Michigan Kicks Off Busy Stretch for Iowa

Hawkeyes Play Three Games in Six Days

Iowa's (L-R) Patrick McCaffery, Keegan Murray and Filip Rebraca line up for an out-of-bounds play against Kansas City on Nov. 12, 2021 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. (Rob Howe/Hawkfanatic.com)

Iowa is going to play two games in three days, certainly not ideal this late in the season but something that isn’t going to be out of the ordinary when college basketball’s postseason begins.

Filip Rebraca got plenty of experience with tight schedules last season when he was at North Dakota.

Because of changes related to COVID-19, the Summit League played a conference schedule where teams played back-to-back weekend games against the same opponent at the same site.

“I learned that making adjustments is key,” Rebraca, one of the Hawkeyes’ starters, said on Tuesday. “And you don't have a lot of time to make these adjustments. You don't get a day of practice where you can fix these things. So it's straight into the game. You just have got to watch film and hope that the players can pick up on the mistakes and the things that they were doing well to transfer over into the next game. So adjustment is definitely the most important thing. And then you just got to battle through the fatigue, because to play two back-to-back games is very grueling.”

Iowa will play Michigan in Thursday’s 6 p.m. game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, then play at Ohio State in a rescheduled game at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.

That’s not a lot of time to prepare, but coach Fran McCaffery said it’s good preparation for what the Hawkeyes will see in March, when they could play on consecutive days in the Big Ten tournament and maybe two games in three days in the NCAA tournament.

“I mean, think about it, it's no different if you're in a tournament, whether it be a midseason tournament or a postseason tournament,” McCaffery said. “You're going to one-day prep for the second game. So there's no difference there.”

Iowa already had a game plan in place before the game against Ohio State on February 3 was postponed because of a winter storm. That scouting report, though, is still on hold because first the Hawkeyes (17-7 overall, 7-6 Big Ten) must play Michigan (13-10, 7-6). The two teams are tied for seventh in the Big Ten, and there is still the matter of Big Ten tournament seeding and NCAA resumés to worry about.

To McCaffery, it’s just the matter of what’s next.

“We don't do anything different,” McCaffery said of the preparation. “Won't even address (the next one. We’ve got Michigan on Thursday and that's what we're geared up for.”

The Wolverines have been inconsistent all season — they’ve split their last six games.

“I think they had a pretty tough schedule early and then they had COVID stuff hit them,” McCaffery said. “I think that got them a little bit sideways, but since they've gotten healthy, they've been really good.”

The biggest challenge for Iowa’s defense is 7-foot-1 center Hunter Dickinson, who is averaging 18.1 points and 8.2 rebounds this season. Rebraca, who is 6-9, likely will draw the defensive assignment.

“I think this challenge is a little different because his skill set is unique, unlike (Illinois’) Kofi (Cockburn) and (Purdue’s) Zach) Edey where they are very low-post dominant and don't really shoot outside the paint,” Rebraca said. “Hunter Dickinson has the ability to shoot a mid-range shot, shoot a 3-pointer. So it's going to be difficult, but I’ve got to do everything I can to make it hard on my guy.”

The weekend could be hard on the Hawkeyes, but it could be big for their postseason hopes. They have won three consecutive games and are above .500 in conference play for the first time this season.

Which means, if they keep this current momentum, they’ll have to get used to the feeling of short rest.

“This next stretch of games is really big for us, just trying to get a signature win out there and keep building our resumé as much as we can,” forward Keegan Murray said. “But yeah, we're locked in for this next game on Thursday. And for us, it’s just taking it one game at a time — if we get too ahead of ourselves and look into the future, that can lead to a downfall and that’s something we're not trying to do at this point, because February is a big month for a lot of teams.”