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Huge Opportunity Starts Tomorrow

Auger

HB All-American
Sep 14, 2007
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The B1G is looking like it will be top heavy this year with Iowa looking like a clear top 5 team in the league as of right now. Its looking like only about 5 teams in the league will feature in the top 25 this year and be considered quality wins with Iowa being one of the 5. I know I know its early but a lot of B1G teams so far just dont look like they have it this year.

That said Iowa has some good opportunitys in the non con slate to pick up some quality wins that will play a big part come selection time and they start tomorrow night. Dayton looks very much like they could win the A 10 this year. Rhode Island just lost Matthews for the year and VCU looks like they will be having a rebuilding year. Dayton could very well be a top 30 team by years end. If Iowa gets by Dayton they will have Notre Dame. ND looks every bit the part of a top 20 team right now. A win against them would be a huge bonus for Iowa. Win or Lose against Notre Dame Iowa will likely play either Wichita St or Xavier. So far Xavier looks good and very well could be a consistent top 25 team from the Big East this year. Wichita St could be a great opportunity for Iowa this year. VanVleet is a little banged up right now and Frankamp who many picked as a surprise player this year isnt cleared until Dec 12. Wichita St will be a top 15 team by years end but will have a slow start to the season while VanVleet and Shamet heal and they await Frankamp to be eligible.

I'm really hoping Iowa can pick up 2-3 quality wins in this tournament. By years end it could be the difference between a 4 - 5 seed or an 8-9 seed with the way the B1G is looking.
 
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As you mentioned, it is early in the year. A quick glance at KenPom.

This year, followed by the end of last year:
Purdue #9......................... #48
Michigan State #14............#15
Indiana #18........................#53
Iowa #19............................#19
Maryland #28.....................#32
Wisconsin #30.....................#3
Michigan #36.....................#75
Ohio State #64..................#21
Northwestern #70.............#118
Minnesota #80...................#58
Illinois #102.......................#69
Nebraska #116.................#133
Penn State #183...............#82
Rutgers #211...................#215
 
I think Illinois could be a tough team by seasons end. Not having Nunn right now or a healthy Black is killing them. That would be like taking two guys from our top 7 rotation with one being a top 3 player.
 
My pick for teams that will be better by the end of the year would be Ohio State and Maryland. Ohio State is very similar to Marquette, loads of talent but all young. Maryland is better than a top 30 team by far, just need to put the pieces together. I don't have much confidence in Groce, or I would include Illinois.
 
msu, maryland, purdue. I think those 3 have some separation from the next tier.
indy is in that group relative to talent, but having crean at the helm drops them down a notch.
wisky has taken a step back, but how could they not after what they lost from last year's team.
michigan and tosu. good, but not great.

The Hawks, at this very early point in the season, look to be competitive within the 4-8 range. Hope they keep it together through the ups and downs of the year to manage a 5th or 6th place finish. That should get them in the NCAA tourney, which is THE objective.
 
Beating Dayton is imperative if we are going to build our resume. If we lose that game and get thrown into the loser's bracket of the tournament, we will be facing much lesser teams overall.
 
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There's apprehension going against any good team. But I feel really good about our senior leadership and how the younger players are starting to blend into the rotation. I'm willing to say I'll be surprised if we don't come away with a good win vs Dayton and have a good showing in Orlando.
 
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So we play Dayton Thursday and if we win than when we play? Is the Tournament a Thursday Friday Saturday thing? Can someone help
 
Also important for tv purposes. Win tomorrow and the next two are on espn2. Lose and it's back to espn3.
 
I think the OPS assessment is reasonable. ...I'm not a believer in Tom Crean so as talented as Indiana is I don't think they are top 4 in the conference. ..

I suspect Michigan and Wisconsin may well finish ahead of them in addition to Purdue Michigan State and Maryland. Then I believe our Iowa Hawkeyes because of their experience certainly stand a chance to be in the top three in the league as well. That would push Indiana down in the 6-7 range which i think is entirely possible.

As stated above it is still very early.

I am looking forward to this basketball season. As Hawkeye fans we have more senior leadership or senior players in key rolls this year than we have had in many many years. I think that is the key factor for success.
 
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msu, maryland, purdue. I think those 3 have some separation from the next tier.
indy is in that group relative to talent, but having crean at the helm drops them down a notch.
wisky has taken a step back, but how could they not after what they lost from last year's team.
michigan and tosu. good, but not great.

The Hawks, at this very early point in the season, look to be competitive within the 4-8 range. Hope they keep it together through the ups and downs of the year to manage a 5th or 6th place finish. That should get them in the NCAA tourney, which is THE objective.

Definitely don't see those teams as having any seperation from Iowa at this point.
 
So we play Dayton Thursday and if we win than when we play? Is the Tournament a Thursday Friday Saturday thing? Can someone help

If we beat Dayton, we would play the winner of Monmouth/Notre Dame at 8:30PM Friday. If we win that game, we would play in the Championship game on Sunday at 3:30PM.
 
Before the game. Not to be a downer. But, Dayton is a solid team with a very good coach. They play in your face defense. All respect to them and I think the Hawkeyes can win this, but if we don't? Remember that last year we started with two early losses to Texas and Syracuse and still made a pretty darn good season when all was said and done.

If one runs through Dayton's recruiting it is very similar to Iowa's, they don't get the highest ranked of kids, just kids that can play the game.
 
As you mentioned, it is early in the year. A quick glance at KenPom.

This year, followed by the end of last year:
Purdue #9......................... #48
Michigan State #14............#15
Indiana #18........................#53
Iowa #19............................#19
Maryland #28.....................#32
Wisconsin #30.....................#3
Michigan #36.....................#75
Ohio State #64..................#21
Northwestern #70.............#118
Minnesota #80...................#58
Illinois #102.......................#69
Nebraska #116.................#133
Penn State #183...............#82
Rutgers #211...................#215
JFC Rutgers, could you contribute to the conference in even one sport, ever????
 
Yep We will know a lot more about how good the Hawks are after the next few days. Dayton game is huge for both teams, so it should be a great game.
 
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