Iowa Heads West Again, Eyes Locked on Oregon as Big Ten Stretch Run Begins
As the calendar flips to February, the Iowa Hawkeyes are staring down the final month of the regular season with the Big Ten Tournament now just six weeks away. Every possession starts to matter a little more, every road trip carries a little more weight-and this weekend, Iowa finds itself back on the West Coast, gearing up for a Sunday showdown against a struggling Oregon squad.
The Hawkeyes are coming off a nail-biter against USC, where they had to withstand a 33-point barrage from Kam Woods to escape with a one-point win. It wasn’t pretty, but it was gritty-and it was a reminder of just how thin the margins can be this time of year.
Now, Iowa shifts its focus to an Oregon team that’s been hit hard by injuries and hasn’t won a conference game since Jan. 2. The Ducks are without two of their top contributors-center Nate Bittle and guard Jackson Shelstad-and with Shelstad ruled out for the season, Oregon’s rotation has a very different look than it did in the early going.
But don’t let the Ducks’ recent struggles fool you. Head coach Ben McCollum isn’t taking anything for granted.
“You hope that your training allows you to be ready consistently for particular games,” McCollum said Friday. “I do think some of these games are a little bit, from an external perspective, easier to get motivated on the road than sometimes at home.”
That road mentality will be key. Iowa’s already made a cross-country trip earlier this season, playing in the Acrisure Classic back in November. The Hawkeyes picked up wins over Ole Miss and Grand Canyon in that tournament, and while there’s no secret formula for adjusting to the time zone shift, that experience gave the team a better sense of how to prepare for these long-haul matchups.
“There’s nothing you can do differently,” McCollum said. “It’s just making sure that you’re ready to go.”
That readiness will be tested by an Oregon team that, despite its record, still has some firepower. With Bittle and Shelstad sidelined, the Ducks have turned to forward Kwane Evans Jr. and guard Takai Simpkins to carry the scoring load. Evans Jr. is coming off a career-high 24-point performance against UCLA, including four makes from deep.
Oregon hasn’t cracked 60 points in any of its last three games, but the Ducks are still dangerous on the glass. They’re pulling down 12.48 offensive rebounds per game-third-best in the Big Ten-and that kind of second-chance activity can keep a struggling offense afloat.
For Iowa, the scouting report has had to evolve. Film from earlier in the season doesn’t tell the full story of this current Oregon group, and McCollum knows it.
“I think you can scout their defense over time, everything with their defense and then offensively,” he said. “You scout when they didn't have those players.”
That adaptability will be crucial. Iowa learned the hard way on Wednesday that letting teams hang around can backfire. After building a lead against USC, the Hawkeyes allowed the Trojans to claw all the way back, nearly giving the game away in the final minutes.
It’s a lesson McCollum wants his team to take to heart-especially with the postseason looming.
“It's just making sure that you're ready to go,” he said. “Typical Big Ten road game, it's always difficult.”
And while Oregon may not look like a typical Big Ten opponent on paper, this game carries all the hallmarks of a late-season test: hostile environment, unfamiliar setting, and a desperate team looking for a spark. For Iowa, it’s another chance to prove they’re built for the grind.