Hawkeye basketball tops Drake, 82-68

 

By Jordan Garretson
jordan-garretson@uiowa.edu

Iowa had seven days without a game after disappointing back-to-back losses at Northern Iowa and Iowa State. If Saturday’s 82-68 win against Drake at Carver-Hawkeye Arena was any indication, the time was well spent.

The finals week break served multiple purposes for the Hawkeyes (6-5), including allowing time to shore up various defensive woes. Drake (6-4) shot 42.6 percent from the floor. But coach Mark Phelps said the “game was won” in the first half when Iowa limited the Bulldogs to 36.7 percent shooting.

“I think the [time off] really helped us be able to refresh our bodies,” said Devyn Marble, who turned in 10 points and a game-high 5 assists. “Just getting some time in practice to really fix some of the stuff we were having troubles with. I think we really responded well tonight as far as fixing the defensive intensity and rotations, and stuff like that.”

Click here to view an exclusive photo slideshow.Iowa’s 3-point defense was vastly improved, too. The Hawkeyes came in second-to-last in the Big Ten in 3-point percentage defense, but Drake finished 5-of-19 from beyond the arc. Junior guard Ben Simons — second in the Missouri Valley with 2.8 3-pointers a game — was held to 5 points and was 1-of-5 on 3-pointers. Matt Gatens was assigned with slowing Simons down and did a “phenomenal job,” coach Fran McCaffery said.

“It was just effort,” Marble said. “We really keyed in on it. It was one of our keys for the game, to get them off the 3-point line. That’s exactly what we did.”

Matt Gatens scored a team-high 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting, but McCaffery received plenty of valuable offensive contributions from other Hawkeyes. Four other players — Marble, Melsahn Basabe, Bryce Cartwright, and Aaron White — scored at least 10. Zach McCabe added 8 points.

The second-year coach said the balanced performance was one of Iowa’s best this season.

“That’s the kind of team I think we can be,” McCaffery said. “It makes us harder to prepare for. It gives me flexibility, depending on what kind of game it is.”

Cartwright played 28 minutes, the first time in two weeks he played more than six minutes. A hamstring injury suffered against Brown on Dec. 3 hampered him, but he said Saturday he’s about “85 or 90 percent.” He recorded 12 points and 3 assists while also going 8-of-8 from the free-throw line.

Perhaps most importantly, McCaffery said he didn’t see Cartwright favoring his hamstring or struggling with fatigue.

Asked the significance of having Cartwright closer to 100 percent, Gatens said, “It does a lot.”

“He’s huge for us,” Gatens said. “Whether he’s pushing the ball or on defense, he’s huge for us, so it’s great.”

Many of Cartwright’s 28 minutes came in tandem with Marble’s 19, but having both on the floor only seemed to fuel smoother offense for the Hawkeyes. Marble said playing both at the same time gives Iowa “a different dynamic” because of their reliable ball-handling abilities.

Cartwright noted the team’s play when both players started in last season’s final five games.

“We were playing some of our best basketball with him and I starting together,” Cartwright said. “… If we can build on that, then we should be good.”

UPDATE Monday 12:00 p.m.