I'm not upset with our guys

[perryhawk]

When you consider the home court advantage (some of the foul calls and non foul calls), the extreme pouting and fits thrown by Izzo to manipulate the refs, Joe Ws shooting slump, AND our unbelievable bad luck in losing guys to injuries.......that lack of depth hurt us tonight.

If we get Luka just a little bit of rest in the first half he wouldn't have run out of gas in the second half...and that's saying something with those guys leaning on him and hacking the crap out of him. With Luka at full speed that's a different game.

I don't believe that I have ever said this (at least not with real conviction) but I would love to get a shot at MSU in the B10 tournament, assuming we have a healthy CJ along with the rest of the team.

I said in another thread that I would be proud of this team regardless of these last four games if they at least played well.....and other than some shooting and FT shooting issues I think they did that in this game.

Ryan K, Connor, and I think Joe T were solid contributors in this game. I wish we could have seen more of Joe T in the second half.

 

[Hawksfor3]

I don't believe that I have every said this (at least not with real conviction) but I would love to get a shot at MSU in the B10 tournament, assuming we have a healthy CJ along with the rest of the team.

Fran said he wouldn't play CJ until he was ready. He said he didn't want to insert CJ here and there, but he's looking at the longer term. I agree with him. We have bigger fish to fry, both in the BTT and beyond.

 

[Mohawkeye]

I thought they may have played their best game if the year. Very good defense. Moved the ball offensively. Just didn’t shoot the 3 well. Very happy with the effort and execution.

 

[EpenesaEpenesa]

Get CJ back/healthy. Hopefully Joe W finds his way again. If those happen, I believe Iowa finishes the reg season on a 3 game win streak

 

[SDHawkDoc]

Not lacking in effort. Good game from Kriener. They made sparty earn it.
Need to get CJF back, hopefully with his perimeter shooting intact.

 

[mtdew_fever]

When you consider the home court advantage (some of the foul calls and non foul calls), the extreme pouting and fits thrown by Izzo to manipulate the refs, Joe Ws shooting slump, AND our unbelievable bad luck in losing guys to injuries.......that lack of depth hurt us tonight.

If we get Luka just a little bit of rest in the first half he wouldn't have run out of gas in the second half...and that's saying something with those guys leaning on him and hacking the crap out of him. With Luka at full speed that's a different game.

I don't believe that I have every said this (at least not with real conviction) but I would love to get a shot at MSU in the B10 tournament, assuming we have a healthy CJ along with the rest of the team.

I said in another thread that I would be proud of this team regardless of these last four games if they at least played well.....and other than some shooting and FT shooting issues I think they did that in this game.

Ryan K, Connor, and I think Joe T were solid contributors in this game. I wish we could have seen more of Joe T in the second half.

Blame the refs? What are you....and Iowa State fan?

Winning in East Lansing is tough regardless.

 

[perryhawk]

Blame the refs? What are you....and Iowa State fan?

Winning in East Lansing is tough regardless.

You know it’s bad when the independent announcer(s) point out the home court advantage and the officiating being influenced by it. I loved it when Dakitch said the one ref told Izzo to shut up. That said, Izzo is smart. He backed off the over the top assault where he was going crazy on EVERY call or no call his team didn’t get...gave it a little time and shifted into, “I’m having this seizure and the painful sincerity on my face tells you how wrong that call was you just made!”

If Fran had acted that way we all know what the results would have been. Yep the issues with the refs is legit.

 

[silasstarr]

Blame the refs? What are you....and Iowa State fan?

Winning in East Lansing is tough regardless.

I guess you didn’t watch the game.

 

[Rifler]

You know it’s bad when the independent announcer(s) point out the home court advantage and the officiating being influenced by it. I loved it when Dakitch said the one ref told Izzo to shut up. That said, Izzo is smart. He backed off the over the top assault where he was going crazy on EVERY call or no call his team didn’t get...gave it a little time and shifted into, “I’m having this seizure and the painful sincerity on my face tells you how wrong that call was you just made!”

If Fran had acted that way we all know what the results would have been. Yep the issues with the refs is legit.

Been watching Izzo do this for years and it never ceases to piss me off,... NCAA really needs to institute a rule stating that no coach is allowed to have a private conversation with an official during a game,.. If you want to talk to a referee, then you should have do it in the presence of the opposing team's coach,.. This whiny little bitch from East Lansing has always been totally over the top with this shit, and the ref's treat him like basketball royalty...

 

[Suterman]

We shot less than 25% from 3. That will lose a lot of games in a lot of places.

 

[kcgolfer]

Get CJ back/healthy. Hopefully Joe W finds his way again. If those happen, I believe Iowa finishes the reg season on a 3 game win streak

Getting CJ back will take the pressure off Weisy. Right now he is drawing the best defender and cannot handle it.

 

[perryhawk]

We shot less than 25% from 3. That will lose a lot of games in a lot of places.

Truth....and I agree with you on most everything. BUT if you are offering that up to say that IS why we lost (the sole reason) then I have a different perspective. Part of the reason that we shoot that poorly from three is that the relentless physical assault on our guys wears them down...i.e. Luka. The did call a number of fouls on the MSU front line, but probably 1/4th of them? The constant holding, leaning on, pushing against Luka, with no break because our front line got called for a couple fouls and had to sit.. The end result is that for the first time this year Luka ran out of gas...fairly early. He was fatigued in the first half. Consequently, he wasn't hitting 3s like he normally does. Second, Joe W getting beat up with few or no calls; just adds to his frustration and the shooting slump (primarily mental now is my opinion) is exacerbated by that frustration. Maybe when he gets tackled under the basket and gets to go to the free throw line, he makes some shots and starts to get his groove and his confidence back.

Love your podcast by the way! Keep up the good work.

 

[Suterman]

Truth....and I agree with you on most everything. BUT if you are offering that up to say that IS why we lost (the sole reason) then I have a different perspective. Part of the reason that we shoot that poorly from three is that the relentless physical assault on our guys wears them down...i.e. Luka. The did call a number of fouls on the MSU front line, but probably 1/4th of them? The constant holding, leaning on, pushing against Luka, with no break because our front line got called for a couple fouls and had to sit.. The end result is that for the first time this year Luka ran out of gas...fairly early. He was fatigued in the first half. Consequently, he wasn't hitting 3s like he normally does. Second, Joe W getting beat up with few or no calls; just adds to his frustration and the shooting slump (primarily mental now is my opinion) is exacerbated by that frustration. Maybe when he gets tackled under the basket and gets to go to the free throw line, he makes some shots and starts to get his groove and his confidence back.

Love your podcast by the way! Keep up the good work.

I would never say that our shooting from 3 was the only reason we lost. I hate watching Iowa (or anyone) play in East Lansing because we all get screwed by the officiating and the deference the officials give to Izzo. I love this team too and I think we will play a BIG game against PSY Saturday morning and beat PSU. Thank you for the nice words.

 

[twindman]

I thought the refs were doing a pretty good job until the 2nd half. Just read that we had 11 fouls to 3 in the last 8 minutes. Probably 3 or 4 were in the last minute so during regular play, probably was 7 or 8 to 3. I replayed one foul (HA) that I could not find any foul anywhere. At least I think it was a foul. Announcers never said what happened. There is a defensive rebound by Garza and they blow a whistle. Time out and then when play resumed - they take the ball out of bounds. So must have been no foul, and I didn't see any travel or anything.

 

[Pepperman]

I'm not upset with anybody after last night. I'm more concerned for JoeW as he seems to be in a funk. I think part of it is he is being guarded a lot more closely and most teams sag off Connor, JoeT, and Pemsl while focusing on Garza and Kriener down low. Bakari isn't enough of a factor to make teams consistently pay. Hence, what we all know, that we need CJ back ASAP.

On Izzo, I take a different view than most here. He is a master at working the refs, but he does so in an alternating fashion - sometimes he yells and gets angry, which is what you can do when you've been around as long as he has and you've won as much as he's won, and that's not fair, but that's reality. At other times, and this is KEY, he reverts to a smile and a joke and he gets the refs to believe that he's really a good guy who just gets a little animated at times. Whether any of this is genuine or not, who is to say, but it is what I see and I believe it is his secret to successfully "working" the refs.

Now, all of this said (and notice there is absolutely ZERO mention of any other coaches here) I didn't like how Izzo handled his halftime "interview" with Molly. He deserves a fine for that, but I'm sure he will happily pay it.

 

[Slim45]

Weezy has played very poorly the last 3 games, yet we’re 2-1 in those 3 and almost stole the one last night. So much to like about this team and their hatred of losing. I remember my playing days, i loved winning...but man, not near as much as i HATED losing, and i see a lot of that with this team. The wisc and mn games come to mind where they were down late and just said f this there’s no way we’re losing this game! Just a tough team that hates to lose, with multiple guys stepping up hitting big shots not afraid of the moment. Just a fun team to watch play!

 

[Hawksfor3]

All of the thuggery in our conference (the grabbing, holding, pushing, and occasional nut punching) will probably not be allowed in the NCAA's.

 

[SoonerBeAHawk]

That was such a frustrating game!

Had a decent but tenuous lead most of the game. Just felt like if we could have one person other than LG get hot for a stretch we'd prevail.

Otoh, good effort overall given limited bodies ... but dang ... coulda stole one in EL ...

 

[HawkLogic]

Weezy has played very poorly the last 3 games, yet we’re 2-1 in those 3 and almost stole the one last night. So much to like about this team and their hatred of losing. I remember my playing days, i loved winning...but man, not near as much as i HATED losing, and i see a lot of that with this team. The wisc and mn games come to mind where they were down late and just said f this there’s no way we’re losing this game! Just a tough team that hates to lose, with multiple guys stepping up hitting big shots not afraid of the moment. Just a fun team to watch play!

Minnesota and Nebraska are both terrible. This team is getting by, but really needs an effective JoeW and Fredrick to be a great team. Fredrick needs to hunt more shots.

 

[Slim45]

Minnesota and Nebraska are both terrible. This team is getting by, but really needs an effective JoeW and Fredrick to be a great team. Fredrick needs to hunt more shots.

I agree! My point was, look what we’ve been able to do with cj sidelined and weezy playing poorly. And you’re forgetting the shlacking we laid on osu. Im just very optimistic that this team will do some damage this yr in postseason play with a healthy cj and the good version of weezy. Im almost glad weezy is in a funk right now because there’s no chance it will last and its better now than in 2 wks.

 

[FranklinHawk]

Minnesota and Nebraska are both terrible. This team is getting by, but really needs an effective JoeW and Fredrick to be a great team. Fredrick needs to hunt more shots.

They are certainly struggling lately, but it took a monumental collapse by that Minnesota team last night to lose to #9 Maryland by 1. I still consider that a good road win for the Hawks.

 

[EpenesaEpenesa]

That was such a frustrating game!

Had a decent but tenuous lead most of the game. Just felt like if we could have one person other than LG get hot for a stretch we'd prevail.

Otoh, good effort overall given limited bodies ... but dang ... coulda stole one in EL ...

When Iowa got those 9 and 10 point leads in the 2nd half, Michigan State went on a run to get within 2 or 3 both times. Had Iowa pushed it in the other direction and built on those leads, they’re walking outta there with a W. Missed opportunity

 

[LetsGoHawks83]

When Iowa got those 9 and 10 point leads in the 2nd half, Michigan State went on a run to get within 2 or 3 both times. Had Iowa pushed it in the other direction and built on those leads, they’re walking outta there with a W. Missed opportunity

Absolutely. Depleted roster... But it was there for the taking.

Lapse of concentration when up by 10+ does a lot of teams in. A battle for coaches to get players to keep doing what got them a lead in the 1st place and play with the same focus.

Although 3s were falling early to build the lead... They didn't fall so much late.

On to PSU

 

[sober_teacher]

Been watching Izzo do this for years and it never ceases to piss me off,... NCAA really needs to institute a rule stating that no coach is allowed to have a private conversation with an official during a game,.. If you want to talk to a referee, then you should have do it in the presence of the opposing team's coach,.. This whiny little bitch from East Lansing has always been totally over the top with this shit, and the ref's treat him like basketball royalty...

I would give a great deal for officials to actually enforce the boundary rules. Coaches have to stay within their area, bench players can't step on the court. Those get called...rarely. I would give anything to make that a point of emphasis and have officials just start T'ing coaches up right away, no comments or warnings.

 

[Hawk_4shur]

I have reached the point where I don't think I can be upset with this team or Fran about anything I have seen or expect to see this year.

It's hard to remember too many Iowa teams that have come this close to maximizing their potential. Garza - All American. CMac - has had an incredible year. CJ - first tour of big boy basketball and boy, does he belong. RK, Pemsl, BE, JT - hard to ask more of them.

JoeW - he's down right now, but I can't get upset with him. He's just a great Hawk.

I'm sure there are other Hawk teams that performed at their peak for a season, but right now the one that comes to mind is the 1980 Final Four team. I simply don't think that team could have played any better in their tourney run.

Maybe?