[Herky] Hawkeyes have five big, big, big, big, big games left

[Sue Bailey]

  Hawkeyes have five big, big, big, big, big games left


    No easy path to Big Ten championship

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Mike Hlas

The Gazette

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Feb 15, 2016 at 3:11 pm |

So you’re Iowa, and you’re up by one game in the Big Ten standings with 
five games left to play.

It’s like leading the Masters by one shot with five holes remaining. 
It’s the best place to be out of everyone in the tournament, but if you 
don’t finish strong you’re not likely to prevail.

Of course, there are no double-bogeys in basketball. The most you can 
lose in one game is one game. But not every comparison is perfect.

Iowa is 11-2 in the Big Ten, Indiana and Maryland are 10-3, Michigan is 
9-4, Wisconsin 8-4.

Here are the Hawkeyes’ final five games:

Wednesday: At Penn State.

Potential trouble? Of course. Penn State is a lackluster 3-9 in the Big 
Ten, but beat Indiana in State College in the Nittany Lions’ most-recent 
home game.

Feb. 24: Wisconsin

Potential trouble? Of course. The Badgers have won their last seven 
games, the latest a 70-57 decision at then-No. 2 Maryland. That was 
despite using the Terrapins’ Under Armour basketball.

Feb. 28: At Ohio State

Potential trouble? Of course. It’s Ohio State. The Buckeyes are 8-5 in 
the conference. They might be 8-8 when the Hawkeyes get to Columbus, but 
you never assume a win at OSU.

March 1: Indiana

Potential trouble? Of course. You saw the Hoosiers’ win over Iowa last 
Thursday, right?

Yes, Indiana got waxed at Michigan State Sunday. But this is a good 
team, a team that could very well be 13-3 in the conference when it gets 
to Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

March 5: At Michigan

Potential trouble? Of course. Caris LeVert, the Wolverines’ best player, 
returned to action last Saturday after a long layoff with a leg injury. 
He isn’t the player he was, but he helps, and it will be a Seniors Night 
sendoff for him.

All that said, the remaining schedules of Indiana, Maryland, Michigan 
and Wisconsin are just as hard as Iowa’s, if not harder.

Maryland and Indiana close the season facing each other in Bloomington, 
so one of those two gets a loss. Indiana still plays Purdue at home, 
Maryland plays at Purdue, Michigan is at Ohio State, Maryland and 
Wisconsin, and Wisconsin’s next game is at Michigan State. Four of 
Wisconsin’s final six games are on the road.

Iowa has the upper hand right now. But that “one game at a time” maxim 
has seldom been truer. The Hawkeyes need to beat Penn State on the road 
Wednesday. A loss there, and it’s a week between games. That’s a long 
time to stew.

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