Fran McCaffery shares most important factors in close Big Ten games

The Big Ten has seemingly been a gauntlet for the last few years now, and Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery is well aware of that. His Hawkeyes team just won three games in a week span at home over Rutgers, Northwestern and Illinois.

While the conference is not as top heavy as it has been in years, it is currently a very packed middle with 10 teams packed between 8-4 and 5-7 in confernece.

After his team’s 81-79 victory over the Fighting Illini on Saturday, McCaffery talked about how important it is to win close conference games like that.

“It’s so critical in this league because every game is like this one,” McCaffery said. “You’re on the winning end or the losing end. Not a lot of blowouts. I don’t care who’s playing who. You want to manage the game in a way that you can get to the free throw line and you can take care of the ball and you can get the right guys enough shots.”

Tony Perkins led the way with a standout performance. He had 32 points on 8-for-11 shooting and an incredible 15 of 16 from the free throw line. Kris Murray had 19 points and Filip Rebraca added 13 of his own.

“That’s a really good team,” McCaffery said of Illinois after the game. “They are really good. I’ve been watching obviously on film for last three days. They have talent. They have size. They have depth. They have drivers. They have veterans. They have young guys. It takes a lot to beat that team.”

Big Ten homestand says a lot about Iowa, Fran McCaffery says

Fran McCaffery’s Iowa squad is now 15-8 on the season and 7-5 in Big Ten play. They are one of five of six teams with a conference record of 7-5.

Their next matchup comes against National Player of the Year candidate Zach Edey and No. 1 Purdue.

It will be their first away game in two weeks. But they will be coming off an important homestand with three straight wins to show for it.

“I think it says a lot about the character of the guys in that locker room,” McCaffery said. “No question. But we always say, we want to protect the home floor. We had three home games against three great teams. Now we got to do it on the road. And that’s a lot harder.”