USC jumped out to a 20-5 lead and led by 12 at the half, despite Watkins' failing to score from the field. Yes, USC is good. Lots of size and talent besides Watkins, but after seeing them play for the first time, I wasn't overly impressed. But they are 18-1 and on a 15-game winning streak . . .

Watkins ended up 7-24 from the floor, 1-8 from three for 20 points. She didn't remind me of Caitlin Clark in any way whatsoever, FWIW.

Anyway, playing at home, USC never was able to put the Gophers away, winning 82-69. Minnesota outscored USC the last 3.5 quarters. I hope the travel and a great effort from the Hawkeyes can lead to a great upset on Sunday. We'll see.

BTW: The attendance at USC was reported as 5,243--only about 10,000 short of the standard crowd at Carver. Based on the evidence, it doesn't look like Watkins is a big draw, even at home.

What is up with you people?

A birthday notification pops up. Everyone starts wishing the person Happy Birthday!

A day or two later, birthday person posts a message about how he/she can't express enough gratitude to all the people who thought of him/her on their birthday. Further adding that it meant the world to them and they're so fortunate to have them in their life.

It's as predicatble as the sun rising in the morning. It's like people copy and paste the same stupid shit every damn time.

Were gonna get invaded some day and it's gonna be stupid people like that at the root of the cause.

I’m sure this is a long term play by Wile E. Coyote.

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Good evening and happy Thursday, Hawkeye fans. Big-time game for Iowa at Minnesota tonight, tipping off at 7 PM on BTN.

No new injuries to report for either team. Iowa's report is still just Kennise Johnson; next time I get a chance I'll ask a coach if there's a path forward for Kennise to contribute this season. With the talent already ahead of her and coming in, seems like her best opportunity to contribute on the court is at another school.

Minnesota is still without Mara Braun, who cannot stay healthy with foot problems, but the Gophers are not struggling without her (unlike last season). Minnesota is 18-5 (6-5), and undefeated against unranked opponents. They have a very balanced attack without Braun, which can be more difficult for an inexperienced team to defend as there's often not a "top priority" like JuJu Watkins to help simplify the assignment. (BTW, Aaliyah Guyton D-ing up JuJu and vice versa on Sunday might have been AG's biggest WOW moment of the season).

Iowa opened as a 3.5 favorite but that line has shifted 5 points in Minny's direction, per ESPN. Either team will likely lock up an NCAA tourney bid with a win, and Minnesota hasn't beaten Iowa since sweeping the 2017-18(!) series, so I expect a spirited contest from both teams.

Who do you all want to see have a big game for the Hawkeyes tonight? What's on the menu, @WaterlooChazz???

Trump put an end to chemical and surgical transgender treatment for children. I have been pushing this for quite some time. I believe we will find that the suicide rate does not increase for this population even though their transgender treatment is taken away. I guess time will tell whether transgender care actually does decrease suicidality or whether I am right that it was an activist driven scam.

I can't wait to see the research that results from this executive order.

I can’t wait for spring ball to start, however these gloomy cold days and Iowa BB being trash isn’t making it any better …

I hope the Hawks can surprise next season in Football but I won’t hold my breath. We kinda have some interesting pieces to the puzzle back but will it be enough? I still think it all surrounds around the line play on both sides of the ball…. If we can get stout play on both it frees up so many other skill positions… pound the rock and it will open up the pass and it seems like we might have a dual headed QB situation next year as I think they can definitely complement each other and our RB room is in pretty good hands I would think.

WHO: Rutgers Scarlet Knights (10-14, 2-11 Big Ten)
WHEN: 6:30 PM CT (Thursday, February 13, 2025)
WHERE: Carver-Hawkeye Arena (Iowa City, IA)
TV: BTN+ (tbd)
RADIO: Hawkee Radio Network (Rob Brooks, Kathryn Reynolds)
MOBILE: bigtenplus.com ($)
ONLINE: bigtenplus.com ($)
FOLLOW: @HawkeyeBeacon | @IowaWBB | @IowaonBTN
LINE: Iowa -21.5 (total of 147.5)

21.5 is a BIG spread for a conference game, but the bottom of the Big Ten is pretty weak this year and Rutgers is definitely part of that bottom. The Scarlet Knights have won two of their last four games (their only B1G wins, in fact), but those were also over fellow bottom-dwellers Penn State (1-12) and Purdue (2-11). Prior to that, Rutgers had been on an eight-game losing skid.

That spread is also likely reflective of the fact that Kiyomi McMiller is OUT for Rutgers tonight. McMiller, a freshman guard, has been the Scarlet Knights' leading scorer this year at 18.7 ppg.

GAME LINK:

Heading to West right now for a 7:30 game between CF and IC West.

Will drop some notes and video here later tonight.

In Iowa's (9-3) 95-88 win over Utah, Drew's stats:

29 minutes

2-3 (67%) from 3
1-2 (50%) from 2
......................................
3-5 (60%) Overall Shooting

7-8 (88%) FTs

15 Points
2 Assists
2 Defensive Rebounds
1 Steal

As I said before the Minnesota game, it appears Jan has figured out her rotations, and the players know their roles. Now it's just go play with your hair on fire, play with confidence, and refuse to lose. And despite the horrible problems they faced in just getting to Minneapolis, that's what these Hawkeyes did last night. They came out with the same energy and intensity they showed against USC and, when things got dicey near the end, they took control--including hitting their free throws when the game was on the line. Awesome performance.

And how about those clutch threes from Affolter and McCabe? Wow. McCabe was off all night and had stopped shooting at all, and then, with the game riding on it, she hits that corner three, firing with total confidence. And Affolter hit a similar shot earlier, both daggers that let the Gophers know this one was over.

Feurerbach's defense, once again, was terrific. Hanna and O'Grady have become a dynamic duo in the post, and everyone is boxing out like they're putting together a rebounding instructional video. It's a joy to watch the combination of fundamentals and intensity.

Guyton and Olsen had off nights, but both did what they needed to do to help get the win. Congrats to Jan and her staff and to the entire team for fighting through this transition season and coming out blazing for the home stretch.

Does this explanation resonate with people? Do most people seek out government jobs because of love of country? Or is the pay, benefits and pension a driving factor?

"We provide a service to the public, and we don't do it for the money. We do it because we're passionate and because we care about these lands and we care about the people, the American people, you know?" she said. "So I'm a patriot, you know? I work for the federal government because I love this country. And I want to make a difference.And that that choice has been taken away from me now, and I'm unable to serve the public."

Does the combined attendance for the 3 remaining games surpass the total capacity of carver?

aka does remaining home game attendance surpass 15,500?