The Hawkeyes will be taking the court fresh off of a 10-day break and will face a pair of solid opponents before another break for Christmas. The team has struggled to consistently get games played due to pauses for Covid and now finals week. Coach Lisa Bluder and her team were able to practice this week and prepare, as opposed to their Covid pause, which offered fragmented team practices.
The Hawkeyes wrap up non-conference play with their next two games before hopping into Big Ten play after the Christmas break. Iowa will face Penn State in State College on December 30th.
Previewing the Central Florida Knights (8-1) (Saturday, December 18)
The Knights are going to be a very challenging opponent for the Hawkeyes and are going to be one of, if not, the best defensive team they face all season. UCF is allowing opponents to score just 45.9 points per game against a schedule that has included three currently projected tournament teams. They are holding opponents to 34.4% FG and 28.5% from behind the arc. On top of all that, they force 20.1 turnovers per game.
“One of the best defenses in the country right now,” said assistant coach Jan Jensen on the Knights. “They run an extended 2-3 (zone) and they take away the passing lanes so well. It can look a little Buzz like, but it’s not exactly that.”
For those wondering, here is the definition of the Buzz defense from Coaches Clipboard.
“It is an aggressive defense that forces teams that like to delay and slow the tempo, to play faster, resulting if quick outside shots, long rebounds and opportunities for easy baskets in transition (off steals and long rebounds). It collapses in the paint on dribble-penetration and forces outside shots.”
While Jensen says the defense UCF runs is not exactly a Buzz defense, that gives you a little bit of a look at what the Knights might run vs the Hawkeyes.
“It’s always really hard to emulate in practice, when you face defenses that are really good and are just a little different with the nuances,” said Jensen. “They really take away normal passing lanes. That’s what we’ve tried to talk to our players about. What might be there in practice, is likely to not be there against them.”
Iowa will have their work cut our for them on the offensive end.
On the flip side, the Knights are not great on offense. They are scoring just 57.8 points per game and are shooting just 28.7% from behind the 3pt line.
G Diamond Battles is the best player for UCF, as she leads the team in scoring, averaging 14.8 ppg. She also averages 4.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists and is the team best 3pt shooter (39.1%). G Tay Sanders and F Brittney Smith are next up in the scoring category averaging 9.8 ppg and 8.7 respectively. Smith also averages 6.1 rebounds per game and has the highest FG% on the team (48.5%). F Masseny Kaba and F Destiny Thomas will be the biggest threats on the offensive boards, as they combine for 6.0 offensive rebounds per game.
The teams contrasting styles of play make this game even more interesting and this could end up being a low scoring game despite, the Hawkeyes ability to get out in transition and score. Central Florida will look to slow the game down and keep it in the 60’s and their defense will force the Hawkeyes to make shots from outside. If those shots fall Iowa should be able to take down the Knights at Carver.
Previewing the IUPUI Jaguars (4-2) (Tuesday, December 21)
The Jaguars, much like the Hawkeyes, had some Covid issues that canceled three games for them early in the season, but don’t get it twisted, this is a solid basketball team. They took a ranked Michigan team to overtime in the season opener.
Outside of the Wolverines, the best opponent the Jags have faced is 6-3 Ball State, who they just lost to a week ago, so it is a little hard to put any stock into their team statistics. However, it is worth noting that they can knock down the 3pt shot, as they are ranked 14th in the country at 38.5%.
C Macee Williams leads the team, averaging 16.5 points and 7.5 assists per game and boasts a 62.7% FG, which is at Monika Czinano levels of efficiency. F Rachel Kent averages in double figures for the Jaguars as well with 10.3 points per game and is very clean with the ball as well, turning it over just nine times in 169 minutes on the court.
G Destiny Perkins (9.3), G Rachel McLimore (9.2) and G Anna Mortag (8.2) are the next three up in terms of points per game. Perkins and Mortag are a combined 25/46 from behind the arc (54.3%).
The Hawkeyes should be able to handle IUPUI, but they will not be an easy out like you may expect. The Jaguars can shoot it from outside and have shown that they can hang with a ranked team, as they did in the opener vs Michigan.
