Big Ten Roundup: Struggling Iowa heads to Breslin Center

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Iowa comes into Breslin Center with a record of 1-3 in its last four games and — just like any good coach — Todd Lickliter knows what the problem is: defense.

“We’re struggling there,” Lickliter said. “We’ve had droughts offensively, but I’ve had teams in the past that struggle offensively but they maintain their defensive intensity and urgency, and they get through them.”

The Hawkeyes sit in eighth place in the Big Ten with a 5-9 conference record, 12-15 overall, and their head coach believes poor defensive execution is the key reason why.

Lickliter said most of that comes down to what type of offense the opposing team runs, pointing to a 60-52 loss on Feb. 14 to 3-pointer-dependent Michigan.

“Michigan makes you play long possessions, and you have to be (tuned in) for a long period of time, and I think we struggle with our assignments — we seem to break down,” he said.

While different offensive schemes are a key reason for the Hawkeyes’ defensive woes, Lickliter believes the bottom line is that the defense is trying to feed off the offense — which is the opposite of what he would like.

“I don’t think there’s any question that we’ve put a greater emphasis on the defensive end and we’re just not able to sustain it,” he said.

“I also think offensive lapses are causing the defensive breakdowns — we’re feeding off our offense and that’s not a good thing.”

Like a fine wine: Better with age

Wisconsin fifth-year senior Brian Butch’s career has been a long but steady work in progress. After coming out of high school as a McDonald’s All-American, he opted to redshirt his first year when he realized he wasn’t strong enough for the physical Big Ten.

With yet another year under his belt, it seems that an old dog has learned a new trick — 3-point shooting.

“When people are getting ready for Wisconsin, still in the scouting report people said ‘Hey, Brian Butch can shoot from the outside,’ and a player might look at his stat sheet, and they’re going to look and say, ‘Hey, he’s 3-for-35, he can’t shoot from the outside,’ but it’s still about what’s going to happen next,” Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said.

So far this year Butch is 13-for-49 from three-point land – only a 27 percent clip, but good enough to be a threat.

“He’s shot pretty well from the perimeter and he didn’t get discouraged,” Ryan said. “He just keeps rolling. He doesn’t get down, he doesn’t pout and he’s always got such a positive attitude about getting to the next game.”

Sampson’s tough week

Despite facing five major NCAA recruiting violations, Indiana head coach Kelvin Sampson said he his keeping his focus on the team.

“Every day in practice for us is business as usual, stuff outside I’m not going to talk about,” Sampson said. But if you would come to practice and watch our team prepare you’d see business as usual.”

“Once I leave the gym that’s a whole other deal, but I think our staff has done as good a job as we can do as far as giving our energy and focus to the team.”

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