So this is about 4 games late, if you must know (maybe that's why we're losing, as penance for my procrastination.....), but I figured now is as good a time as any. So without further ado, I introduce to you the Good News...the Bad News....and Other News.
Bad News- There will be no specific order in which I present the news, other than to usually assume that the "Other News" will typically come last.
So let's dive right in. I'm going to make another thread about Iowa's poor offense last night, later on, but man.....have they fallen on hard times. Of course, if hard times were anything resembling a basketball hoop, I doubt we'd even hit that.
Iowa's shooting is absolutely broken and it really just kind of happened, over the course of all these close games they've been in. The signs were certainly there, but it was really just a one day it's fine, and the next they're scraping for any points they can get.
Iowa shot 5-22 from the 3 pt line (22.7%). Wisconsin, did worse, believe it or not, shooting 4-20 (20%), but they also obviously made more field goals and free throws (17-27).
Iowa was also outrebounded 49-29, which is just awful to see, especially watching live.
The fact that our 3 pt shooting has fallen off is disheartening. Shooting is a streaky and fickle thing, but it often seems like it is harder for most teams to break out of shooting slumps, than it is to fall into them (especially if you play for Iowa.....because it wouldn't be BAU otherwise).
I also don't want to go into too many details on here, but it didn't help matters any that Iowa's shot selection tonight was arguably the worst it's been this season.
The rebounding issues, however, are a far more alarming and systemic problem. Much like Iowa's defensive issues, it speaks to a lack of fundamentals and awareness/reaction than anything else. People mistake things like poor defense and getting beat on the boards for a lack of athleticism, when really it's mostly just a lack of hustle, effort, or understanding of where you're at on the floor.
Too many times Iowa will have 3 or even 4 guys huddle together within 4 ft of the basket, only to have the ball come flying off the rim and we tip it backwards to the allegedly-boxed out opponents behind us. Or the ball will simply fall in the space not occupied by an Iowa player, which happens to be right where the opposing player comes in for the rebound and putback or kick out.
Yes, some of that can be attributed to Iowa being the weaker team (as many are noting that Iowa plays a lot softer than most B10 teams), but there are also glaring mechanical issues that just aren't getting corrected, and these are issues from veteran guys.
And the bad news is that these don't seem like they'll be corrected before it's too late, as far as this season is concerned.
Good News- There honestly isn't a whole lot of good news to report, but again that's kind of stating the obvious when you've lost 3 in a row in blowout fashion.
If there is anyone left who would take it this way, it is good news that Fran's suspension is over and he can finally put it behind him and get back to roaming the sidelines and inciting officials to make more poor calls against the team just to spite Fran (which has happened over the course of his career at Iowa, whether you want to believe that or not. You can make all the excuses you want and defend the officials all you want, but this is a real f***ing thing).
Anyway, now that that's out there.......Fran can now get his chance to prove he can right this sinking ship before he ends up going down with it. Masochistic Fran haters are tempted to hope it happens.
In other "good" news, Iowa is still going to the NCAA tournament, and I may end up having to make a separate thread for that as well just to calm people the f*** down. I've said numerous times before we even lost to Rutgers that Iowa could lose its remaining games by 20+ points and they would still make the NCAA tournament. The only thing they could do is severely hurt their seeding. Of course, Iowa is also trying their damndest to put that theory to the test. It is also possible that the NCAA chooses to exclude Iowa because they recognize that Iowa is tanking hard to end the season once again, but that is also an extreme assumption, considering that the selection committee typically doesn't make rash decisions like that. They have been putting more emphasis on looking at a team's entire season, and not just that they've lost 4 of their last 5, etc.
But again we can delve into that in another thread.
Statistically speaking, about the only other good news I can give you from this game is that Iowa had more steals (9 to 7) and fewer turnovers (15 to 17) than Wisconsin.
And last but not least....Iowa does appear to be about as healthy as they're gonna be for this point in the season, so that can't be an excuse.
Other News- In other news, Iowa is still in line for the 6 seed in the Big Ten tournament, and thanks to Indiana and Rutgers, our prospects for potential opponents has improved as well....or at least about as well as they could be given our circumstances.
Right now if the BTT started tomorrow, Iowa would face the winner of Illinois-Northwestern, which is slightly better than a red hot Indiana (let Minnesota have them), or a cocky Rutgers team that beat us in our own gym by 20.
Iowa can only fall to the 7 seed, at worst. If Minnesota goes on the road and upsets Maryland, and Iowa loses to the C*** ****ers on Sunday, then we would be the 7 seed more than likely playing 10 seed Indiana. (Btw, I meant Corn Huskers......what did you think I meant?)
Illinois closes their season at Penn State, while Indiana hosts Rutgers, so those are games to keep an eye on as far as who our potential opponent could be.
And that's the news, for now.....
Bad News- There will be no specific order in which I present the news, other than to usually assume that the "Other News" will typically come last.
So let's dive right in. I'm going to make another thread about Iowa's poor offense last night, later on, but man.....have they fallen on hard times. Of course, if hard times were anything resembling a basketball hoop, I doubt we'd even hit that.
Iowa's shooting is absolutely broken and it really just kind of happened, over the course of all these close games they've been in. The signs were certainly there, but it was really just a one day it's fine, and the next they're scraping for any points they can get.
Iowa shot 5-22 from the 3 pt line (22.7%). Wisconsin, did worse, believe it or not, shooting 4-20 (20%), but they also obviously made more field goals and free throws (17-27).
Iowa was also outrebounded 49-29, which is just awful to see, especially watching live.
The fact that our 3 pt shooting has fallen off is disheartening. Shooting is a streaky and fickle thing, but it often seems like it is harder for most teams to break out of shooting slumps, than it is to fall into them (especially if you play for Iowa.....because it wouldn't be BAU otherwise
).I also don't want to go into too many details on here, but it didn't help matters any that Iowa's shot selection tonight was arguably the worst it's been this season.
The rebounding issues, however, are a far more alarming and systemic problem. Much like Iowa's defensive issues, it speaks to a lack of fundamentals and awareness/reaction than anything else. People mistake things like poor defense and getting beat on the boards for a lack of athleticism, when really it's mostly just a lack of hustle, effort, or understanding of where you're at on the floor.
Too many times Iowa will have 3 or even 4 guys huddle together within 4 ft of the basket, only to have the ball come flying off the rim and we tip it backwards to the allegedly-boxed out opponents behind us. Or the ball will simply fall in the space not occupied by an Iowa player, which happens to be right where the opposing player comes in for the rebound and putback or kick out.
Yes, some of that can be attributed to Iowa being the weaker team (as many are noting that Iowa plays a lot softer than most B10 teams), but there are also glaring mechanical issues that just aren't getting corrected, and these are issues from veteran guys.
And the bad news is that these don't seem like they'll be corrected before it's too late, as far as this season is concerned.
Good News- There honestly isn't a whole lot of good news to report, but again that's kind of stating the obvious when you've lost 3 in a row in blowout fashion.
If there is anyone left who would take it this way, it is good news that Fran's suspension is over and he can finally put it behind him and get back to roaming the sidelines and inciting officials to make more poor calls against the team just to spite Fran (which has happened over the course of his career at Iowa, whether you want to believe that or not. You can make all the excuses you want and defend the officials all you want, but this is a real f***ing thing).
Anyway, now that that's out there.......Fran can now get his chance to prove he can right this sinking ship before he ends up going down with it. Masochistic Fran haters are tempted to hope it happens.
In other "good" news, Iowa is still going to the NCAA tournament, and I may end up having to make a separate thread for that as well just to calm people the f*** down. I've said numerous times before we even lost to Rutgers that Iowa could lose its remaining games by 20+ points and they would still make the NCAA tournament. The only thing they could do is severely hurt their seeding. Of course, Iowa is also trying their damndest to put that theory to the test. It is also possible that the NCAA chooses to exclude Iowa because they recognize that Iowa is tanking hard to end the season once again, but that is also an extreme assumption, considering that the selection committee typically doesn't make rash decisions like that. They have been putting more emphasis on looking at a team's entire season, and not just that they've lost 4 of their last 5, etc.
But again we can delve into that in another thread.
Statistically speaking, about the only other good news I can give you from this game is that Iowa had more steals (9 to 7) and fewer turnovers (15 to 17) than Wisconsin.
And last but not least....Iowa does appear to be about as healthy as they're gonna be for this point in the season, so that can't be an excuse.
Other News- In other news, Iowa is still in line for the 6 seed in the Big Ten tournament, and thanks to Indiana and Rutgers, our prospects for potential opponents has improved as well....or at least about as well as they could be given our circumstances
.Right now if the BTT started tomorrow, Iowa would face the winner of Illinois-Northwestern, which is slightly better than a red hot Indiana (let Minnesota have them), or a cocky Rutgers team that beat us in our own gym by 20.
Iowa can only fall to the 7 seed, at worst. If Minnesota goes on the road and upsets Maryland, and Iowa loses to the C*** ****ers on Sunday, then we would be the 7 seed more than likely playing 10 seed Indiana. (Btw, I meant Corn Huskers......what did you think I meant?
)Illinois closes their season at Penn State, while Indiana hosts Rutgers, so those are games to keep an eye on as far as who our potential opponent could be.
And that's the news, for now.....
