The Iowa basketball team opens the Big Ten race at home, tonight, against fourth ranked Purdue. At 5-7, the Hawks enter Big Ten play below the 500 mark for the first time since 1975 but coach Todd Lickliter feels his team is battle tested. Lickliter says they took some lumps and it was tough, but he says they hope that pays off in dealing with adversity and getting better.
Lickliter says the challenge of the Big Ten will require them to raise their level of play a lot, but he says he told the team that is why they chose to be here. The Boilermakers are 11-0 and Lickliter says they deserve their number four national ranking.
He says they are sound defensively and they have unselfish guys who pass the ball extremely well and he says they have a really good mix.
Lickliter says the Hawkeyes realize they will be underdogs for much of the Big Ten slate. He says they won’t be the favorite, but he says the game wouldn’t be very interesting if they were always the favorite.
Lickliter says it will be interesting to come up with a game plan and see what happens. It’s an early 6:05 tip off in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.