What’s better than winning a title? Successfully defending it.
While there’s still one game left in the regular season against Nebraska for the Iowa Hawkeyes, that will be the mission once the team heads to Chicago and the United Center for the Big Ten Tournament championship.
Iowa dispatched of four Big Ten opponents in four straight days to capture the conference tournament crown a season ago. The Hawkeyes beat Northwestern, Rutgers, Indiana and Purdue in succession to capture the title.
Why might they do it again? ESPN’s Paul Biancardi identified five keys to winning a conference tournament crown and indicated that Iowa once again at least has its bases covered on one front.
The Iowa Hawkeyes have their go-to guy figured out.
A coach’s job is to allow the best players to get the most shots and timely looks — whether that is in transition, in half-court sets, out-of-bounds plays or at the end of games.
For every Batman, there needs to be a Robin. Every championship team needs at least one player who can share the load or even take the star’s place when he is out of the game.
However, two players are often not enough, so championship teams often have a third scorer who can score in double figures and complement the main players.
Last year, Iowa won the Big Ten tournament. Keegan Murray was the Hawkeyes’ star and Jordan Bohannon (11 ppg and 38% from 3) was their No. 2 player. Murray averaged 23.5 points and 8.7 rebounds per game last season and was a force in the Big Ten tournament. Both players graduated, but Murray’s brother, Kris Murray, has taken over, scoring 20.5 points along with 8.0 rebounds per game. The Hawkeyes are also getting huge contributions from Filip Rebraca, Pryce Sandfort, Tony Perkins and Patrick McCaffery. – Biancardi, ESPN.
Kris Murray has been fabulous for Iowa this season. Iowa head men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery said before the season ever tipped off that Murray was looking forward to the opportunity to stamp his own legacy on the Hawkeye program.
“It will be the first time in his career he hasn’t played with his brother. Obviously every team, I saw him play a lot growing up, same age as my son Patrick, since fourth grade on I’ve watched the two of them grow up. They’ve always been on the same team. Now they’re not.
“We’re thrilled for Keegan, but we’re thrilled for Kris. Kris is going to have a spectacular season. He’s playing with great confidence. His body looks different, much stronger. Shooting the ball with great confidence, posting up more, driving the ball. He was always a good defender with his length, always a good rebounder, and we need him to do that,” McCaffery said.
Murray has lived up to those lofty expectations, averaging 20.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.2 blocks per game.
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