By Blake Dowson
Peter Jok, who is second in the nation in scoring at slightly more than 25 points per game, didn’t register a point until there were about 11 minutes left in the first half against Notre Dame on Tuesday in South Bend, Indiana.
Still, after a 13-0 run in the final minutes of the opening half, Iowa found itself down only 41-39 at intermission.
In a game of runs (each team had stretches of scoring more than 10 points in a row), Notre Dame ultimately proved too much for Iowa, winning a Big Ten/ACC Challenge matchup, 92-78. With the loss, the Hawkeyes now have a losing record at 3-4.
Runs were a theme for the Hawkeyes all night, as McCaffery shook up the starting lineup in a big way with freshman forward Tyler Cook out with a broken finger.
Freshmen Isaiah Moss, Jordan Bohannon, and Cordell Pemsl all were on the floor for the opening tip. Each of the young players showed flashes of good play, but all of them showed their youth as well.
Moss had a stretch of 5-consecutive points for the Hawkeyes in the first half, and he has turned into one of the better perimeter defenders for McCaffery this season.
Bohannon had his best shooting night as a Hawkeye, connecting on 7 3-point attempts. He also ended with 7 assists, many of which went to Pemsl.
Dubuque native Pemsl bullied the Fighting Irish down low for much of the time he was in the game, scoring 18 points and grabbing 2 rebounds in his first start.
It’s well documented that two meniscus tears have limited Pemsl, but he showed against Notre Dame how sneaky quick he is in transition, getting good seals for easy buckets.
However, even with good offense running through Pemsl, Iowa resorted to “hero ball” with Jok way too often.
At times it looked like a middle-school team with one dominant player — when Jok had the ball, the other four on the floor were standing, and when Jok didn’t have the ball, the other four were scrambling to get it to him.
There will be times this season when Jok carries Iowa to a win by shooting the ball 20 or 25 times.
But the senior shot 2-of-11 from 3-point range and 4-of-20 from the field against Notre Dame — numbers that will never lead to an Iowa victory.
The tough adjustment for Iowa will be figuring out how to either get Jok in the scoring column when teams are trying to take him away or finding numerous other scoring options if he gets shut down.
It was good to see Bohannon and Pemsl step up, but veterans Nicholas Baer and Dom Uhl combined for 10 points and 13 rebounds (12 of those rebounds were Baer’s).
The youth movement is real for Iowa — that was made clear by the three freshmen in the starting lineup.
But for Iowa to win games this year, it will have to get contributions from such guys as Baer, Uhl, and Ahmad Wagner.
That didn’t happen against Notre Dame, and it led to a loss. It will continue to happen until the Hawkeyes find a plan past “Get Peter the ball.”
Follow @BRDowson on Twitter for news, analysis, and updates on the Iowa men’s basketball team.
