Lickliter, Hawkeyes begin Big Ten journey
By JOHN BOHNENKAMP
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IOWA CITY — During his time as Butler’s head coach, Todd Lickliter wanted to play against Big Ten opponents.
Now, as Iowa’s coach, Lickliter begins his first 18-game trip through the conference.
And it looks like it could be a bumpy journey. The Hawkeyes got through the nonconference season with a 7-6 mark, but lost freshman forward Jarryd Cole to a season-ending knee injury and head into Big Ten play with only 10 players on the roster.
Who will Lickliter get to see in his first two weeks in the conference?
* No. 11 Indiana in today’s 8:05 p.m. game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
* No. 25 Wisconsin Saturday in Madison.
* Unranked, but 9-3, Ohio State in Columbus next Wednesday.
* A home game Jan. 12 against No. 6 Michigan State.
“With the Big Ten, we’re going to have to be at the top of our game every night,” Lickliter said. “Home, or away. But it’s nice to be opening at home.”
“We know we have to be ready to play,” junior guard J.R. Angle said. “It’s not going to be easy, any night. The upperclassmen are going to have to tell the freshmen what it’s all about, because it’s going to be a new experience.”
The first experience will certainly be difficult, given the way the Hoosiers (11-1) have stretched defenses this season.
Freshman guard Eric Gordon is averaging 23.4 points per game, while senior forward D.J. White has averaged 16.4 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. Throw in Armon Bassett’s 11.4 points per game, and it’s easy to see why Lickliter is concerned.
“It’s a great, balanced team,” Lickliter said. “They will stretch your defense.”
Lickliter is familiar with Gordon, who played his high school ball in Indianapolis. Lickliter’s father coached Gordon’s father in high school, and Lickliter followed Gordon’s prep career closely.
“I’ve grown up with Eric Gordon, I guess you could say,” Lickliter said. “I never doubted what kind of impact he would make.
“And D.J. White has continued to improve every year. Plus, they’ve got a great supporting cast.”
Asked if he’s found a weakness in the Hoosiers, Lickliter responded, “No one has. They’ve only lost one game.”
The Hoosiers have gone through a rugged nonconference schedule that included neutral-court games against Illinois State and Xavier, a road game at Southern Illinois and a home game against Kentucky.
Asked if his team was ready for Big Ten play, Indiana coach Kelvin Sampson said, “Yeah, absolutely. We were ready to go play Southern Illinois. We were ready to play Kentucky. Everything we’ve done thus far has prepared us to play.
“Big Ten play — no matter what conference you’re in — kids get excited about it.”
Junior forward Cyrus Tate will replace Cole in the lineup, but the Hawkeyes will have just four frontcourt players to work with for the rest of the season.
Tate is coming off his best game of the year — a 10-point effort in Saturday’s 57-50 win over Southeastern Louisiana, with all of his points coming after Cole was injured.
The Hawkeyes were inconsistent during nonconference play, starting with a four-game winning streak before going on a four-game losing streak. They followed that with a two-game winning streak, followed by a two-game losing skid.
“I think we’re making progress,” Lickliter said. “To the extent we’ll need, I guess we’ll find out.”
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