Moral victories are only worth so much. On Sunday, Iowa proved it can play 40 minutes with one of the nation's three best teams in a close loss to UConn. But to achieve the results this Iowa team wants to achieve in March, Iowa needs to start accumulating wins against top teams.
There was no better time to start than tonight's game against North Carolina State. The #12 Wolfpack were 6-1 on the season, and their only loss was at UConn. There's a good chance they will end up as a Top 10 team by season's end.
A victory over NC State would be a big boost to Iowa's resume. Last year, Iowa earned a #2 seed without a marquee non-conference victory. Iowa would also have an opportunity to add another big win against Iowa State next week.
A loss would be problematic for Iowa. It would give NC State a de facto head-to-head advantage over Iowa for NCAA Tournament seeding purposes assuming their resumes end up similar. It also might demoralize the team somewhat given that they drop to 5-3 overall despite starting the year as preseason #4. And it would make the Iowa State game a must-win if Iowa wants a marquee non-conference victory.
So would the Hawkeyes get the victory they needed, or suffer another crushing defeat to a top team?
Recap
The first quarter started well for Iowa. The Hawks led 9-1 in the first 4 minutes, and led 17-9 with less than a minute to play in the quarter. But Iowa turned the ball over twice in its final three possessions and NC State got two late baskets to narrow the score to 17-13 heading to the second quarter.
The second quarter went poorly for Iowa. Offensively, the only player who could do anything was Caitlin Clark. She had 24 points in the first half. Her teammates had 11. Defensively, Iowa didn’t play all that badly. The Wolfpack just made the vast majority of the jumpers that they took. All told, NC State took a 39-35 lead into halftime.
Early in the third quarter Iowa tried to force the ball in to Monika Czinano, and it just didn’t work. Iowa turned the ball over on several attempts, and its offense didn’t get anything going. NC State continued to attack offensively, and led 48-38. Things never really improved from there, and NC State led 63-53 heading to the fourth quarter. NC State led by as many as 13 in the quarter.
Early in the fourth quarter, Clark went supernova, hitting several big threes from distance. Iowa closed NC State’s gap and got within two possessions several times. But NC State always found an answer on the other end each time the game got close. NC State stretched out the lead late, and won 94-81.
Box Score
Clark led Iowa with 45 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. She shot 16/28 from the floor and 5/13 from three. McKenna Warnock added 15 points and 7 rebounds. She didn’t shoot well from the floor but was 7/8 from the line. No other Hawkeye scored in double-figures. A box score for the game is here.
No Help
Caitlin Clark scored 45 points and Iowa lost by 13. That shouldn’t be possible. But Iowa’s supporting cast played one of the worst games it ever has one game after playing one of its best.
Gabbie Marshall had 0 points on 0/5 shooting, and had just one assist and one rebound in 29 minutes. Kate Martin didn’t score until late in the game when it was already close to over, and had zero rebounds and one assist. Molly Davis, Taylor McCabe, Sydney Affolter, and Addison O’Grady combined for two points, one rebound, and two assists in 28 minutes. And Hannah Stuelke scored seven points but also turned it over three times.
Czinano MIA
Perhaps most shocking of all, though, was the disappearance of Monika Czinano. NC State did a wonderful job on her defensively, but Czinano usually scores at least 10 points even in off nights. Tonight she only scored five points and only took four shots in 35 minutes.
I don’t know how to explain that, frankly. Yes, the defense was good (and the referees let NC State get away with a lot of contact) but how does Iowa only find its star center four shots in a game? Other than the brief period to start the 3rd quarter, it’s like Iowa forgot Czinano existed.
In Sum
Good teams find ways to win. Right now, this Iowa team is finding ways to lose. There’s still plenty of time between now and March, but something needs to change. If not, Iowa is going to keep coming up short in big games.
Next Up
Iowa returns to action this Sunday, December 4 at 1 PM CT against Wisconsin. The Badgers are just 3-6 on the season, including a loss to Kansas State. The game will be streamed on BTN Plus ($).
