Iowa and Creighton Look to Address Defensive Struggles in Des Moines

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Iowa and Creighton will meet at a neutral site in Des Moines this Sunday, with both teams looking to address defensive struggles that have impacted their recent performance.

Both programs enter the matchup with 2-1 records following losses on Tuesday night.

The Hawkeyes fell 93-88 in overtime to Virginia Tech during an in-state matchup in Sioux City. While Isaia Howard recorded three steals, Iowa allowed the Hokies to shoot 53.6% from the field and secure nine offensive rebounds. Cooper Koch led Iowa with a career-high 26 points, while Ty’Reek Coleman added 20. The team also struggled at the free-throw line, shooting 31-for-47.

“I got a lot of concerns on our defense, to be perfectly honest,” Iowa coach Ben McCollum said, noting the team played with a “‘we don’t want to get beat'” mentality instead of an attacking mindset.

Video: Iowa Hawkeyes

“You need to make sure that you’re going up with a positive mind space of, ‘I need to make this,'” McCollum said regarding the free-throw performance.

Creighton lost 89-82 to Kansas State on Tuesday after allowing 31 points during the first 9:47 of the second half, despite being tied at 40 at halftime. BJ Davis scored 25 points, including six 3-pointers, and Wes Enis contributed 18 points.

“I don’t think we competed as hard as we needed to. We just got the integrity of what we’re trying to do defensively completely violated,” Creighton coach Alan Huss said, reflecting on the effort against Kansas State.

Creighton is hopeful that Jackson McAndrew, who played only 10 minutes Tuesday due to a sprained ankle, can “give us a little something Sunday,” Huss said.

This Sunday marks only the fourth meeting between the two teams since 2000, with the Bluejays having won the previous two encounters.

Worth a look

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