By Jordan Underwood
The Iowa Hawkeyes (5-3) came into this afternoon’s game after a crushing defeat at the hands of Clemson where they were never in the game and looked to rebound against the Brown Bears (4-5) who had just came off a stunning victory at Rhode Island. The Hawkeyes came out on fire from the field early and their trapping press led to the Hawkeyes success in the first half. They caused the Bears to turn the ball over several times and jumped out to an early 10 point lead and never looked back. The Hawks were led in the first half by not only Devyn Marble who had 11 points and 5 rebounds, but the reserves played a huge role in the first half. The bench poured in 17 out of the 38 points in the first half shooting 64% from the field and grabbed 14 of the 27 rebounds as the Hawks led at the half by 14 with a score of 38-24. The second half saw much of the same as Iowa used their full court press to cause turnovers and took advantage of lax defense. They got a spark from Eric May and Aaron White with two furious dunks and the hawks crushed the hapless bears by 21 with a final score of 75-54.
ANALYSIS: The Hawkeyes picked up a key win after being destroyed by Clemson, but let’s be honest, the Brown Bears are more known for having smarts instead of basketball prowess. Regardless, Iowa was able to do pretty much whatever they wanted because Brown didn’t provide much of a fight on defense. Even though the Bears held the Hawks to shooting 44% in the first half and a meager 20% from downtown, the Hawks forced several key turnovers that led to scores.
The second half was not much different and even though the Hawks only shot 40%, their defense was stellar and they were at the free throw line several times. There were three things that stood out to me as the game went on. One, was the tough play of the bench. Marble, Ogelsby and the gang came in key points of the game and pushed the Hawks ahead to the victory. Even though they did not score a ton of points, they grabbed several rebounds and went to the stripe numerous times. The second aspect worth noting was the defense. The Hawks defense has been less then stellar the last few weeks, but they came out with something to prove. Yes, I know it was the Brown Bears, but it was an improvement. They held them to 36% shooting in the first half and a terrible 10% from beyond the arc. The second half was no different, where Brown shot 39%. They also out rebounded the Bears and made life difficult with their full court press.
The final noteworthy aspect of this game was the play of reserve Andrew Brommer (yes, I said Brommer). I have been known to bash Brommer for his lack of good post moves, footwork, shot range and free throw shooting, but all that aside, he had a good game coming off the bench and provided a spark for the Hawkeyes. He only had 4 points and one rebound in the first half, but slowed the Brown center and kept him off the glass. In the second half, he chipped in several key free throws, which seemed a little out of character for him, but he went 3/5 from the line and also added several rebounds, a block and a steal.
Even though the Hawkeyes were not playing a team that would give them fits, it was good seeing them get a win they should get and defeated the Bears 75-54 in Carver Hawkeye Arena.
