Men’s Basketball

Everything old is new again.

In Northwestern’s (10-6, 1-4 Big Ten) 73-63 loss to Iowa (13-3, 2-3) on Wednesday, the foul shot was back in vogue and three-pointers were second thoughts. And for all the talk about a revamped perimeter approach that would feature the Wildcats’ three potentially devastating shooters wreaking havoc at the three-point line, NU has an offense that’s still rounding into form.

Senior forward Vic Law finished with just 13 points in an off-game, and the Hawkeyes went 19-24 from the free throw line in a hard-to-watch conference home loss for the Cats. Suddenly, a team many considered a potential late-bloomer after taking Indiana and Michigan to the wire is back in the same position it was last season as a talented team with results that aren’t close to those expectations.

1. Iowa attacked fearlessly. Senior forward Tyler Cook didn’t play for the Hawkeyes against NU. To compensate for the missing presence inside, Iowa pushed the pace to get some of its complementary players looks attacking the basket and posting up. Junior guard Isaiah Moss took some surprising shots for him but filled it up from all three levels and scored 12, while freshman forward Joe Wieskamp scored as dynamically as any perimeter player NU has seen all season, finishing with 19 points, and they were consistently able to find gaps in the defense.

Might not want to forget about Joe Wieskamp underneath…

The @IowaHoops freshman dives and dunks, and we’re well underway at Welsh-Ryan: pic.twitter.com/3b4eLmVPeD

— Iowa On BTN (@IowaOnBTN) January 10, 2019

The Hawkeyes were 0-2 on the road heading into the game, but the better-than-expected form from their supplementary pieces juiced up the offense for 40 minutes. Weirdly, the uptempo-approach meant they didn’t run many set plays and mostly took the ball out of the hands of star senior guard Jordan Bohannon, who finished with just 8 points.

2. Anthony Gaines compensates for his teammates’ missed shots. For the second consecutive game, the sophomore guard showed how much he’s expanded his game since the season started and provided a legitimate scoring threat off the bench. His unhurried drives to the rim and composed post-up attempts used to be cringe-worthy, but Gaines’ improved offense took pressure of Law as he struggled with foul trouble in the second half.

With three starters nearly playing all 40 minutes, Gaines’ energy off the bench helped take the Cats out of their slow start, which saw Iowa take an early 9-2 lead. Gaines was the team’s leading scorer at the half, and with Law and junior forward A.J. Turner doing most of their damage on the perimeter, Gaines became the team’s best interior presence for the night. The rare times the team got out in transition produced some of the best offense of the night.

Get 🆙, @Twan21_!

This @NUMensBball slam is a #BTNStandout x @AutoOwnersIns 🔥 pic.twitter.com/wu97CCpi1S

— Northwestern On BTN (@NUOnBTN) January 10, 2019

While Law and senior center Dererk Pardon have led the team’s inside-out offense all season, the Hawkeyes’ oversized front-line limited Law and held Pardon to 6 points on 5 shots.

3. NU has yet to prove itself in Big Ten. The Cats play Michigan on Sunday night, a healthy team in full stride. In the other in-conference game tonight, Rutgers upset No. 16 Ohio State, leaving the Cats as one of the only teams in the league without a top-25 win this season. The margin is already slim, and NU is a heartbeat away from having to start again from scratch.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @2021_charlie