By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

Phil Martelli understands college basketball’s calendar as well as anyone.

It’s why Martelli, Michigan’s associate head coach, provided a calming voice, and some advice, for Iowa after the Wolverines’ 90-80 win over the Hawkeyes on Sunday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

“Hang on,” Martelli said. “You’re all going to be busy in March. Right?”

Well, maybe.

Iowa is 5-5 overall, 0-2 in the Big Ten, after Sunday’s defeat. It was the third double-digit loss in seven days for the Hawkeyes. Of the six halves played on the road against Purdue and Iowa State, and at home against the Wolverines, only the first half of Sunday’s game seemed to go somewhat well for Iowa, and Michigan still led at halftime, 35-33.

It was a bruising early December stretch in a season that hasn’t even reached the crucible of conference play in January and February.

If anything, Martelli said, the calendar was working against the Hawkeyes.

Last Monday’s 87-68 loss at Purdue, he pointed out, came after the Boilermakers had lost their Big Ten opener at Northwestern.

“Going into Mackey (Arena), with them coming off a loss…” he said, and really, there wasn’t much more to add.

Then there was Thursday’s 90-65 loss at Iowa State.

“I don’t think that’s like a really friendly rivalry,” Martelli said. “I don’t think rivalries should be unfriendly, to be honest with you. That’s a little overdone. We’re playing a game here. But Iowa State-Iowa, you could feel it watching that game on TV.”

And then came Sunday’s game against the Wolverines, a team like Iowa searching for an identity.

For Michigan, 5-5 overall and 1-1 in the Big Ten, a dominating second half that included a 15-1 run may have been that moment that shifts a calendar in a new direction.

Something similar, Martelli said, is coming for Iowa.

“They’re very similar to us,” Martelli said. “They need a breakthrough.”

The Hawkeyes seemed to agree and they, too, understand the calendar.

“You just have to stay positive,” coach Fran McCaffery said. “You know, I’m not in there, yelling at anybody. I’m encouraging the guys — we’ve got some young guys in there who are talented.”

“I’ll just say we’re trying to figure everything out,” guard Tony Perkins said.

Perkins knows how quickly things can change. Iowa was 8-6 overall, 0-3 in the Big Ten, after a January 1 loss at Penn State last season. The Hawkeyes rallied to go 19-13 in the regular season, 11-9 in conference play, and reach the NCAA tournament.

Asked what turned last season around, Perkins pointed to the team’s leadership, and right now, in the search for an identity, there needs to be a commanding voice.

The Hawkeyes used three different starting lineups this week, and while coach Fran McCaffery insists that it’s never about who starts, but who finishes a game, it’s clear he’s searching for the right combination.

Sunday’s lineup of Perkins and Payton Sandfort at the guard spots, and Patrick McCaffery, Ben Krikke and Owen Freeman in the frontcourt, was designed to counter Michigan’s size, and Fran McCaffery hinted it may become more of a familiar lineup once the team gets fully into Big Ten play.

The Hawkeyes have dug themselves first-half holes in every game. They were down 45-24 against Purdue, 47-29 against Iowa State and then the two-point deficit in Sunday’s game.

Iowa shot 34.7 percent overall and 25.8 percent in 3-pointers in the first halves of the three games, 45.7 percent overall and 33.3 percent in threes in the second halves.

“We had good shooters with open shots, and they just didn’t go in,” McCaffery said of Sunday’s game. “And that puts all the pressure on your defense.”

Iowa’s defense hasn’t come up with enough stops to get into 

If there is a message McCaffery would like his players to understand, it’s for them to trust their talent.

“I want them to just hoop,” he said. “Trust your talent, go make plays. I think they’ll get better at that.”

“We need to find a way to get stops, get rebounds, and fly up the floor like we usually do,” Krikke said.

Martelli agreed.

“It’s just such a style,” he said of the Hawkeyes’ offense. “It’s such an enjoyable style in terms of, you know, rushing the ball up and down the floor.”

Martelli evaluated Iowa’s talent.

“The big fella (Krikke, who had 24 points) is a really, really terrific Big Ten player,” he said. “Freeman has done really well. Patrick…”

And then he stopped, remembering how, after a technical foul was called on Michigan in the second half, Sandfort, a 84 percent free-throw shooter this season, missed both free throws.

“We’re walking out of here knowing Sandfort missed two free throws,” Martelli said. “That may never happen in his career again. I’m not saying that was a turning point. Maybe there was tension in his body.”

Martelli’s message seemed to echo McCaffery’s — just relax and play. There are a lot of pages left in the calendar.

“They’ll be busy in March,” Martelli repeated, and then he headed out the door.

Photo: Iowa’s Ben Krikke drives against Iowa State’s defense in Thursday’s loss in Ames. (Brian Ray/hawkeyesports.com)