Bluejays hammer Hawkeyes in Des Moines
Posted on 20. Nov, 2011 by admin in Iowa Basketball
By Brendan Stiles
HawkeyeDrive.com
DES MOINES, Iowa — Just when it seemed the Iowa Hawkeyes were beginning to take steps forward under head coach Fran McCaffery, they took a gigantic step back Sunday.
Playing its first true test of the 2011-12 season in Creighton, the Bluejays blew the Hawkeyes out of Wells Fargo Arena, 82-59. The loss drops Iowa to 3-1 in what was the Hawkeyes’ first game away from Carver-Hawkeye Arena this season. The game was one of four Iowa played as part of the Dale Howard Classic, and the lone contest the Hawkeyes had outside of Iowa City.
Iowa had a brief 5-4 lead early on that came after the Hawkeyes missed their first five shots of the game, but from the first media timeout forward, Creighton was in complete command and had its way at both ends of the floor.
The Bluejays were led by Iowa native Doug McDermott, the son of head coach Greg McDermott. Doug finished with a game-high 25 points, 17 of which came in the first half, on 10-of-15 shooting. Gregory Echenique was also a force, going 6-of-8 from the floor and finishing with 15 points and nine rebounds.
Creighton scored 40 points in the paint, and also shot 9-of-19 from behind the arc. Meanwhile, Iowa found itself unable to respond as it continued to fall into a deficit that was as many as 33 points late in the second half.
“They just came out firing, rebounding. They were talking,” freshman guard Josh Oglesby said. “Their defense was more intense than our defense. They were running the floor. They were getting back on defense. That’s going to win the game.”
Oglesby was one of the lone bright spots, as he led the Hawkeyes in scoring for the second straight contest with 14 points, 13 of which came in the game’s final 16 minutes when Iowa was only able to muster 23 points. Senior guard Matt Gatens had 13 points, 11 of which came in the first half.
Beyond that though, it was a porous performance from Iowa. The Hawkeyes only made 21 field goals on 58 attempts and shot 10-of-19 from the free-throw line after shooting 78 percent from the charity stripe in their first three contests of the season. Fifteen of the 19 free-throw attempts came in the first half, and Iowa only managed to knock down eight of those 15 shots.
“We were a little bit sideways there,” Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery said. “We quick shot it, didn’t get it inside at all. The only thing we did well was get to the free-throw line in the first half. Of course then we went 8-for-15 from the line. That didn’t help.
“We have to play better collectively, and individually.”
Rebounding also proved to be an issue, as Creighton emerged with 43 boards to just 27 rebounds from the Hawkeyes. Part of the problem with rebounding was attempting to get putbacks instead of coming down with a firm grip (i.e. getting two hands on the ball).
“Our coaches have stressed that in practice and other times that we’ve got to grab the ball with two hands,” sophomore guard Devyn Marble said. “If you try to grab it with one, all it takes is a little nick of the ball, then it’s out of your hands, or it slips or something.”
Iowa will have a chance to bounce back Nov. 23 when it hosts Campbell in the fourth and final game of the Dale Howard Classic. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. Central that evening from Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
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