Aaron Fuller's Career Game Not Enough for Iowa To Stop Michigan

Well, there is good news and there's bad news in Iowa Hawkeyes basketball. 

First, the good news. 

The Iowa men's basketball team is idle for the next eight days. That means they can go a whole eight days without losing another conference game, something all Hawkeye fans, writers, bloggers, and tweeters will appreciate. 

The good news doesn't stop there, though.

Fans can now follow the progress on the revitalization of the award-winning Carver-Hawkeye Arena, as the university now provides video on a website for all to see. Hawkeye nation can watch the construction happen and hope the Iowa basketball program has rebuilt itself by the time the doors open.

Now for the bad news.

With three of Iowa's next four regular season games being on the road, it appears as though the basketball team will fail to equal the win total of Iowa's football team. Sad, considering that the basketball team plays three times the number of games the football team does.

It's even sadder when considering that the team heads into the home stretch for the season having just blown an overtime game with the Michigan Wolverines. Michigan overcame a five-point deficit late in the game to force the extra period and then took complete control in overtime.

Some might think a career game from Aaron Fuller would have sparked a victory for the Hawkeyes. Fuller battled for 30 points and 13 rebounds, but it wasn't enough to help Iowa come out on top.

Neither were Matt Gatens' 21 points, eight rebounds, and four assists. Neither were Cully Payne's 13 points and seven assists.

Fuller, Gatens, and Payne all had great nights for the Hawkeyes, and all showed promise of awesome things to come in the future. But Iowa just didn't have what it takes down the stretch in other areas.

It didn't help that Jarryd Cole fouled out of the game with almost three minutes left in the second half. With Cole in foul trouble for the second straight game, Iowa looked to Andrew Brommer for help, which helps explain why DeShawn Sims had such a big game.

Sims scored 21 of his 27 points after halftime and erased a five-point Iowa lead in the final seconds of regulation. His natural three-point play off a Brommer foul with 15 seconds remaining, plus his three-point basket with six seconds left, tied the game at 66-66 and sent it to overtime.

It was Iowa's first overtime of the year, and they didn't handle it well. When Devan Bawinkel, John Lickliter, and Brommer are on the court at the same time for Iowa, players like Sims and Manny Harris take advantage.

Brennan Cougill might have helped Iowa's cause, but no one really knows the story on why he didn't play. He very well could have been the deciding factor in this game. Coach Todd Lickliter was asked after the game whether Cougill was hurt. Lickliter responded, "Maybe his feelings."

Iowa now has a few days to brush the dirt off their wounds.

The Hawkeyes visit the Northwestern Wildcats on Feb. 25. The Hawks Nest, Iowa's student section, will be traveling with the team to show support. 

Let's hope they can cheer them into double digits in the win column.