The Iowa Hawkeyes (20-10, 10-9) are looking to end the season on a high note after two straight tough losses. It will be a tall task as their final opponent, the ninth-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers (25-5, 14-5). At this point, the Huskers represent Iowa’s best win, a 57-52 victory about a month ago.
Since then, the Hawks have sputtered with a 1-3 record. The loss at Penn State added to their other east coast loss at Maryland to be anchors on Iowa’s resume. Both teams are 17 & 18 in the conference standings.
Yuck. Iowa’s stakes for a victory are not all that high. They’re locked into the 9-seed in the Big Ten tournament (and Wednesday start) after OSU closed the season on a winning streak to wipe away the head-to-head advantage of Iowa’s win. The Bracket Matrix has the Hawks as a 9 seed with their range from 7-10. Hard to see that changing win or loss. Just take care of business next week.
The stakes of this game are a bit higher for Nebraska than Iowa right now. A would put them into the #2 seed of the conference tournament with a Michigan win over Michigan State. A loss does not push them out of the triple (!!!) bye and starting the tournament on Friday. However, that same matrix has them as a weaker 3 seed and a loss could push them to a 4 for March Madness considering their loss earlier this week to UCLA.
Iowa Hawkeyes (20-10, 10-9) at #9 Nebraska Cornhuskers (25-5, 14-5)
Today, 3/8, at 4:10 PM, FOX (Connor Onion & Nick Base)
Pinnacle Bank Arena, Lincoln, NE
Hawkeye Radio Network
Live Stats (StatBroadcast)
Stat Pack
Fred Hoiberg (109-112 at Nebraska, 224-168 overall)
KenPom ($): +26.90; 12th (119.1; 54th | 92.2; 5th)
BartTorvik: 18th (118.0; 57th | 93.6; 6th)
Sports-Ref:
PPG: 77.7 (138th) | 65.7 (15th)
RPG: 35.3 | 34.7
Leaders (via Sports-Ref)
PPG: Pryce Sandfort (18.0); Rienk Mast (13.6)
RPG: Mast (6.0, 2.3 off); Berke Buyutuncel (5.6, 1.8 off)
APG: Sam Hoiberg (4.4); Jamarques Lawrence (4.0)
FG% (min 10 MPG, 2 FGA/game): Hoiberg (54.8%), Cale Jacobsen (50.5%)
3P% (min 1 3PA/game): Hoiberg (40.5%), Sandfort (40.4%)
Last 5 games:
3/3: L at UCLA: 72-52
2/28: W at USC: 82-67
2/25: W v Maryland: 74-61
2/21: W v Penn State: 87-64
2/17: L at Iowa: 57-52
A season sweep against the Huskers would go a long way in validating the bulk of this season. Though there have been stretches of losses, the overall sentiment on Ben McCollum’s first in charge has been positive.
Finishing strong would seal that opinion.
