Iowa vs Wisconsin Recap: 59-62 L, OT

I'm a day later than usual because, believe it or not, I have a life.

Bullet points!

• I was expecting Iowa to shoot terrible, but I wasn't expecting Wisconsin to shoot worse. The first half was terrible, Wisconsin went 6-33 from the field and 2-16 (!) from three point range. That total was good enough for a terrible 21.2% effective FG%, and a miserable 0.63 points per possession. And somehow, Iowa was only up by 5 at halftime. 
• For the entire game, Iowa shot 25-60 from the field. That includes, 24-53 from two point range (45.2%),1-7 from three point range (42.5% effective FG%), and 8-9 from the free throw line (88.9%). They also averaged 0.94 points per possession.
• For the entire game, Wisconsin went 24-68 shooting. That includes, 16-39 from insided the arc (41%), 8-29 from beyond the arc (41.2% effective FG%), and 6-7 from the charity stripe (85.7%). Wisconsin finished the game averaging 0.98 points per possession.
• Wisconsin took 8 more shots than Iowa in this game. That is because in the first half, Iowa allowed the Badgers to grab 12 offensive rebounds. I bring that up to point this out; Wisconsin had 0 second chance points in the first half, according to Iowa's .PDF box score. Wisconsin shot so bad in the first half, that on 12 second chance opportunities, they had no points to show for them (they were still only down by 5 at halftime, though).
• Why didn't Fran call a timeout at the end of overtime? I'm fine with not using it at the end of regulation. The game was tied then, and a two point shot wins it. Cartwright is pretty much the only guy on the team who can create his own shot, and he got his chance and missed. In overtime though, Iowa needed a three to tie. Cartwright is not a good three point shooter. He is shooting 26% on the year. He's not the guy who should be taking a three, much less a contested one, in that position. Call a timeout, and set up a play for Gatens, even May is a better long range shooter, or hell, put Stoermer on the court and give Wisconsin another option to guard. I would much rather see Gatens take a contested three with the game on the line, than Cartwright. 
• Just like in the Michigan State game, Iowa had four starters in double-figures this game. They also saw their two starting post players, put up double-doubles. This was Basabe's sixth double-double this year. The kid is a monster.
• Basabe was second on the team in scoring, but he played the best, overall. He scored 13 points on 6-11 shooting and making his only free throw attempt. Like always, Basabe was very efficient at scoring. He finished with a 54.5% effective FG% and averaged 1.13 points per scoring attempt. He also grabbed 11 rebounds, including 4 offensive (13.5% offensive rebounding rate) and 7 defensive (18.9% defensive rebounding rate).
• Jarryd Cole had a nice game. He put up 10 points on 4-7 shooting and went 2-2 from the line. Cole shot a very efficient 57.1% effective FG% and averaged 1.26 points per scoring attempt. He also came down with 12 rebounds (3 offensive and 9 defensive). For the game, Cole grabbed 9.6% of all offensive and 23% of all defensive rebounds available while he was in the game. He was the team's best defensive rebounder, and was the second best offensive rebounder, behind Basabe.
• Cartwright led the Hawkeyes in scoring, with 14 points. But, he didn't have his best shooting night. Wisconsin is a good defensive team, and they held Cartwright to 5-15 from the field and 1-2 from behind the arc. He did make all three of his free throws, though. But, he had a rather inefficient night scoring, as he put up a 36.6% effective FG% and averaged 0.85 points per scoring attempt. He also ended his streak of at least 8 assists in his last four games. He finished with 4 assists, and a 21.8% assist rate (percentage of field goals assisted while on the court), which is about 16% less than his season average. 
• Staying on Cartwright, I'm not saying he had a terrible game. He was just offensively inefficient. However, he still had moments where he looked damn good. One moment comes to mind, where late in the game, Cartwright pushed the ball up court and took it straight to the lane, hitting the little tear drop floater. The Badgers wanted to slow this game down, but on this possession Cartwright set the pace of play to Iowa's speed. It was good to see him be aggressive and not get bogged down in Wisconsin's slower pace of play.
• Gatens was the fourth starter in double-digits, scoring 10 points on 4-12 shooting, including 0-4 from downtown. He did make both of his free throw attempts. However, Gatens was not himself this game, as he finished with a very inefficient 33.3% effective FG% (about 16% below his season average) and was second worst on the team averaging 0.77 points per scoring attempt (May was the worst averaging 0.33). It was good to see that with an off shooting night from Gatens and Cartwright, that Iowa could still weather the storm against a good team like Wisconsin.
• John Leuer had 19 points and 15 rebounds. I just want to point out that he grabbed 32.7% of all defensive rebounds available while he was on the court. That's insane.
• Overall, Iowa lost the rebounding battle 46.1% to Wisconsin's 53.9%. Wisconsin won on the offensive boards, grabbing 35.6% of all offensive rebounds available to Iowa's 27.8%. They also won on the defensive glass, 72.2% to 64.4%. 
• Losing the rebounding battle is not surprising anymore, considering how Iowa hasn't won the rebounding battle very much in Big 10 play. To show this, I provide visual evidence below. Look how the black line goes from being under the yellow line, to above it once Big 10 play starts. 

• Iowa ended 22.2% of their possessions with an assisted field goal, and 15.9% of their possessions with a turnover. Good for a 1.4 to 1 assist to turnover ratio.
• Wisconsin ended 30.2% of their possessions with an assisted field goal, and 12.7% with a turnover. Good for a 2.38 to 1 assist to turnover ratio.