I am about 50% convinced JBo read this thread and dedicated his game tonight to @Gabe Sifuentes 
Hawkeye Women's Hoop season
- Thread starter IowaNiceHawk
- Start date
Maybe Caitlyn showed him some movesI am about 50% convinced JBo read this thread and dedicated his game tonight to @Gabe Sifuentes
Looking ahead to the Big Ten Tournament, we will either be the 6 or 7 seed. We lock up the 6 seed with a win against Nebraska. If we lose to Nebraska, we would fall behind Michigan State and be the 7 seed assuming that they win at home against Wisconsin. I believe we hold the tiebreaker over Nebraska no matter the result due to our record against Michigan and Rutgers.
Indiana is locked into the 2 seed. If Rutgers (vs. Ohio State) and Michigan (vs. Northwestern) both win or both lose, Rutgers is the 3 seed. If Michigan wins and Rutgers loses, Michigan is the 3 seed.
If we are the 6 seed, we play Purdue first. If we are the 7 seed, we play Penn State. We should be the favorites against either. The Purdue game was close, but we are also playing a lot better now than we were in mid-January.
Assuming we win that game, we probably want to face Michigan in the quarterfinal. They won't play as bad as they did last time, but they're not a great shooting team, and that makes defense easier. We've played Indiana tough, but I think they have too many offensive weapons to make that a good matchup. Rutgers has won 8 in a row since coming back from their Covid break, but they also only played 1 of the top 7 teams in the conference in that stretch. I still think they're a good team, but they got very, very lucky with that schedule.
Indiana is locked into the 2 seed. If Rutgers (vs. Ohio State) and Michigan (vs. Northwestern) both win or both lose, Rutgers is the 3 seed. If Michigan wins and Rutgers loses, Michigan is the 3 seed.
If we are the 6 seed, we play Purdue first. If we are the 7 seed, we play Penn State. We should be the favorites against either. The Purdue game was close, but we are also playing a lot better now than we were in mid-January.
Assuming we win that game, we probably want to face Michigan in the quarterfinal. They won't play as bad as they did last time, but they're not a great shooting team, and that makes defense easier. We've played Indiana tough, but I think they have too many offensive weapons to make that a good matchup. Rutgers has won 8 in a row since coming back from their Covid break, but they also only played 1 of the top 7 teams in the conference in that stretch. I still think they're a good team, but they got very, very lucky with that schedule.
I think they are safely in with their NET ranking but one or two more wins would really cement it. I think this team was always expected to make the tournament or at the very least be a bubble team. I would say they have met expectations not exceeded them.
I agree. Clark has certainly exceeded expectations, and the Big Ten was better at the top this year than it has been recently, but I don't think the team has exceeded expectations. The good news is we've been competitive with every team except Maryland in the first quarter, and everyone on the team should be back. The bad news is that most of the top teams will likely return a lot with a few notable exceptions.
The OSU loss at home hurt. We have to protect Carver. If the team can improve rebounding there's no reason we lose to MSU and I think we can sweep OSU. I'd like to see us at least split with NW. Penn State is really dangerous. Maryland and IN will still beat us. I think we can sweep Rutgers. They are overrated and got the benefit of an easy schedule. IL/MN/WI/NE are beatable. If we can't get 13 conference wins next year it will be a letdown.
They're going to go all season without playing Indiana or Michigan, and Maryland/Ohio State/NW/Iowa only once. They are really fun to watch right now though. Tekia Mack is a blast! She's going 100%, 100% of the time. Taking it to OSU right now (though I don't know how much OSU is in to it anymore.)
Is that 13 wins and 7 losses, or 13 wins and 5 losses? I don't know if the women have permanently switched to the 20-game conference schedule. Just trying to put your optimism in context.
Thanks. I like your optimism, and hope to see enough early from Affolter and Ediger so I can share your optimism. For now, using Dan Dakich terminology, I see a team that would struggle to guard a chair.
Yet somehow as slow and as small as he is, he manages to excel at shooting the 3 at a more competitive level. Oh and by the way, I said absolutely nothing about Jordan playing against women or vice versus. He is presently shooting over 40% from three for his career and is number two all time in 3 point field goals made in the B10.
After reading this thread...I wish your uncle/dad pulled out.
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Why can gabby not drive without losing the ball??? Three times already. She is a point guard- should have the handles- is she just weak???
She needs to get stronger which will help, but also when she decides to drive commit to it & go hard with out second guessing herself. She can also protect the ball a little better, but strength will help with that a lot. It also isn't a strength for her - I'd rather have her launching open 3's.
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I agree, Gabbie is a real threat as a shooter. Driving deep into bigs puts her in position where shooting or passing is difficult. If she can't get to the rim, she needs to pull up to get space to shoot or pass or backup
You both have made good points, but I would definitely say Iowa has exceeded expectations. They lost the Big Ten POY and another 2-3 year starter in Meyer. They basically only had Cziano back and some freshmen, no point guard. They had Clark penciled for PG, but who knew she would make this much difference for them. Add to the fact that the Big Ten has bunch of really good teams, maybe not elite, but a bunch of Top 25 teams, and I would say Iowa has exceeded expectations.
Iowa did not exceed expectations only because they should have gone undefeated at home this season too. Really Maryland is the only team that I don't expect Iowa to beat this season.
Before the season I still expected Iowa to make the NCAA Tournament. I thought Clark would score and assist at a rate similar to Doyle's senior season, or maybe exceed it slightly. I also thought Warnock would step in and be a very good offensive player and rebounder. Rebounding and Defense were my big concerns. I knew they wouldn't be as good as last year's team, but still thought the offense would do enough to be a tournament team.
Clark has obviously exceeded expectations. Warnock is a better rebounder than I expected, though she's less involved in the offense than I thought she'd be in terms of shot attempts. The defense has also been worse than I feared it might be, though I think rebounding (other than in the 2-3 zone) has been better.
Had Iowa won a couple more of the close games it played against Northwestern, Ohio State, Michigan State, or Indiana I would have said that was exceeding expectations. A run in the Big Ten or NCAA Tournaments could change that.
Mostly good things happen in wbb when they drive. A make, a foul, a put back. They bugs are not that big and none have any verticle
It felt like Clark could have gone for 50 last night. For three quarters they tried to work everyone into the offense. Finally in the fourth they let her do her thing. Nice to see Gabby emerge as more of an offensive threat. Monica appears to be struggling a bit. Too often Warnock disappears offensively. Points have to come from somewhere. It's nice Clark could go for 50. We don't want her to have to.
Put aside your sexist arrogance and educate yourself.
The WNBA’s male practice squads lose to women all the time — and enjoy it
Every professional and DI women’s basketball team practices against men, and has for years.www.sbnation.com
‘Get back into the kitchen’: A WNBA roundtable on sexism in basketball
In the 2000 film Love & Basketball, teen protagonist Monica Wright, a tomboy whose family recently had moved to a Los Angeles suburb, meets her new neighbor…theundefeated.com
Kobe Bryant Thinks These 3 Women Could Play in the NBA 'Right Now'
The five-time NBA champion says there are "a lot of great players" in the WNBA capable of breaking the gender barrier.www.menshealth.com
Clark is one of the best women's players in all of the NCAA. JBo is good, but not even close to being one of the best players anymore. They are the same height and Clark has a longer wingspan, is a much better shooter, and has even deeper range that JBo. Dismissing the possibility that Clark could beat Jbo 1-1 is completely ignorant.
Women can beat men at basketball. It happens every day on college campuses everywhere and in WNBA practice squads.
Alexis had an injury in the offseason and it didn't heal as well as expected which has affected everything about her game. Zion was always low on the depth chart. She played more a few years ago when Iowa was plagued by injury but guard depth is pretty good. I think she could be used situationally for defense but she was originally a walk-on and there are more talented guards on the roster.
Speaking of Zion....who would win in game of one on one...Zion Williamson or Megan Gustafson?
If it's a contest on corralling errand passes, I put my money on Gustafson. Of course the degree of off-targetness of the passes should be adjusted relative to their heights.
This is a great write-up on Caitlin Clark & the Iowa WBB team this season, I haven't seen it shared yet. Plenty of stats & analysis makes this an awesome read...
https://floorgame.substack.com/p/ca...aign=post&utm_medium=email&utm_source=twitter
https://floorgame.substack.com/p/ca...aign=post&utm_medium=email&utm_source=twitter
Four storylines to watch at the 2021 Big Ten Tournament
https://thenext.substack.com/p/four...0.jC00fNR7jNCa01zQyuCVupBlV8TcJL05POZLV_ghlw4
Can Caitlin Clark and Monika Czinano propel the underdog Hawkeyes to victory?
Now that the postseason has arrived, Iowa will rely on two of women’s college basketball’s best to create some more magic on the Big Ten’s biggest stage.
https://thenext.substack.com/p/four...0.jC00fNR7jNCa01zQyuCVupBlV8TcJL05POZLV_ghlw4
Can Caitlin Clark and Monika Czinano propel the underdog Hawkeyes to victory?
Now that the postseason has arrived, Iowa will rely on two of women’s college basketball’s best to create some more magic on the Big Ten’s biggest stage.
I thought the coach of the losing team tonight might be done. Bucky's performance certainly sealed the deal.
Something tells me Nancy Fahey might get one more season at Illinois. Despite a good recruit coming in I question whether she can improve the program to warrant another season. There has been no improvement at all.
The other coach on the hot-seat is Sharon Versyp at Purdue, their all time leader in wins. The Purdue program was traditionally a strong program (top 10-15 nationally) but she has really let it slide. I think covid-19 bought her this season so she may be coaching for her job against Iowa in the BTT Wednesday night. The AD was going to a full review last season and says it will now happen once this season ends.
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I doubt too many people will read this but I have question that's not a joke. We have one of the top centers in the B1G in Monika Cz. She leads the nation in % and a great scorer. But is it only me who thinks she could even be better if she would learn to take one dribble when she is just outside the free throw lane. She gets pushed outside the lane, gets the ball in some cases and misses a 8' to 10' lay up. One dribble and she would have a sure lay up and probably a foul. Just me being an arm chair coach. All B1G but could improve very easily.
I think Fahey has a long leash. Since her and the A.D. were together at their previous college.
I see the Iowa game schedule is now set at 7:30 pm. Thought it was originally scheduled for 8:00. The first game tonight starts at 5:30.
It is officially 25 minutes after the first game ends, so could be anywhere from 7:30-8:00.
Imani Lewis 6'1, arguably Wisconsin's best player enters the transfer portal this afternoon. Originally from New Jersey.
