Hawkeyes Would Welcome The Double-Bye
A win over Illinois on Sunday gives Iowa the last double-bye available in next week’s Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis.
Win, and the Hawkeyes wouldn't have to play until the quarterfinals on Friday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Lose, and the Hawkeyes are destined for a Thursday second-round game and could be as low as an 8 seed.
So, that kind of time off would be welcome, especially if you want to win the tournament and the NCAA tournament automatic bid that comes with it.
“I think any time you can have an opportunity to rest your guys and be fresh later in the tournament, it’s obviously something we all want,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said on his Friday teleconference. “Needless to say, it always is, but this year probably more than ever it’s been particularly grueling in terms of quality of teams, the physicality of games. You can only imagine the tournament is going to be the same way.”
Iowa is 20-10 overall, 11-8 in the Big Ten, heading into Sunday’s 6 p.m. game in Champaign, Ill.
The Hawkeyes haven’t played since Tuesday’s 77-68 loss to Purdue, which has given time for forward Cordell Pemsl and Ryan Kriener to heal. Pemsl hurt his leg in the first half of Tuesday’s game, and Kriener said after the game he hyperextended his right knee.
“They’ll be fine,” McCaffery said, “They’ll be fine to play (on Sunday).”
It’s the second season in which Big Ten teams have played 20 conference games, including two games in early December.
McCaffery said there are plenty of factors that make the schedule seem more grueling than past years — having to play the early conference games, the Gavitt Games and ACC/Big Ten Challenge games and the multi-team tournaments around Thanksgiving.
“It’s one of those things where you’ve got to deal with it,” McCaffery said. “This is the reality. It’s not going to change. We’re not going to go back and play 16 games, or 18 games, next year. We’re going to play 20. It’s not going to 22, it’s not going any more than that. It’s going to be 20. So deal with it, try to build your roster accordingly, schedule your practices and workouts accordingly, and be good enough to withstand it.”
