The Iowa offense struggled from the very beginning on Thursday evening and never could get on track in a 65-45 loss to Wisconsin. Following the defeat, acting head coach Kirk Speraw met with the media to discuss the struggling Iowa offense and what has gone wrong in the past few games.

Coach Speraw Opening Statement

Give credit to Wisconsin tonight. They played very well. They have a great team and have played well all year long. I would like to congratulate their three seniors. Khalil just always kills us. I have a lot of respect for the way he plays and what he does. Charles Thomas too. I have watched him a lot. Maybe he doesn’t get the minutes, but when he does, he usually does something really well. Then of course, Ethan is a unique player. I don’t know that there’s been a player like that in the country in a long time that has the set of skills that he has. Congratulations to them.

Q: Was there anything that you liked on offense tonight and what didn’t you like?

SPERAW: Well, the ball didn’t go in, that’s for sure. I thought we had some good looks at times. Their defense is good and solid and you have to grind it, move the ball, set screens, and roll it. We had some good movement at times and we missed some looks that we were hoping we would get. We had some misreads and we certainly turned the ball over too much. You can't turn the ball over that much against Wisconsin and have the outcome that you want.

Bottom line is we are a team that has good shooters and we are not shooting the ball very well right now. That has been a theme here for a little bit and we just have to snap out of it, continue to grind, and find some answers. Somewhere along the line we will start making some shots again.

Q: Is there any sort of crisis of confidence among the players? Do you sense that?

SPERAW: I think you see that we are a little tentative at times. If it goes for a couple of games or three games where you aren’t shooting it well, but our guys are really good shooters. We have been positive with them and they have been positive with themselves. Sometimes you hit rock bottom before you bounce out of it and get going. We just have to stay positive with ourselves and each other and the guys have to maintain their confidence. It’s not like we are getting horrible shots. I mean, there are some shots where you might want something a little bit better. But, we have had some really good looks, not only tonight, but over the last couple of weeks that aren’t hitting the bottom of the net like we would like to. It will change. It will turn.

Q: Tyler Cook had a big game earlier this year against Wisconsin. He had zero points tonight. What do you attribute that to?

SPERAW: He got in a little bit of foul trouble. They defended him well. I don’t know that there’s anything that sticks out. We had a good game plan to get it to him today. We got it to him some and missed him a couple of times. He’s got to go get it too. He will bounce back.

Q: How much do you think getting Fran McCaffery back for the final game of the regular season and the post season will help?

SPERAW: Obviously with the head coach, he’s the voice that they are used to. Our guys are mature guys. I know we haven’t played well in the last couple of games, but I don’t know if that was the factor. He was there for everything but the on the court stuff. Game prep and everything else has been just like it’s been throughout the entire year. We have gone through it now and we will get a good start on game prep for Nebraska.

Q: Wisconsin had a good defense when you saw them back in November. Would you say they have come a long way in that area? What specifically did you see from them on the defensive end that looks good right now?

SPERAW: I think they are just consistent. Early in the year to the end of the year, you hope you are better, and they are. But, they are always consistent. It’s not like they have changed their scheme of what they do defensively at all. It has been pretty consistent not just this year, but for a long period of time now. You know how they defend things and what they are going to do and they do a good job of executing it. I don’t know if they are a whole lot better than they were earlier. It has been pretty consistent all year long.

Q: What was the game plan tonight against Happ?

SPERAW: Well, he’s a good player. We wanted to mix it up on him. Double him some and then not doubling him some. Just try to keep changing things up a little bit. He’s a tough player. You hope that if he gets 21, then the other guys don’t get too much. They got points from Ford, and of course, Kahlil, and like I said he always hurts us.

The offensive end for us has to come along. I think it will and that will help us on the defensive end too.