Better Rebounding Could Help Hawkeyes Rebound

Backboards the Focus as Iowa Basketball Looks to End Three-Game Skid

Iowa's Filip Rebraca dribbles the ball against Alabama State during their game on Nov. 18, 2021 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. (Rob Howe/HawkeyeNation.com)

IOWA CITY, Iowa - Filip Rebraca chuckled when asked what Iowa has been working on during its finals week break in games.

“Well, of course, rebounding, for one thing,” Rebraca said on Tuesday.

The Hawkeyes are on a three-game losing streak, and the common denominator in the defeats has been the difference in rebounds.

• Iowa was outrebounded 42-30 in the 77-70 loss at Purdue. Purdue’s Trevion Williams had 18 rebounds.

• The Hawkeyes were outrebounded 52-23 by Illinois in an 87-83 loss. Illinois center Kofi Cockburn had 18 rebounds, and the Illini had 19 offensive rebounds, leading to 24 second-chance points.

• In last Thursday’s 73-53 loss at Iowa State, the Cyclones had a 50-32 rebounding edge. Guard Izaiah Brockington, who is 6-foot-4, had 10 rebounds, and Iowa State had 21 offensive rebounds that led to 19 second-chance points.

“Well, obviously it's been addressed,” coach Fran McCaffery said. “It doesn't take much to diagnose. You just look at the numbers, they're right there in front of you. It's not been good.”

Iowa has a minus-0.8 rebounding margin this season. The Hawkeyes went into the season with a size disadvantage, and it has shown up recently.

“We’re not a huge team as it is,” guard Connor McCaffery said. “With that being said, we have to be better. It’s not a secret — everyone knows that.”

The size disadvantage was an issue when it came to going up against players like Williams and Cockburn, two of the Big Ten’s best and biggest post players. But it wasn’t expected to be an issue against the Cyclones, who were a similar size matchup.

“There's a challenge to the guys, and again, it's a collective thing,” Fran McCaffery said. “It's not, OK, my 3s, 4s and 5s have to do a better job, which they do, but 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Everyone that's out there has to do a better job rebounding.”

“We have to have that mentality that we’re mad that we have let so many rebounds,” Rebraca said. “There have been long ones, there have been awkward ones, there have been tip-outs. I feel like we all have to come together collectively to do better in that area.”

The Hawkeyes have been hit hard from long rebounds that opponents have been able to track down. Iowa is known as a team that likes to run, and having guards start to run on missed shots has led to openings.

“We have to make sure we're not leaking because we like to run,” Fran McCaffery said. “How many are they sending to the glass? Some teams will send four, some teams will send one and they'll drop four, they'll drop three. So for us, we just have to keep them all in there until we get the ball back, and then we can run.”

“We want to get out and run, but to do that we have to rebound first,” Rebraca said.

The long rebounds can be frustrating to Iowa’s inside players like Rebraca.

“I’m doing my battles down low, and I feel like with longer shots, longer rebounds, being down low means I can’t get to the longer ones,” he said. “So that’s why it’s frustrating me, because I have no chance of getting it.

“I know there have been times where I’ve been boxed out, or let someone tip it out. We all make mistakes, but we’re here to get better.”

The offensive rebounds also put pressure on Iowa’s defense. Asked how frustrating it can be for a defense, Fran McCaffery said, ““Well, very (frustrating) because it keeps you on defense for a very long period of time. Like the old days when I was playing, teams would keep you on defense because there was no shot clock, so you don't want to be on defense for any more than 30 seconds if you don't have to be. Sometimes you have to be on it for a minute and a half or more, and it's tough, and it increases their ability to score.

“A lot of times on the second shot it leads to an easier shot. It might be a put-back, but typically it's a kick-out wide-open three, broken-play three.”

It’s not always about blocking out, either, Fran McCaffery said.

“I think the guys have to know and understand that,” he said. “You still want to get a body on somebody if you can, but at some point you've got to pursue the basketball. The whole idea that I'm going to box out and keep you on my back the entire possession, no. I'm going to get you there and then I'm going to go get the ball. That's what has to be done.”