Likes, dislikes from Iowa basketball's Sweet 16 victory over Nebraska

[ASFN Admin]

HOUSTON — Round three did not disappoint.

Despite trailing for more than 32 minutes, Iowa basketball rallied to knock off rival Nebraska 77-71 in the Sweet 16 on Thursday, March 26.

The Hawkeye are going to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1987.

Here are likes and dislikes from Iowa's win.

Likes​

• Offense: An incredible offensive showing by the Hawkeyes, who shot 52% from the field and 43% from deep. Iowa’s offense has been hit-and-miss this season, but it was scorching-hot against Nebraska. It helped the Hawkeyes stay in the game through a horrific first half defensively.
• Scoring balance: The Hawkeyes have become a team and not a one-man show, which was a criticism earlier this season. That was on display again against Nebraska. Iowa had four players in double-figures, including Bennett Stirtz with 20, Tate Sage with 19, Alvaro Folgueiras with 16 and Cooper Koch with 11.
• Tate Sage, Alvaro Folgueiras: The duo was terrific on the big stage, combining for 35 points off the bench. After hitting the game-winning shot against Florida in the second round, Folgueiras followed it up with a great performance again. Sage was huge for the Hawkeyes as well. The freshman had 19 points, including four 3-pointers. Iowa outscored Nebraska 38-20 in points off the bench, in large part thanks to Sage and Folgueiras.
• Bennett Stirtz: The Iowa star didn’t shoot like himself the first two games of the NCAA Tournament, in part because of how difficult opposing defenses were making on him. But Stirtz was fantastic against Nebraska, scoring 20 points while shooting 7-of-15 from the field. He also had four assists and two rebounds. He gave Iowa its first lead of the game with a little more than two minutes remaining with a gigantic 3-pointer as the shot clock
• 2nd-half defense: After an abysmal first half defensively, the Hawkeyes improved mightily in the second half. Nebraska shot just 28% from the field and 25% from deep after the break.
• 2nd-half style: After a high-scoring first half, the second half looked much closer to the defensive rock fight that these two teams played in Iowa City earlier this season. The Hawkeyes are much more fit to win in that type of game.
• Entertaining basketball: Just like the game against Florida, this was an incredible contest. Both teams played incredibly hard in a heated rivalry matchup. This is what makes March Madness so fun.

Dislikes​

• Awful start: The Hawkeyes got blitzed to open the game. The Cornhuskers started the game 4-of-7 from the field and 3-of-6 from deep, jumping out to an early 12-2 lead. Iowa avoided slow starts in each of its first two NCAA Tournament this season, but that wasn’t the case against Nebraska. That put Iowa in a very early hole.
• Rebounding: After going toe-to-toe with Florida physically, Iowa got bodied by Nebraska. The Cornhuskers outrebounded the Hawkeyes 35-26. Nebraska had 12 offensive rebounds to Iowa’s three and led in second chance points 11-5. This was a surprising development given Iowa won those categories in each of the first two meetings.
• 1st-half defense: Iowa has dropped some stinkers defensively this season. This was a bad time to have another one. The Cornhuskers sliced and diced the Hawkeyes’ defense in the first half, shooting 58% from the field and 50% from deep. Iowa’s defense was much better after the break, holding Nebraska to 28% from the field and 25% from deep. But Nebraska was able to do a lot of damage in the first half.
• Pryce Sandfort: The former Hawkeye gave Iowa fits. Sandfort was excellent, scoring 25 points and knocking down 6-of-10 shots from deep. Sandfort carried Nebraska in the second half offensively, scoring 14 of the Cornhuskers’ 25 points after the break.
• 1st-half style: A high-scoring affair would not favor Iowa as Nebraska is much better equipped to win an offensive shootout. The two teams combined for 89 points in the first half. That was not the type of game that Iowa thrives in, but the Hawkeyes were able to go into the break trailing by only three. In the second half, it became a style more geared toward the Hawkeyes.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Likes, dislikes from Iowa basketball's Sweet 16 victory over Nebraska

Continue reading...