Hawkeyes Push Wisconsin to the Brink

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Feb. 9, 2011

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By ADAM MEIER

IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa men’s basketball team fought tooth-and-nail with the 13th ranked Wisconsin Badgers on Wednesday night only to come up three points short, 62-59, in overtime on Mediacom Court inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

The loss dropped the Hawkeyes to 10-14 overall and 3-9 in the Big Ten. Wisconsin improved to 18-5 overall and 8-3 in conference play.

“We played great defense in the first half, but not so good in the second half,” UI head coach Fran McCaffery said following his team’s gut-wrenching loss.

The Hawkeyes were up for most of the first half and took a 23-18 lead into the locker room.

Big Ten Player of the Year candidates Jon Leuer and Jordan Taylor combined for just eight points on 3-of-15 shooting in the first half for Wisconsin.

As a team, Wisconsin went just 6 of 33 (18 percent) from the field and 2 of 16 (13 percent) from downtown in the first half.

That was the first half.

The two Wisconsin stars could not be held down for long and began to heat up as soon as the second half went underway.

“We let Leuer get to the right and we let him shoot the jump hook,” McCaffery said. “We started doubling him in the second half but they have capable shooters that you can’t disregard.”

Leuer ended up with 19 points and 15 rebounds. Taylor scored 16 points and had 8 assists.

Iowa led 31-26 with 16:22 left in the second half before the Badgers went on a 12-4 run over the next five minutes to steal the lead from the Hawkeyes, 38-35. Freshman Roy Devyn Marble then got an easy lay-in with 10:49 remaining, which was drawn up out of a timeout.

Leuer and Bryce Cartwright then exchanged 3-pointers and Marble scored two quick baskets to give the lead back to Iowa with 8:30 remaining.

Basabe then blocked a shot on Wisconsin’s next trip down, ran the floor and got in position for Cartwright to feed him for a 3-point play. That gave the Hawkeyes a 47-43 lead with 7:47 to go.

“This was a big test for him (Basabe),” McCaffery said. “This is a big and physical team. I was really proud of him tonight. I thought he was terrific.”

Two Cartwright free-throws 30 seconds later increased Iowa’s lead to six.

The final seven minutes of regulation were highlighted by gutty defensive play and timely baskets by both sides. Wisconsin’s Keaton Nankivil hit a 3-pointer with 3:54 left to tie the game at 51.

Neither team scored for the next two minutes until Matt Gatens knocked down two free throws with 1:36 to go in regulation. Taylor then made a clutch mid-range jumper with 29 seconds left to tie the game.

McCaffery chose not to call a timeout and Cartwright’s step-back baseline jumper went in-and-out, sending the game to overtime.

Down by one with 1:30 left in overtime, Wisconsin’s Tim Jarmusz drilled a shot from behind the arc to give the Badgers a two point advantage. Leuer then made a jumper to push the Badgers’ lead to four.

Cartwright promptly cut the deficit to two with a jumper of his own.

Down two with 44 seconds remaining, Iowa chose not to foul and rode out Wisconsin’s possession. Taylor missed a jumper but Iowa gave up yet another offensive rebound and Wisconsin called timeout.

Inbounding the ball under their own basket, a Wisconsin player threw a deep pass to Taylor who came down with the ball, landing on his back. A travelling violation was initially called but was quickly reversed. Instead, a foul was called on Cartwright and Taylor made 1-of-2 free throws with seven seconds to go. Cartwright’s contested 3-pointer fell short and the Badgers hung on.

Cartwright led the Hawkeyes with 14 points. Basabe and Jarryd Cole each tallied double-doubles. Basabe had 13 points and 11 rebounds while Cole added 10 points and 12 rebounds. Gatens scored 10 points and Marble contributed 6 points off the bench.

The Hawkeyes take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Sunday, Feb. 13, at Carver Hawkeye Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:05 p.m.