Iowa opens as 3 point favorite over UConn
- Thread starter Franisdaman
- Start date
I’m scared. Anyone who ever thought they’d see the day when we were a favorite over UConn raise their hand.
Home court is worth 3 points.
Probably a toss up on a neutral floor
Probably a toss up on a neutral floor
I don't know much about UConn, or how well we match up against them. Hope CC is able to lock down that Paige.
Gabbie Marshall will be on Paige in the brief periods of time they aren't in a zone defense. They may have to play more man to man though since UConn can hit 3's.
The rebounding should be in Iowa's favor and I expect Hannah to have a bounce back game.
Iowa's defense in the 3rd quarter won the game against LSU.
This Iowa team is on a mission.
They have a clear inside-out game, but their bigs can actually handle the ball away from the basket.
They aren't all particularly deadly shooters. Moreover capable. Some of that has to do with their injuries, though.
So in that regard, if we can keep Edwards from owning the lane, getting isolated and driving by Stuelke and O'Grady with no help, I wouldn't have as much concern about Edwards ever looking to drive and kick. Committing help and forcing that and living with the results will need to be a focus.
And then of course there's Beuckers who is a step slower because of her knee injuries, so they run a sh** ton more sets and screens for her to generate shots and open lanes for her to find her teammates off the dribble.
How Iowa helps on the screens in man, and rotates off that help is gonna make a big difference in whether we can keep them in check or not. They started to find their shot against USC, but I felt USC also played about as I expected an inexperienced group to play in a big moment. Iowa will have that veteran experience compared to USC.
Hopefully, it's not a case where UConn all of the sudden has found their consistent, high-level offense at the worst time for everyone else, and they go back to struggling like they have for the most part throughout this tournament.
The other key will be how they handle what I assume Geno will do to limit Clark.
My guess is Geno will be arrogant and want to focus the defense entirely on taking away Clark and force the rest of the team to beat them, also hoping that it will allow Paige to shine so he can say how right he was that he had the best player and that Caitlin was just another player in the moment.
It's no secret, though, that Iowa's supporting cast absolutely has to continue to step up for Iowa to continue. That was the key offensively for Iowa from the Colorado game on. It's just a matter of the competition getting tougher each game.
UConn is playing w/ 6-7 players right now due to injuries. They were in trouble w fouls going into 4th quarter.
Iowa need to RUN them into the ground which will rack up fouls. They might win individual 1:1 but collectively, Iowa can win this.
Iowa need to RUN them into the ground which will rack up fouls. They might win individual 1:1 but collectively, Iowa can win this.
We can do it!! I have never liked their coach. To me he comes off way too arrogant. I know he's the coaching standar, but come on, have a little humility. He's not as offensive as Mulkey, but he's close in my book. Then if we win don't even get me started on the SC coach.
We'd be a 3.5 pt favorite over UConn with an O/U of 12.5
They looked slow to me. Iowa should run'em off the court. Hawks average 90+ pts a game, CC only gets 32 of those. I'd say the supporting cast has stepped up all season.
I agree with trying to run them out of the gym. But it is worth noting that Iowa's bench is not really much deeper.
Geno hasn't adjusted to the fact that his isn't the only program in the sport anymore. For years it was UConn and everyone else. Those days are long gone, and he can't handle it. Get ready for more disappointment, Geno, cuz here come the Hawkeyes.
Much talk about UConn and their injuries, rightfully so, but the ESPN recruiting rankings of the players in last night's game for UConn were 1, 5, 6, 15, 23, 41, and unranked (foreign PG Muhl). I don't know how they can survive having to put that team out there.
That is where all of the talk about Clark vs other players gets missed. If Clark played for UConn, she would probably average 15-20 points and 12 assists a game.
That is where all of the talk about Clark vs other players gets missed. If Clark played for UConn, she would probably average 15-20 points and 12 assists a game.
Hasn't adjusted? His team has lost 4 key players to season-ending injuries and he has his team in the final 4. It's easy to not like the guy, but he can coach.
Its no different than the game plan against LSU, even though USC tried it they weren't as efficient as needed to be on scoring in transition and speeding up the game. We need them to play at our tempo. With 3 players going the full 40 every game you need to run them out of the gym. Also run them through screens, make them work on defense.
That’s the thing, playing at Iowa’s tempo is exhausting to even watch, let alone defend. When you get tired defensively, plays tend to reach and get fouls. During UConn game, they said all their losses to athletic teams in sweet sixteen. No one in country scores more than Iowa which means the pace is there to beat them. Edwards is good in the post, but Stuelke speed up and down court can counter that, with O’Grady adding extra fouls UConn doesn’t have. Gabby guarding Paige means Paige going to have double effort on CC? This felt like the better matchup than USC
UCONN has a very short bench. Iowa hopefully will wear them out.
Absolutely this….⬆️ and I’ve been saying it all year. This is a very good basketball “team”..!
Yes and no…I’m happy to play UCONN, in fact you may say it was just another part of the script. With that said, we would’ve smoked USC, in my mind.
I wasn’t frightened by any of those PAC 12 teams all year.
I feel more comfortable with our chances of beating UConn than I did in beating LSU.
Good post but I disagree with your last sentence. USC and juju are very talented and a good team, but they are young and a little rough around the edges. Iowa would have rolled USC. UConn will give us fits and geno can flat out coach.
Last edited:
kf used to coach there didn't he? no maybe not, maybe that was maine black bears. maybe bobby diaco did though?
yeah it does feel like the uconn game will decide the NC winner. after that tough and high caliber game against lsu it will be a challenge for iowa to maintain focus and do it again.
I agree. The more talented athletic team is USC with a deeper bench. There is no room for error with a team like UConn. The other thing is they have 3 poor free throw shooters for end game situations.
It is amazing how much we run and gun with so few minutes from our bench.
Think of the cardio shape our starters must be in.
Minutes vs LSU:
40: Clark
40: Marshall
39: Martin
37: Affolter
21: Stuelke
..............................
15: O'Grady
5: Feuerbach
3: Ediger
..............................
200 TOTAL
=============
Last edited:
But CAN he? Or is he mostly a great recruiter? I don't know how to look it up, but I bet beyond CC we don't have anyone rated above 20 and probably only 1 or 2 in the top 50. Think what Lisa could do with 5 players rated better than 30 like Uconn.
You can’t rescind the bulletin board material!
A Geno Auriemma coached team is not what you want to run into in the Final 4. He's just done it too many times. That name worries me over basically any other name they could play. Similar to running into Kim Mulkey last year. I didn't want Iowa to play her.
First quarter could be a little rough for Iowa, but I feel like the hawks are pretty locked in right now.
Per ESPN 100, these are the recruiting rankings for UConn, S Car, LSU and Iowa players this year:
UConn
1
1
4
5
5
6
15
15
21
23
41
3 Foreign players unranked
S. Car
2
4
5
11
12
13
14
17
25
40
63
1 Unranked
LSU
2
2
7
7
26
44
51
58
73
Morrow was unranked but 18th at her position
1 Foreign unranked and 1 walk-on
Iowa
4 - Clark
39 - Ediger
45 - Stuelke
71 - Feurbach
76 - Gyamfi
84 - Ava Jones
89 - McCabe
92 - O'Grady
6 unranked.
This is why the whole discussion about where CC ranks all-time is ridiculous. She isn't surrounded by All-American talent and has still led two teams to the final four.
BirdistheWord
HB Heisman
Agree the are not much deeper....but their conditioning seems MUCH better than other teams, simply because they are used to going fast in practice and in games. I would make Paige run as much as you can and see if she can hold up. Also with us it is not one or two people getting up the floor quick....every single one of them for their position is quick up and down the floor.
With all due respect to Geno, he's never had to face a team with a star that shines brighter than any of his until now. He has a very good team this year, but it's not a truly great one like he's had in years past, so he can't simply rely on a talent advantage. And he knows as well as anyone that you just can't game plan around CC - you just can't. The best he can hope for is that CC has a somewhat "off" game and that the other 4 can be pushed around, but as LSU learned the hard way last night, that very well could backfire.
Honestly, Geno probably needs to let Paige do her best Caitlin impression. 18-24 points and 10 assists isn't going to cut it - she probably needs to score around 30.
Similar threads
