I think the Hawks win but it will be close, maybe a 5 point game. PSU has nothing to lose, Newbill is good and while we were able to control him for the most part in Happy Valley, I remain skeptical we can do that again. All the talk about getting a chance at Wiscy on Saturday is a little scary. We can't afford anything but focus on the next 40 minutes in front of this team.
It seems like every time Iowa gets going the last couple years, we experience a setback and this game is kind of trap for that happening again. I think Iowa needs this win more for confidence than for NCAA seeding purpose. They have been playing well and just need to continue to reinforce that confidence and thinking for next weekend too. I also think we need at least 3 other guys to show up with AW, he has been carrying the team for the last couple weeks and doing an awesome job of it, but IMO it can easily drain a player and I think this team is really feeding off AW right now.
While I said close game, I would prefer a 20 point lead with 4 minutes to go, so Fran can pull AW, Uthoff and MG early. And extra minutes saved will be valuable later in the weekend.
GO HAWKS!!!