Preview: Western Illinois at Iowa

[December 07, 2015]  As its campus is trying to get over a heartbreaking football loss over the weekend, the Iowa basketball team will try to bring some joy to Iowa City when it hosts Western Illinois on Monday night in a non-conference matchup. The Hawkeyes have won three straight, including the last two at home, but they can't be caught looking ahead to an upcoming showdown with in-state rival and nationally ranked Iowa State on Thursday.

Fran McCaffery's squad can score, having topped 75 points in all but one contest this season. Nine different Hawkeyes have scored in double figures at least once, with leading scorer Jarrod Uthoff (17.1 ppg) having accomplished the feat in every contest. The Leathernecks are also adept offensively, averaging 80 points and ranking first in the country in 3-point percentage (50.4), and are off to a 6-1 start for only the third time in school history. Guards Garret Covington (17.9 ppg, 52.9 3-point percentage) and J.C. Fuller (16.6 ppg, 63.6) are the top guns for coach Billy Wright, combining for 32 of the team's 60 made field goals from beyond the arc.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network

ABOUT WESTERN ILLINOIS (6-1): His team is scoring well, but Wright is trying to get his players to focus more defensively, especially as they try to adjust to the new rules that are bringing quicker whistles against defenders. Wright is worried his team is too concerned with picking up fouls and not being aggressive enough, so he's trying to reach a happy medium. "We have to contain the ball, right now with the new rule change and the closely-guarded rule, we need to find a balance," Wright told reporters. "Sometimes guys are less aggressive because they don't want to get into quick foul trouble. There is a balance, show your hands and move your feet, adjust to the way the game is being called."

ABOUT IOWA (6-2): McCaffery is hoping for a little more consistency from some of his younger players, especially sophomore forward Dom Uhl. Against Coppin State, Uhl had 18 points, but he put up zero points against Notre Dame and Wichita State and sometimes takes a little time to get going when he comes in off the bench, like against UMKC Saturday. "His success wasn't great (early on), but his energy level was worth me leaving him in the game," McCaffery said of Uhl, who finished with his first career double-double with 14 points and a career-best 11 boards. "Then he was spectacular. I'm just so proud of him and we need it (going forward)."

TIP-INS

1. Covington is 19 points away from becoming the 23rd player in school history to reach the 1,000-point mark.

2. Hawkeyes senior G Mike Gesell ranks 14th in the country in assists with 6.9 per game.

3. Iowa is 8-0 against Western Illinois all-time, outscoring the Leathernecks by an average of 34.9 points in those meetings.

PREDICTION: Iowa 92, Western Illinois 69

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