Wha...What happened?

A/P Photo

Lick is confused to what happened. I'm a little confused to what actually happened. Even John McCain is confused.

It was a really, really weird game for the Hawks.

Devan Bawinkel went ape and scored a game-high 24 points on eight treys. Jake Kelly is still on fire as he gathered a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds. The Hawks shot more free throws, made more deep bombs on 41% shooting, had less turnovers, played in Carver Hawkeye, and still lost.

Granted, Ohio State's Evan Turner took over the game with his 22 points and the Buckeyes as a team shot 55.6% from the field. That's extraordinarily hard to overcome.

I didn't get to attend the game in person because apparently the UI Main Library was in desperate need of my professional services, so I settled for watching a Big Ten Network replay at 3 in the morning. Therefore, I will not write an article, but only offer my observations. I feel like I can't get the proper feel for what actually happened just by watching it on television and looking at stats. I know that barely makes sense, but it's my method.

And. Here. We. Go.

• Jake Kelly has been going crazy and playing awfully well. Kelly is averaging 20.2 ppg, 6.3 rpg, and 3.5 apg over his last six games. He only broke the 15 point barrier three times before this stretch. Three! That's hardly fathomable. I'm not sure what it is; he's getting healthier (though I believe I heard he's going to need surgery after the season) or he's getting his swagger back. All of this coming in the middle of a position switch. Either way, this is the Jake Kelly everyone has been waiting to see all season, if not more so.
• As mentioned before, Bawinkel channeled his inner Justin Johnson. Except, he stretched it out over the entirety of the game.
• Jermain Davis...
• Gatens was his usual solid self. Nothing spectacular, always productive.
• It's unfortunate to see Cy Tate hobbling around for his senior season. He flipped the proverbial switch sometime late last year and had an exceptional Big Ten Tournament (one game). He's a much bigger loss than Anthony Tucker or Tony Freeman.
• It's clear the Hawks are close to turning the corner. Although much of the Big Ten has a lot of young, talented players returning, Iowa returns 90+% of their minutes next year. The starting line-up right now goes: Sophomore (Kelly), Junior (Bawinkel), Freshman (Gatens), Freshman (Fuller), Sophomore (Cole).
• Mark Titus was on the Buckeye bench last night. My roommate Aaron was pumped that he was within shouting distance of him. For those of you who don't know, Titus runs a blog called Club Trillion that is hilarious. Check it out.