Virginia has rattled off a string of four consecutive victories, and will welcome Iowa to Charlottesville hoping to extend that win streak. At 5-2, the Hoos have salvaged what was an inauspicious start to the season, but will now face an Iowa team whose first six games have come off without a hitch.
The Hawkeyes are 6-0, each victory coming in blowout fashion in “buy” games against inferior opponents. They’ve eclipsed the 100-point barrier three times, and haven’t scored less than 85 points. KenPom ranks Iowa as the sixth most efficient offensive team in the nation.
Their defense isn’t quite as highly-rated, though. It slots in at 67th per KenPom, and has conceded 82 and 73 points to the likes of Alcorn State and Longwood, respectively.
Leading the Big Ten team is sophomore forward Keegan Murray, who averages 25.7 points per game while shooting at a 62.2% clip. Murray is backed by a solid supporting cast, including veteran guard Jordan Bohannon. As a group, the Hawkeyes are shooting 38.5% from the field.
But while Iowa’s numbers are impressive, they’ve played a cake of a schedule thus far. While their big wins are evidence enough that Virginia will be challenged in this ACC/B1G Challenge game, it’s unclear how Iowa will fare against the packline defense. And Virginia’s own performance will have to be good to take down the Hawkeyes.
Here are four things Virginia will have to do to beat Iowa.
Take care of the ball
The best team Virginia has faced this season is 15th-ranked Houston, a game which the Hoos lost resoundingly by a score of 67-47. The visiting Wahoos were overmatched and outplayed in that contest, and it showed on the stat sheet, as Virginia committed 17 turnovers.
They’ve been better since then. A 4-turnover outing against Georgia and a 9-turnover performance against Lehigh were good, but Providence managed to turn Virginia over 15 times.
Against an Iowa team that likes to run (27th in Adjusted Tempo), the Hoos are going to pay for any turnovers they commit. Taking care of the ball is step one toward winning this game.
Control the tempo
As mentioned in the previous paragraph, Iowa plays at a very fast pace. They’re among the fastest teams in the nation, whereas Virginia falls decidedly at the other end of the spectrum. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Tony Bennett’s squad is the slowest team in the country.
When Virginia plays at its preferred deliberate pace, it performs a lot better. There was a short spell during the first half of the Lehigh game where the Mountain Hawks managed to speed the game up, and in that stretch Virginia struggled mightily.
Iowa will look to do the same, and if they succeed, the Hoos are in trouble. Virginia must dictate the game’s tempo.
Use Shedrick and Caffaro
Both Kadin Shedrick and Francisco Caffaro seem to be coming into their own as of late. The pair combined for 16 points against Lehigh, using their height and strength to score. At 6-11 and 7-1, Shedrick and Caffaro are a tall duo.
Iowa, conversely, does not possess the same height. The tallest player that garners significant minutes for the Hawkeyes stands at 6-9. Gone are the days of the hulking Garzilla.
While Iowa’s guards are tall for their positions, the rest of the team is on the shorter side. Coach Fran McCaffery has two 6-11 players at his disposal, but both have played sparingly. It is his prerogative whether to play those less experienced, less talented players or his shorter but better options. Either way, Virginia can exploit their height advantage inside.
Make shots
Simple, but still very important. Armaan Franklin needs to knock down his open looks, Kihei Clark needs to continue his improved three-point shooting, and either Kody Stattmann, Igor Milicic or Carson McCorkle needs to drain a couple.
This Virginia offense is not that great, but it becomes a whole lot worse when the Hoos are tossing up bricks. They’ll have to shoot well if they want to take down Iowa.
Iowa vs Virginia will tip at JPJ at 7 pm, and air on ESPN2.
Image – Virginia Athletics