| Hawk central
When he met the media on Wednesday afternoon, Fran McCaffery spoke on the assumption that his Iowa basketball team was in an 18-day period with only two games confirmed on the schedule.
But the Hawkeyes’ 11th-year coach also hinted that more changes could come. The possibility was open for a game to be added this weekend and / or early next week by the Big Ten Conference. This is the flexible reality of the minute-by-minute world of trying to play a season of college basketball amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s a little more complicated than it looks,” said McCaffery. “This is not the (NBA) Summer League, where you are just moving games. These are the big (TV) networks that want specific teams in their network and discover it on the front end. And now everything has to be changed with what another schedule is going on. “
Between the postponements of two home games (January 14 against the state of Michigan, Sunday against Nebraska – both because of COVID-19 problems with those programs) and a mini-bye early next week, Iowa’s only games in fourth place between January .10 victory against Minnesota and an early match on January 29 in Illinois were the 96-73 victory in Northwestern on January 17 and Thursday’s 8 pm game against Indiana at the Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
In an interview with the Register last week, Big Ten assistant commissioner Kerry Kenny said the makeup dates would not be determined until the return teams – in this case, Michigan State and Nebraska – declared a firm resumption date. Thus, the Hawkeyes remained in limbo on Wednesday, although intriguing possibilities opened up.
With Saturday’s Illinois game against Michigan State canceled and Iowa free, it would make some sense to slide the January 29 game in five or six days, and then hope the Spartans are back and available to fill the TV spot. January 29 against either Iowa or Illinois. But there is also another possibility: how about adding an Illinois-at-Iowa game this weekend, since both teams are free? So, do the teams take the test on January 29 in Champaign? Iowa-Illinois is currently a “one-play” – meaning that teams play each other only once during the 20-game conference schedule. It would be a tempting double dispute between teams that don’t like each other very much, but as the minutes go by it seems less and less likely.
Although McCaffery did not reveal any details, he said that one move could become two moves. This opens the door to a more realistic and intriguing possibility: a Michigan-at-Iowa game early next week. Currently, the seventh-placed Wolverines are playing a short game (with one of their two games against Penn State postponed) and have seven days off after Friday’s game at Purdue. Iowa (12-2, 6-1) and Michigan (12-1, 7-1) are tied in the loss column at the top of the Big Ten and are scheduled to meet only on March 4 at Ann Arbor.
If Iowa added a home game against Michigan or Illinois, for example, it could eliminate the home game against Michigan State; the Hawkeyes are scheduled to visit East Lansing on February 13. Michigan State could then add Penn State as a two-handed game.
“We could still potentially play some of our moves in place of another team and play against that team twice,” said McCaffery. “The league is working on it. They are working with networks. And as far as I’m concerned, I’ll just say to our team, ‘Let’s get ready for Indiana’. And then we’ll deal with the next game on our schedule. “
That’s all your Iowa players and fans can do: stay tuned and wait to hear what’s new.
The Iowa Iowa guard Jordan Bohannon, of course, would not refuse spotlight games. However, he cautioned against the idea of putting too many games on a tight schedule before the March 10 to 14 Big Ten Tournament and the NCAA Tournament that follows.
“We have to be prepared for the Big Ten Tournament and the NCAA Tournament,” said Bohannon. “I think this must be the main priority. I think the first thing must be not being willing to play six games in 11 days or so … to be exhausted at the end of the season. “
In addition, Bohannon and McCaffery were proposers on Wednesday to move the Big Ten Tournament from Chicago to Indianapolis … something that has been rumored but unannounced.
First, players’ families are not allowed to watch games in Illinois, but they would be in Indiana. Second, it may allow Iowa (and other teams destined for the NCAA tournament) the possibility of only staying in Indiana after the Big Ten Tournament is over.
The NCAA announced specific dates and locations this week for the 68-team tournament, all to be held in Indiana – with all the action from the second round to Final Four at four locations in Indianapolis: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indiana Farmers Coliseum and Lucas Oil Stadium.
“I like the idea that if I were there, I hope we just stay there,” said McCaffery. “Whatever they think makes the most sense from a security point of view, we will do it.”
Bohannon added: “I think this is the best situation, moving him to Indianapolis, where family members will be allowed … and watching us play for a Big Ten title.”