team right now.”
REALLY PRETTY INDEX: Often times, college basketball teams don’t take too kindly to their rankings in the polls. So in response, they sometimes turn to the Rating Percentage Index to see how they really stack up.
The RPI is a system the NCAA uses to help in the Tournament selection process. It combines Division I winning percentage (25 percent), strength of schedule (50 percent) and opponent’s strength of schedule (25 percent) to come up with its rankings.
This rating system has certainly favored Ohio State (14-2, 5-0). While the Buckeyes are No. 20 in the AP poll, the RPI places them at No. 16.
Illinois (14-4, 4-2), the highest-ranked Big Ten team in the AP poll at No. 9, is No. 11 in the RPI.
Although Indiana head coach Mike Davis said he doesn’t lose any sleep over polls, he complimented the unique standards of the RPI, which has his team at No. 14.
“I think the bottom line is playing a tough schedule and being prepared for your conference,” Davis said. “If you’re a good basketball team, it’ll show at the end of the season.”
BUCKLE DOWN: Much to the surprise of college basketball’s so-called experts, Ohio State is the only Big Ten squad that remains unbeaten in conference play.
Buckeyes assistant coach Paul Biancardi said that many discounted his team because they lost center Ken Johnson to graduation.
“Ken provided the shot-blocking ability,” Biancardi said. “When you lose someone of that magnitude, (other teams) see a tremendous void. They didn’t see any names coming in on paper that were of superstar caliber.”
But the Buckeyes used the little credit they received as motivation to prove the world wrong.
Michigan head coach Tommy Amaker isn’t surprised by the Buckeyes’ quick start.
“I think you’ve come to see and know that with (Ohio State head coach) Jim O’Brien, he’s an outstanding coach,” Amaker said. “He has good players, and they understand their roles very well. They’re just a solid basketball team that’s playing real well, playing real confident.”
