87 wins and counting by this year's Senior Class--3rd most in school history

[OnceAhawk]

Iowa Basketball@IowaHoops
87 wins spanning the last 4 years by this year's senior class tie the 1983 class for third most in school history. #Hawkeyes


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[TSWHawk]

So what are the top 2? Do they have a chance to move up?

 

[DanL53]

Looks pretty sure I'll get my hopes answered from the beginning of the season when I said I'd like to see Mike, Anthony and Adam earn 90 victories as Hawkeyes. And maybe then some!!!!!!

The 84 and 85 classes enjoyed four years of 95 wins and 97 wins. Doubtful we can catch those two.

 

[HoustonREDHawk]

So, when they play in the final of the BTT and get to the Elite 8, they can break the record.

 

[DanL53]

So, when they play in the final of the BTT and get to the Elite 8, they can break the record.

I would like to provide some advice about counting chickens and eggs and stuff but mostly yes, it is possible but shhhhhh, be vewy vewy quiet...

 

[HoustonREDHawk]

Not even counting on a win against the Nittany Pussies.

 

[Mountain Man Hawk]

Are schedules today roughly the same as in the 80s or is it like football where they have added games so it's hard to compare number of wins from today's teams to 80s teams?

 

[anon_i8nzeu2gbf0ba]

Records, as Mountain Man is getting at, are pretty much meaningless in college football and basketball, both team and individual. Football's 12-game regular season is 50% more than the 8 games played in the 1930s and 1940s. Then football went to nine games, 10, 11, and now 12. What players did in 8 or 9 or even 10-game schedules versus 12 (plus a potential 13th conference championship and 14th bowl game) cannot be compared.

A similar situation exists in college basketball. Still, this group of Iowa seniors is worthy of recognition for doing something that others, in similar situations, didn't do. But "all-time" needs to be kept in perspective. Until the 1960s, there were a few college athletes who actually played three sports: football, basketball, and baseball. That's all but impossible now with year-round training in every sport and vastly extended seasons. The Iowa baseball team opens its season this weekend, I believe, and basketball started playing games way back in November.

That's why, although I'm a big fan of Desmond King, I was glad he only tied Nile Kinnick's record (also held by Lou King) of 8 interceptions in a season. Kinnick did it in 8 games when teams passed 10 or 15 times a game. Desmond King did it in 14 games...almost TWICE as many as Kinnick played, and with teams passing twice as much.

Anyway, it's a good reward for these Iowa basketball seniors to be recognized since they chose the Hawkeyes on faith and have rebuilt Hawkeye basketball from the ground up. May they collect about 14 more before their careers end.

 

[Hawkeyestate81]

Are schedules today roughly the same as in the 80s or is it like football where they have added games so it's hard to compare number of wins from today's teams to 80s teams?

Seaons are longer now. Our winning % is quite a bit lower then the upper few classes meaning more games to get the 87 wins.

 

[Recruiting Violation]

That's why, although I'm a big fan of Desmond King, I was glad he only tied Nile Kinnick's record (also held by Lou King) of 8 interceptions in a season. Kinnick did it in 8 games when teams passed 10 or 15 times a game. Desmond King did it in 14 games...almost TWICE as many as Kinnick played, and with teams passing twice as much..

To be fair to Dez, though, he got his 8th in our 9th game. So if he'd kept up his pace, he'd have ended with at least 12.

 

[Recruiting Violation]

Are schedules today roughly the same as in the 80s or is it like football where they have added games so it's hard to compare number of wins from today's teams to 80s teams?

I spot-checked 84-85 and 88-89, and those teams played 30 regular season games. This year's regular season is 30 games, though we've played 31 the last three years. The difference between now and then is the BTT, which adds probably about 2 games per season on average, based on our historical performance. It added 4 games max until last year, when it became 5, but 5 is super-unrealistic (by design). This senior class has played in a grand total of 4 BTT games, going 1-3 and exiting in their first game the last two years.

So, compared to the 80's, the current senior class is probably getting an average of 2-3 extra games each year, which is not significant, but adds up to about 10 more total over 4 years, outside of post-season invitational appearances (NIT and NCAA). To date, this senior class has had 8 total tournament games in the NIT and NCAA tourneys.

I'm assuming we're talking about the 84 and 85 recruiting classes, since it was the 1986 squad that made the Elite 8. So the 84 freshmen ended up with 9 total post-season games, while the 85 freshmen ended up with 10.

Postseason games by season:
1984-85 - 1
1985-86 - 1
1986-87 - 4
1987-88 - 3
1988-98 - 2

Tallying things up, it would appear that the major distinction between those 80's teams and the current seniors would be about 1 more game per regular season (~31 average versus 30) and the access to the BTT. So far, though, the BTT hasn't really been much help to the senior class, as they've tallied just one win in 3 years. Granted, they'll have to win a few of those this year to have a chance to reach 1st or 2nd overall in total wins, but they certainly will have earned the right to be as highly regarded as those teams from the 80's if they reach the mid to upper 90's in total wins. This would require them to make deep runs in either the B1G or NCAA tournaments (or both). The potential conference title or Elite 8 appearance (or better) would be enough by itself as well, regardless of total wins accrued.

 

[HoustonREDHawk]

Since the record would require that the seniors finish off this season with a bang, I don't think anyone would question the significance, even if they got to play a few more games. Maybe some of our more critical posters would even give our seniors some props instead of the usual complaints about what they did wrong.

 

[thewop]

Looks pretty sure I'll get my hopes answered from the beginning of the season when I said I'd like to see Mike, Anthony and Adam earn 90 victories as Hawkeyes. And maybe then some!!!!!!

The 84 and 85 classes enjoyed four years of 95 wins and 97 wins. Doubtful we can catch those two.

All we have to do is lose all the rest of our regular season games then win all of our BTT and NCAA games, and we'll be at 97! We can do it!