Hawks gonna need to win 7 of the final 9

[LaQuintaHawkeye]

...to have a legit chance at an outright conference title.

Winning 6 gives them a great chance at a shared title.

Unfortunately don’t see either happening.

Thinking they win 5 at best, but probably only 4.

Still a great season all things considered, and if they get really hot I could see a deep run in both the conf tourney and NCAAs.

Go Hawks!!

 

[TheTruthTheWholeTruth]

5 is a good guess. The rest of the schedule, outside of Nebraska, is a grind. Couple that with spotty depth and we could “underperform” expectations. The one wild card, though, is this team’s toughness. Fran has never had a team this gritty during his time at Iowa.

 

[Suterman]

I have us at a fairly optimistic 6-3 the rest of the way. That would be a vastly overachieving 13-7 in conference and good enough for a 5-6 seed in the dance.

 

[mikesright]

I think 15-5 wins you the conference this year, so I think we'd have to go 8-1 IMO. I think the conference title hope sailed away when we lost at Nebraska TBH. Winning 13 conference games would be a big accomplishment and should net a top 4 seed in the B1G and the NCAA's as long as we make it to the semifinals - I'm pinning my hopes on that. Hopefully I'm wrong and we win big down the stretch.

 

[Ballhawk1221]

Why can't I pick 9-0?

My guess is 6-3. We win all our home games and two of the following three on the road: Purdue, Indiana and Minnesota. Lose to the other, lose at MSU and ILL, finish 13-7.

For Iowa to win the league outright, I think we have to go 8-1 or 9-0 the rest of the way. But who knows, it's been a crazy season.

 

[IllQChawk]

As tough as the Big Ten is this year I'm not sure I want this shortened roster that Iowa has, to play 2 or 3 games in the Big Ten Conference Tournament. If Iowa is already in the NCAA's by the end of the regular schedule, I'd prefer that they get as much rest as they can before the start of the NCAA tournament.....

 

[Ballhawk1221]

As tough as the Big Ten is this year I'm not sure I want this shortened roster that Iowa has, to play 2 or 3 games in the Big Ten Conference Tournament. If Iowa is already in the NCAA's by the end of the regular schedule, I'd prefer that they get as much rest as they can before the start of the NCAA tournament.....

That's nuts, man. Win a few more games and they could improve their seeding. Lose to a weak team and they could drop down a line. There's still a lot at stake.

 

[HeRKeYHoPeFuL]

As tough as the Big Ten is this year I'm not sure I want this shortened roster that Iowa has, to play 2 or 3 games in the Big Ten Conference Tournament. If Iowa is already in the NCAA's by the end of the regular schedule, I'd prefer that they get as much rest as they can before the start of the NCAA tournament.....

Unless an injury occurs, which probably isn't going to have significantly increased chances just from playing 3 games in 3 days, I'd prefer they just win the whole thing and get to the 2 line where you pretty much get a bye in the first round in the NCAA tournament.

 

[sober_teacher]

That's nuts, man. Win a few more games and they could improve their seeding. Lose to a weak team and they could drop down a line. There's still a lot at stake.

All depends on what else happens. If Iowa can get to Saturday, I think that's good enough. To me, it's been demonstrated thoroughly that the B10 title game is completely meaningless to NCAA seedings. I'd give a great deal to have the B10 end their tournament on Saturday. Having the title game end an hour before the committee releases the bracket has hurt the b10 imo.

 

[ZumaHawk]

Black n Gold Glasses here. If we are able to continue to play with no injuries the rest of the season..........I honestly think we will be able to win every game to close out the season. Is it likely? No but, we are in every game and I also feel we haven't shot the ball that great the last several games. We just play our guts out every game. So much fun!! Go Hawks win em all!!!

 

[HawkLogic]

As tough as the Big Ten is this year I'm not sure I want this shortened roster that Iowa has, to play 2 or 3 games in the Big Ten Conference Tournament. If Iowa is already in the NCAA's by the end of the regular schedule, I'd prefer that they get as much rest as they can before the start of the NCAA tournament.....

I would wish for the opposite--- a nice B1G tourney run is good setup for NCAA tourney run. Fran has never made it to a Saturday game in Big10 tourney in his previous 9 years, he is due to at least win 2 games.

 

[Chishawk1425]

I have us at a fairly optimistic 6-3 the rest of the way. That would be a vastly overachieving 13-7 in conference and good enough for a 5-6 seed in the dance.

Beat Purdue Wed and that is pretty likely to happen. I voted for 5 but will change to 6 if we win Wed.

 

[steelrain]

I have been thinking 7-2 the rest of the way with losses @ MSU and @ Ill-annoy. I think we have a good shot at winning the others...not easy by any means but the way this team has gritted out wins so far I think we can take 7 more wins. Hopefully other conference games help us and we win the conference. It would be a great way to cap off the season.

 

[hawkguy77]

Unless an injury occurs, which probably isn't going to have significantly increased chances just from playing 3 games in 3 days, I'd prefer they just win the whole thing and get to the 2 line where you pretty much get a bye in the first round in the NCAA tournament.

Unless you draw a powerhouse 15 seed such as, oh, Hampton.

 

[LaQuintaHawkeye]

Beat Purdue Wed and that is pretty likely to happen. I voted for 5 but will change to 6 if we win Wed.

Iowa has 2 wins at Purdue since 2005.

Not an easy place to win, even when they are down.

Should the Hawks pull it off, I'll back your play.

 

[Chishawk1425]

Iowa has 2 wins at Purdue since 2005.

Not an easy place to win, even when they are down.

Should the Hawks pull it off, I'll back your play.

I agree, it is winnable based on how good we are and not so good they are, will be MUCH closer then it should be due to Mackey and yep they easily could win. Purdue -2 or Iowa -2 type of line.

 

[Underscore2]

8-1 is actually possible. So I’m all in.

 

[EvilMonkeyInTheCloset]

We also need to keep winning to maintain a good seed for the conference tournament.

Right now were in the mix with a few others for that 4/5 spot. But there's about 7 teams currently in the thick of this all, so a lot is still left to be decided.

 

[H4wkfan4life]

We also need to keep winning to maintain a good seed for the conference tournament.

Right now were in the mix with a few others for that 4/5 spot. But there's about 7 teams currently in the thick of this all, so a lot is still left to be decided.

https://iowa.forums.rivals.com/thre...move-up-the-next-2-weeks.302706/#post-7358918

iowa is the only b1g in the top 5(conf), that doesn't play others the next 2 weeks. The other 4 teams play each other at least twice. We'll have our chances to move up if we keep winning.

 

[O-townHawkstar]

Need Pemsl to turn into a Barkley style post player. Get the defender off their feet and knock them down at the line. That would help this Hawks team with his minutes on the floor.

 

[kcgolfer]

7 wins. You heard it here first.

 

[GT Hawkaholic]

I have us at a fairly optimistic 6-3 the rest of the way. That would be a vastly overachieving 13-7 in conference and good enough for a 5-6 seed in the dance.

If 6-3 from here on out only gets is a 5 or 6, I'd be shocked. That would be a minimum of 3 quad 1 wins added to an already very high total. 21-10 with this schedule would be an incredible feat and worthy of a top 4 seed.

 

[SpartyHawk1]

We also need to keep winning to maintain a good seed for the conference tournament.

Right now were in the mix with a few others for that 4/5 spot. But there's about 7 teams currently in the thick of this all, so a lot is still left to be decided.

Need to finish top 4 in conference. Double bye.

 

[Hawkyhawk52]

Usually at this time of the year I’m on the more pessimistic side of things because of all the late season meltdowns Iowa has had, but this team really does feel different. Outside of Garza being in foul trouble and off nights from our big 3(Garza, weiskamp and CJF) I see us in every game to the very end. 6-3.

 

[KuwaitHawk]

All depends on what else happens. If Iowa can get to Saturday, I think that's good enough. To me, it's been demonstrated thoroughly that the B10 title game is completely meaningless to NCAA seedings. I'd give a great deal to have the B10 end their tournament on Saturday. Having the title game end an hour before the committee releases the bracket has hurt the b10 imo.

ALL tournaments need to end on Saturday. Gives the committee 18 hours before showtime to get everything right.

 

[Hawktagonapus]

If 6-3 from here on out only gets is a 5 or 6, I'd be shocked. That would be a minimum of 3 quad 1 wins added to an already very high total. 21-10 with this schedule would be an incredible feat and worthy of a top 4 seed.

I don't recall the quality wins metrics actually helping with seeding. Committee still using the same old tricks to favor the blue bloods.

 

[The Deplorable Sleeping Dog]

Anything that gets us in the top 4 would be a fantastic finish given the depths to which Iowa descended since Dr. Davis left.

Remember, we are Iowa. A little no where place in flyover country. No media cache, little marketing value and a tiny market. Titles aren't for us.

Winning the conference is virtually unimaginable. But getting a nice enough seed for a realistic shot at the Sweet 16 isn't. Win 5 more and I think we are looking in the area of 7. Win six more and I think that high seven becomes a low six and six is a good place to be. I'm thinking we're pretty heavily favored in the 6/11 game and very competitive with anyone that's coming out of the 3/14 game.

 

[Ballhawk1221]

I would wish for the opposite--- a nice B1G tourney run is good setup for NCAA tourney run. Fran has never made it to a Saturday game in Big10 tourney in his previous 9 years, he is due to at least win 2 games.

I don't know if this team is equipped to win games on back-to-back days. With how much we lean on our starting 5, they almost need a day off to recharge the batteries. Maybe, maybe, if our first game was an easy win without a lot of physical banging inside, I could see a run. But considering the depth of the conference, that seems unlikely. Probably we go 1-1. Next year, though...

 

[NI hawk]

ALL tournaments need to end on Saturday. Gives the committee 18 hours before showtime to get everything right.

Agree.

 

[longliveCS40]

5 or 6 would be my guess.

 

[hawk_a_holic]

5 is a good guess. The rest of the schedule, outside of Nebraska, is a grind. Couple that with spotty depth and we could “underperform” expectations. The one wild card, though, is this team’s toughness. Fran has never had a team this gritty during his time at Iowa.

No one knew CJF realistically being this good despite reports he was going to be a big factor. To think no JBo and still closing them out. This team is very close and have that edge that they're here to do special things. I am always scared of the February Fade and with a thin roster it is a concern. Fatigue and such. I just think this personnel is different and having the ball in Luka's hand late is superior to that of Tyler Cook. No knock on Cook but Garza . Connor is tremendous on the floor and Joe W is Joe which is awesome. Toussaint shows tons of toughness and control is coming. Think we will remember this season when the season is closed.

 

[chuck285]

8-1 is actually possible. So I’m all in.

So is 9-0 but don't bet your house on it!!! I'll be glad to take any bets on over 7 wins....

 

[chuck285]

Anything that gets us in the top 4 would be a fantastic finish given the depths to which Iowa descended since Dr. Davis left.

Remember, we are Iowa. A little no where place in flyover country. No media cache, little marketing value and a tiny market. Titles aren't for us.

Winning the conference is virtually unimaginable. But getting a nice enough seed for a realistic shot at the Sweet 16 isn't. Win 5 more and I think we are looking in the area of 7. Win six more and I think that high seven becomes a low six and six is a good place to be. I'm thinking we're pretty heavily favored in the 6/11 game and very competitive with anyone that's coming out of the 3/14 game.

If this is true than it would be great to play North Carolina, a three seed, just because it says North Carolina and they deserve a three seed even though the have 15 loses

 

[FranklinHawk]

Need Pemsl to turn into a Barkley style post player. Get the defender off their feet and knock them down at the line. That would help this Hawks team with his minutes on the floor.

Yep, just need that damn Pemsl to start playing like an NBA Hall of Famer and we'll be just fine.

 

[HoustonREDHawk]

Being realistic, 6-3 finish would be great. I cast 5-4, which would also be good. 12-8 in an incredibly tough league with a depleted roster would be a pretty damn good accomplishment. Gotta admit that I am hoping for more, and at least a sweet 16 dance.

 

[littlez]

Pemsl turning into Charles Barkley? Sure.

 

[Randy Marsh]

This guy has MSU winning the conference at 14-6, Iowa at 12-8 in a tie for 3rd with 4 other teams. If Iowa can finish at 13-7, or 6-3 over the remaining schedule, there’s a better than zero chance they could win the conference.

http://barttorvik.com/conf.php?conf=B10

 

[Eternal Return]

With this year's B1G, I honestly don't know how to predict the results. Iowa could go 7-2 or 4-5 and neither would be an unreasonable guess. The one unknown is if Iowa can beat some "mediocre" teams on the road (Purdue, Indiana). If they can take their toughness on the road and win against hostile crowds then 7-2 or even 8-1 is possible. If not, 5-4 or 4-5 is more likely.

 

[HoustonREDHawk]

With this year's B1G, I honestly don't know how to predict the results. Iowa could go 7-2 or 4-5 and neither would be an unreasonable guess. The one unknown is if Iowa can beat some "mediocre" teams on the road (Purdue, Indiana). If they can take their toughness on the road and win against hostile crowds then 7-2 or even 8-1 is possible. If not, 5-4 or 4-5 is more likely.

For a little perspective, the "mediocre" teams in the B1G are top 50 teams and have a good shot at being the NCAA tournament. Purdue and IU have two of the toughest home courts in the country. Calls just don't go your way on these courts, and this goes back through a LOT of years. It probably even contributed to Lute Olsen leaving...

 

[The Deplorable Sleeping Dog]

For those of us that remember the Big Ten attacks in 81, 87 and 97 know that the our conference will not allow Iowa to win a regular season title.

I think the shenanigans that happened in 81 probably couldn't happen without a criminal investigation into game fixing the obvious corruption from 87 and 97 could and undoubtedly would.

You should be looking for the officiating to become much more possible from here to the end of the conference play.