The Iowa Hawkeyes return to Big Ten action at Indiana on Tuesday night. At 8-4, the Hawks are a game out of first place following Sunday losses by Michigan and Michigan State. “At the end of this thing somebody’s going to win this league, I don’t know who that is right,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery says. He says teams have to bring their “A” game every night. “You cannot bring your B game, no matter who you are in this league and expect to win, you are probably going to get embarrassed.”
McCaffery says the most consistent team down the stretch will emerge as the regular season champion and he says that’s the challenge, be mentally and physically ready every game and have the correct amount of toughness. McCaffery says the Hawkeyes are not even talking about the title chase. “If every there was time to really focus on the next game — which we tend to say all the time — it’s this year. You can’t look down the road, you can’t look at the standings, you’ve got to look at your next opponent.”
McCaffery says Iowa’s depth helps them play at the pace they want but it has also made them a better defensive team.
Indiana coach Tom Crean says the Hawkeyes can win in multiple ways. “They combine some of the best traits when it comes to passing, driving inside out shooting, spacing, pressure defense,” Crean says. He says that makes it hard to prepare for Iowa.
Crean says Iowa has a huge advantage in experience. The Hoosiers start three freshmen and stand 4-8 in the Big Ten. Indiana is 14-11 overall and Iowa is 19-6.