Iowa gained valuable experience with Nebraska rally
MINNEAPOLIS — When entering March with realistic goals of a Final Four return and championship celebrations, it can be difficult to pinpoint how best to maximize conference tournament weekend.
An early exit can kickstart an unfortunate tailspin at just the wrong time — but a lengthy, exhausting stay can drain a team right before its most important basketball stretch. Even winning a conference tournament title can have its drawbacks if the comedown and mental transition into the NCAA Tournament isn't executed properly.
Which brings us to Iowa women's basketball, now a three-time defending Big Ten Tournament champ after a thrilling 94-89 overtime win Sunday against Nebraska inside Target Center. The weekend looked to be on cruise control after blowout victories over Penn State and Michigan, especially with the building filled to the brim with Hawkeye fans.
But Nebraska again gave Iowa all it could handle and then some, nearly derailing the black-and-gold celebration that seemed certain.
And that's exactly what the Hawkeyes needed.
While there could've been beneficial elements to a third rout in three days — and the lack of emotional energy used in Minneapolis with several huge moments potentially ahead — Iowa needing every ounce of strength to cut through that inevitable postseason tension is a perfect simulation right before the NCAA Tournament.
No, the season wasn't at stake as it will be in a few weeks. Nor were the careers of departing seniors Caitlin Clark, Kate Martin, Gabbie Marshall, Molly Davis and Sharon Goodman. Even with a Nebraska loss, the Hawkeyes still would've landed a decent seed on Selection Sunday and entered March Madness expecting to reach the same conclusion.
However, 40 minutes (and more) of strenuous, intense basketball while playing from behind isn't a situation the Hawkeyes have experienced much this year. In fact, the amount of time Iowa trailed Sunday was a season-high (33 minutes, 56 seconds) — even more than in painful losses to Kansas State (18:04) and Indiana (33:22) earlier this season.
“If we want to reach our goals in March, we are going to find ways to win that aren't always pretty,” Clark said. “You've got to be resilient and gritty. Everybody's given us their best shot all year. Our team is very prepared for it. We have been through it. We're ready for it.
“Just proud of our group. We weathered every storm we had. We kept fighting. Things fell our way there at the end. It definitely felt like the March tension in the air, especially with people stepping to the free-throw line late in the game. That's what makes it so fun.”
As Clark alluded to, this Iowa unit isn't short on high-end experience racked up in tough situations over the years. The Creighton loss two seasons ago, the Georgia win last year, the Final Four triumph over South Carolina — those are just a few March moments that required most of the crucial weapons on this team to perform almost flawlessly in winning time. The Hawkeyes have covered the entire emotional spectrum during this elite run.
Still, there are current contributors who are in their first postseason with expanded roles.
Sydney Affolter is averaging this season more than double the minutes per game she played on last season's Final Four squad, a number that should only increase as she remains in the starting lineup for the injured Molly Davis. Same goes for Hannah Stuelke, now a centerpiece for Iowa's success after a freshman season on the periphery. Not to mention, this is Kylie Feurbach's first postseason active since the Creighton stumble and Taylor McCabe's first extended action of her career. All four productively used the Minneapolis weekend as a warmup for the tension that awaits.
Even those who've been around longer got another reminder of the fine line between jubilation and dejection. Trailing by eight with 21⁄ minutes to go in reg2 ulation, as Iowa did Sunday, reduces the margin for error to emerge victorious down to almost nothing.
Remove even one of Clark's late buckets, Martin's treys or Marshall's clutch defensive moments, and Iowa is likely worrying about how to overcome another costly Nebraska stumble.
“Any time you come out of these situations positively, you can fall back on it, right?” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. “Even at halftime (Sunday), we were down 11. We were up 12 at (Nebraska's) place (before collapsing late). We went back to the opposite. ‘They came back and got us, so let's do it to them this time.'
“Any time you can draw on past experiences, especially favorable ones, it definitely builds your confidence.”
After a long but successful regular season in the national spotlight with distractions flying everywhere, Iowa was going to trek to the NCAA Tournament knowing it had potential for another magical ending. Adding a third straight Big Ten Tournament title before then would've been a great gift in any form to the thousands of Iowa fans who turned Target Center into a three-day extravaganza.
Not only did that happen, but the Hawkeyes successfully navigated through an ominous March scene in reaching the Minneapolis finish line. Iowa could not have maximized conference tournament weekend any better.