Maryland Terrapins interim coach Danny Manning during the second half against the Northwestern Wildcats on Dec. 5, 2021 at Xfinity Center in College Park, Maryland.(Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports)
Iowa Plays Host to Maryland Monday
It’s a crucial week for Iowa’s men’s basketball team, because the last thing the Hawkeyes want to do is dig a bigger hole for themselves in the Big Ten standings.
Iowa (10-3 overall, 0-2 Big Ten) plays host to Maryland (8-4, 0-1) in an 8 p.m. game on Monday. And then after Thursday’s game against Wisconsin, the Hawkeyes don’t play for a week until a Jan. 13 game at Indiana.
Sweep the week, and you’re back in the middle of the standings. Split, and at least you’ve got a step up on where you were. Lose both, and...
It’s why a win is crucial as the Hawkeyes head into the meat of the conference schedule.
“Our guys know what this is,” coach Fran McCaffery said on Sunday. “I think our league has proven, top to bottom, it’s the toughest league, because everybody’s good, and everyone can beat you on a given day. So we know that.”
The Hawkeyes lost both of their conference games in early December — at Purdue and at home against Illinois — in a five-game stretch that also included nonconference road games with Virginia and Iowa State and a neutral-court game against Utah State.
Now, after home wins over Southeastern Louisiana and Western Illinois, it’s all conference play now.
“It’s literally the old cliche, you really have to go one at a time,” McCaffery said. “If you have a lead (in the standings), or you’ve lost a few, you can never look ahead. You always try to win the next game. Maybe you get on a run — you certainly don’t want to go on a run the other way. As you look around this league, everyone’s got really good players. Every game is going to be tough.”
It’s been an up-and-down season for the Terrapins, who are on a three-game winning streak. They won five of their first six games before undergoing a three-game losing streak, a stretch in which coach Mark Turgeon resigned and was replaced on an interim basis by assistant Danny Manning.
Senior guard Eric Ayala has scored at least 19 points in the current winning streak. Junior guard Hakim Hart has averaged 13.1 points over the last seven games.
Maryland’s speed will test the Hawkeyes, who had 31 fast-break points in Wednesday’s 92-71 win over Western Illinois.
“I think we’re locked into it,” McCaffery said. “We’re pushing, we’re running. We got some stops, that’s the key. We’ve been defending well and rebounding better the last few games. We’ll be challenged in a different way against Maryland. They’re going to challenge our defense, challenge us on the glass. Hopefully we can do well in that area, because they’re also a good running team.”
McCaffery expects his son, Connor, to play. Connor McCaffery injured an ankle late in Wednesday’s game and had to be helped off the court.
Center Josh Ogundele, who suffered an ankle injury against Southeastern Louisiana, is doubtful, Fran McCaffery said.
“Connor looks pretty good,” McCaffery said. “Josh is not there yet.”