Three different players have led Iowa in scoring through the first three games.
Coach Ben McCollum hopes that same versatility can emerge on defense Sunday when the Hawkeyes meet Creighton at a neutral site in Des Moines, Iowa.
Iowa (2-1) struggled to contain Virginia Tech in an in-state neutral-site matchup Tuesday night, falling 93-88 in overtime in Sioux City.
While Isaia Howard recorded three steals, the Hawkeyes allowed the Hokies to shoot 53.6% from the field and grab nine offensive rebounds.
“I got a lot of concerns on our defense, to be perfectly honest,” said McCollum, who felt the Hawkeyes played with a “‘we don’t want to get beat'” mentality rather than an attacking mindset.
Cooper Koch paced the Hawkeyes with a career-high 26 points, and Ty’Reek Coleman added 20.
A poor performance at the free-throw line — 31-for-47 — gave McCollum another area to address against Creighton (2-1).
“You need to make sure that you’re going up with a positive mind space of, ‘I need to make this,'” he said.
Defensive lapses early in the second half hampered Creighton during its 89-82 loss at Kansas State on Tuesday.
With the game tied at 40 at halftime, the Bluejays allowed 31 points over the first 9:47 of the second half before tightening up defensively.
BJ Davis drilled six 3-pointers en route to 25 points, and Wes Enis chipped in 18. Creighton is hopeful that Jackson McAndrew, who was limited to 10 minutes Tuesday after suffering a sprained ankle, can “give us a little something Sunday,” Bluejays coach Alan Huss said.
Regardless of Creighton’s lineup, its players figure to identify with what their Iowa counterparts heard during practice this week.
Reflecting on his team’s effort at Kansas State, Huss said: “I don’t think we competed as hard as we needed to. We just got the integrity of what we’re trying to do defensively completely violated.”
Sunday marks only the fourth meeting between the teams since 2000. The Bluejays have won the past two.
–Field Level Media
