When UCLA men’s basketball hosts Iowa on Friday night in Pauley Pavilion, any outcome seems possible. UCLA could crumble, because the Bruins have done a lot of that lately. Then again, UCLA could revive itself. Iowa might be amazingly good, or it might be atrocious. We have seen these teams play their best and their worst this season, and there’s a wide gulf between the two extremes.
When Iowa is on, it’s really on. The Hawkeyes beat Indiana by 25 points on Saturday night. Hawkeyes Wire noted how well Iowa forced turnovers from its opponent:
Iowa set the tone with its defense. The Hawkeyes forced 16 Indiana turnovers, including 12 in the first half as Iowa built a 43-33 halftime lead.
Iowa tallied 11 steals as a team and turned Indiana’s turnovers into a 24-10 points off turnovers advantage.
UCLA, at its worst, has been turnover-prone, so the Bruins have to protect the ball against Iowa.
On the other hand, we have seen Iowa get run out of the building by Big Ten opponents such as Wisconsin. The Badgers humiliated Iowa, 116-85, not that long ago.
Which Iowa team will show up for this UCLA basketball game? Your guess is as good as ours.