Iowa Basketball Must Sharpen Aim Against North Carolina

It’s that time of year again. Yes, the annual ACC/Big 10 Challenge is upon us, and the action is already off to a fast start with Nebraska and Rutgers posting victories over Florida State and Clemson on Monday evening.

While the Challenge offers an opportunity for conference bragging rights, it also provides unique opportunities for teams from both leagues to make statements on the national level. For the Iowa Hawkeyes, that means a date with North Carolina on Wednesday night in Chapel Hill.

Considered amongst a handful of teams capable of making a run for the national title, the Tar Heels feature the country’s best point guard in Marcus Paige and have quality talent at every position. They’re also coming off a recent loss to Butler at the Battle 4 Atlantis in Orlando. North Carolina has since picked itself up with victories over both UCLA and Florida to enter Wednesday’s meeting at 5-1. The Hawkeyes, meanwhile, come in at 5-2 and on a three-game winning streak.

Since Iowa has already suffered non-conference losses to nationally-ranked foes Texas and Syracuse, the Hawkeyes will be looking for a big performance on a national stage. The question is whether Iowa has enough to knock off Roy Williams’ team on their home court.

On paper, Iowa certainly appears capable. Mike Gesell is entering his third straight season as the team’s starting point guard, forward Aaron White is a versatile and challenging matchup for any team and the twin-tower pairing of Jarrod Uthoff and Adam Woodbury gives the Hawkeyes enough size to present North Carolina with problems.

The biggest challenge for Iowa might be as simple as making enough shots. So far this season, Iowa is connecting on 43.2 percent of their attempts from the field. While that number on its own isn’t terrible, Iowa managed to shoot just 29.6 percent and 40 percent respectively in its two losses against the Longhorns and Orange. Both of those games were played at Madison Square Garden as part of the 2K Classic. Iowa’s five wins have all been played within the friendly confines of Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

With Wednesday’s game becoming Iowa’s first true road game of the season, the Hawkeyes will likely need to get off to a fast start inside the Dean Smith Center. In other words, Iowa will need to shoot at a high percentage from the outset. If the Tar Heels get out to a lead in the early going, the contest will become much tougher for Fran McCaffery’s team. While Iowa possesses a veteran team, playing North Carolina from behind on its home court makes things dicey.

The onus, therefore, will likely fall to the four-man grouping of Gesell, White, Uthoff and Woodbury to keep things calm. While Gesell isn’t the scorer that Paige is, he’s pesky enough to create some issues for the Tar Heels’ star point guard. White, Uthoff and Woodbury figure to match up well with North Carolina’s frontcourt of Kennedy Meeks, Brice Johnson and Isaiah Hicks.

Will it be enough for Iowa to upset the Tar Heels? The Hawkeyes certainly have the personnel to present a severe challenge to a skilled North Carolina outfit. To do so, Iowa will need to sharpen its aim while also getting off to a good start. If the Hawkeyes do so, matters might suddenly become very interesting within the Dean Dome.

Matt Johnson is a Big Ten basketball writer for www.rantsports.com. Follow him on Twitter at mattytheole or ‘like” him on Facebook.