They had more, just didn’t play them. Iowa only played 9. Minnesota not having Curry definitely hurt them, but they were at home. Based on how they had played previously (not just their last game), they had a chance to beat Iowa in the Barn. Iowa was just too much for them.
Halfway Home: What’s Good with Hawk Hoops?
- Thread starter unoHawkeye
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I thought we would Nunge’s interior scoring ability and rebounding a lot, but we haven’t missed scoring much and Rebraca/Jack are actually rebounding at a pretty similar clip. What I think we miss most is actually Nunge’s ability to protect the rim - especially against bigger players. He’s got over double the blocks per game that Filip has in similar minutes. With Kris averaging over a block per game and Keegan averaging over two, the trio would have provided pretty good interior defense
I am pretty happy with the team so far. I thought before the season that 10-10 in the conference would be a possibly attainable goal and include an NCAA bid. We are still in line for that. We need to feast on PSU, Nebraska & Northwestern and 2 more and we are there.
I love the positivity of this thread. The Murrays will continue to be key to our success going forward. Joe T and Tony defensively, along with Ulis really helping us (and I had no idea Ahron could sky like he did against Minny).
Keep the press going, keep making our FTs, keep doing a great job not turning the ball over, and hopefully JBo gets in a groove again. Gotta keep this train rolling and not lose any more home games. Overall, looking positive right now.
Keep the press going, keep making our FTs, keep doing a great job not turning the ball over, and hopefully JBo gets in a groove again. Gotta keep this train rolling and not lose any more home games. Overall, looking positive right now.
At the midpoint of the season, they are tracking ahead of where I expected. Prior to the season, I said JBo's play would determine whether we make the NCAA tourney. Now it might be up to JBo's lack of play that will get us there. (In favor of more Kris, Perkins, Ulis minutes)
Pros thus far:
Keegan - Knew he'd be good but WOW!
Free Throw Shooting
Joe T at the point - Almost 4 APG, low TOs
Full court press forcing turnovers
Low turnovers as a team
Cons so far:
Rebounding - yikes!
Defense - especially the zone at times
3 point shooting - middle of the Big Ten but lack inside presence so we need them more than other teams.
Very frustrating watching at times but they really are doing well for losing so many players from last year's team. This team is Nunge away from being a solid top 15 team.
Pros thus far:
Keegan - Knew he'd be good but WOW!
Free Throw Shooting
Joe T at the point - Almost 4 APG, low TOs
Full court press forcing turnovers
Low turnovers as a team
Cons so far:
Rebounding - yikes!
Defense - especially the zone at times
3 point shooting - middle of the Big Ten but lack inside presence so we need them more than other teams.
Very frustrating watching at times but they really are doing well for losing so many players from last year's team. This team is Nunge away from being a solid top 15 team.
Tomorrow's game is HUGE for both teams. Iowa wants to improve on it's projected #7 seed for the Big Dance and Rutgers needs another big home win to improve their resume.
This is kinda funny, too!
This is kinda funny, too!
Good observations by others, so won't restate them. It's been encouraging to see Iowa finally have some guys that can create off the bounce. I know Joe, Perkins and Ulis cause roller-coaster stomach at times, but I do not miss the extended FG droughts with lethargic half-court offense.
Keegan and Kris are such versatile scorers that the team doesn't have to rely so heavily on the 3-point shot. The more attention Keegan and (likely) Kris get, the more the floor will open up for others. The only gap Garza had at times last year was holding the ball too long and getting swallowed up by the D. Keegan sees the help coming and dribbles out of it or keeps the ball moving to make the D for help D.
Keegan and Kris are such versatile scorers that the team doesn't have to rely so heavily on the 3-point shot. The more attention Keegan and (likely) Kris get, the more the floor will open up for others. The only gap Garza had at times last year was holding the ball too long and getting swallowed up by the D. Keegan sees the help coming and dribbles out of it or keeps the ball moving to make the D for help D.
Overall the team is better than I expected. Defense is still trash like always, but it really does appear we are going to make the NCAAs which shocks me.
I think the key to the rest of the season is to utilize Kris to his fullest potential .Which means playing him at least 24 minutes a game.
I said he should average 25 mpg unless he's hurt. Iowa needs at least to rotate the 4 best interior players (Keegan, Kris, Filip and PMac) to make sure that the hot hand gets minutes. And they should all average at least 25 mpg, with Keegan getting as many as he can. The 3 inside positions offer 120 minutes so there is plenty of time for each.
I will admit, the 1st half of the Indiana game I was a whiney little bastard in the game thread because the terrible rebounding and effort was pushing me over the edge. Then I feel like the 2nd half of that game might be one of those season turning points. Joe T came out with a ton of energy and set the tone, then the whole team fought hard, boxed out, out rebounded Indiana and handled their business.
I still reserve the right to whine incessantly about some of Fran's lineups and his handling of Joe's minutes. They're going to have a rough go with any team that has a skilled big man, but they are likely to pull an upset or two and have a chance at the tournament. They really need to stay healthy though.
I still reserve the right to whine incessantly about some of Fran's lineups and his handling of Joe's minutes. They're going to have a rough go with any team that has a skilled big man, but they are likely to pull an upset or two and have a chance at the tournament. They really need to stay healthy though.
Wanted to bump this thread because it's time for some additional positivity as the Hawks complete the regular season.
Hoping for some memorable games the next few weeks, certainly have the team to make a run if things go well.
Also, it's interesting to see that ESPN's BPI was pretty close with their predictions at mid-season.
Pretty accurate stuff from ESPN’s BPI for the first time in… ever?
I'm not only a little stitious, I'm superstitious, so I'm required to bump this after a fun weekend.
Time for all of us fans to hydrate, get some electric stimulation, and rest up for Thursday.
We message board posters have put in a lot of time and effort to get this team to where they are at. No taking the foot off the gas pedal now!
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