Game is a toss up. Thinking neither team wins by double digits and both score over 90. I'll take the Hawks 93-91.
Iowa- Zags prediction thread
- Thread starter ThamesHawk
- Start date
Right now I have it as 103-90 Gonzaga. I think Gonzaga's guards ability to get in the lane is the difference maker in the game. I think CJ gets Suggs when Iowa starts in man to man. The issue for Iowa might be when Nembhard and Suggs are in the game together. J bo will have to guard one of those two if Iowa is in man to man. That will be a layup line unfortunately.
Iowa is gonna need to hit 12+ threes and have Luka not get into foul trouble to win. Im excited to see Iowa's communication and how they handle ball-screens. I think Gonzaga is gonna put Suggs and Timme in a 2 man game to try to get Luka switched onto Suggs to draw some fouls.
Iowa is gonna need to hit 12+ threes and have Luka not get into foul trouble to win. Im excited to see Iowa's communication and how they handle ball-screens. I think Gonzaga is gonna put Suggs and Timme in a 2 man game to try to get Luka switched onto Suggs to draw some fouls.
Hawks 90-82.
Neutral site/gym so I thinks it takes both teams a while to get into an offensive groove.
And I think conditioning and depth play a factor and not in Gonzaga’s favor.
Something about this Iowa team gives me optimism that they’ll play up to anyone in the country and get stops when the game is tight.
Neutral site/gym so I thinks it takes both teams a while to get into an offensive groove.
And I think conditioning and depth play a factor and not in Gonzaga’s favor.
Something about this Iowa team gives me optimism that they’ll play up to anyone in the country and get stops when the game is tight.
Im not sure Iowa will play man for more than a couple minutes. I know they start that way usually but this matchup doesn't make any sense to do that.
They're going to put Luka in ball screens and nothing good will come of that for Iowa.
They can switch to man when Joe T, Nunge and Keegan get in the game.
I'll take the over on 12 3 pointers any game Iowa plays let alone this one that will have significantly more possessions than a bigten game.
Bingo.
And I AM looking forward to seeing the Zags’ big guys coming off the bench ... Ballo and Zakharov (avg 7’/250 lbs) to spell Timme and Watson.
The Zags have the size and strength to make things hard on Luka, so if we're going to have a shot at winning, the rest of the team needs to be at their best. As others have said, Suggs is also a real handful for any of our guards. I'd like to see Joe T make things difficult for him.
There are many X factors to this game. First and foremost is the layoff for Gonzaga. From what I have seen if them, the stats don't really match the eye test in terms of their team defense. This leads to the next factor - how well will Gonzaga play TEAM defense against us considering the multi week layoff?
Next, will they be at all rusty in their outside shooting? If they are and we can pack the lane on D while shooting well ourselves then we have a good chance.
Finally, how well do our guards rebound? I have said this multiple times before but our biggest issue on defense is rebounding. We cannot defend for 30 seconds, force a contested shot, and give up the ball for second chance points. I think Wieskamp is HUGE here. If he gets at least ten rebounds then its going to be a good night.
I think this is going to be an absolute shoot out......103-95 Iowa
Next, will they be at all rusty in their outside shooting? If they are and we can pack the lane on D while shooting well ourselves then we have a good chance.
Finally, how well do our guards rebound? I have said this multiple times before but our biggest issue on defense is rebounding. We cannot defend for 30 seconds, force a contested shot, and give up the ball for second chance points. I think Wieskamp is HUGE here. If he gets at least ten rebounds then its going to be a good night.
I think this is going to be an absolute shoot out......103-95 Iowa
Garza is like using the cheat code in a video game. Iowa can win this.
These teams mirror eachother quite a bit.
Timme is a scorer and not great at Defense vs Garza who we all know. Advantage Iowa. Timme is really good though, but he's playing the best Center in the country.
Watson vs Connor. Watson like Connor isn't a scorer. Just a bit bigger than Connor and will have a rebounding advantage. Connor better passer. Push..
Kispert vs Joe. This is the match-up I think will determine who wins. Both guys are mirror images of each other, and whoever gets the better of this match-up should go a long way in deciding who wins. Kispert shoots 45% from 3, Joe 50%. Both rebound the same, play the same, it will be fun. Kispert is so fun to watch. Push
Backcourts:
Ayayi, fast and quick, not a great 3 point shooter. Rebounds tremendously, but not a great distributor.
Suggs - does everything great.
CJ and Jordan. I really think Jordan is going to have to guard Ayayi and sag, allowing him to shoot outside jumpers, as CJ is the better defender and needs to stop Suggs from distributing. Advantage Gonzaga.
Bench
Ballo vs Nunge - advantage Iowa. Ballo is athletic, not a scorer yet.
Nembhard vs Joe. Joe needs to be on him, he's really quick. I think Fran should have Joe shadow Nembhard for subs this game.
Cook, last guy GU plays, as they only really play 8. Another quick good guard.
I think Iowa can have an advantage if we play alot of zone and have GU shoot the 3. They are quicker in the back court and penetration would be killer. Have CJ focus on Suggs all game. I worry about Jordan trying to keep up with this backcourt, thus hoping Joe sees more time. We also have an advantage with our depth. Pat, Nunge, and Keegan will need to once again play well. Gonna be fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Timme is a scorer and not great at Defense vs Garza who we all know. Advantage Iowa. Timme is really good though, but he's playing the best Center in the country.
Watson vs Connor. Watson like Connor isn't a scorer. Just a bit bigger than Connor and will have a rebounding advantage. Connor better passer. Push..
Kispert vs Joe. This is the match-up I think will determine who wins. Both guys are mirror images of each other, and whoever gets the better of this match-up should go a long way in deciding who wins. Kispert shoots 45% from 3, Joe 50%. Both rebound the same, play the same, it will be fun. Kispert is so fun to watch. Push
Backcourts:
Ayayi, fast and quick, not a great 3 point shooter. Rebounds tremendously, but not a great distributor.
Suggs - does everything great.
CJ and Jordan. I really think Jordan is going to have to guard Ayayi and sag, allowing him to shoot outside jumpers, as CJ is the better defender and needs to stop Suggs from distributing. Advantage Gonzaga.
Bench
Ballo vs Nunge - advantage Iowa. Ballo is athletic, not a scorer yet.
Nembhard vs Joe. Joe needs to be on him, he's really quick. I think Fran should have Joe shadow Nembhard for subs this game.
Cook, last guy GU plays, as they only really play 8. Another quick good guard.
I think Iowa can have an advantage if we play alot of zone and have GU shoot the 3. They are quicker in the back court and penetration would be killer. Have CJ focus on Suggs all game. I worry about Jordan trying to keep up with this backcourt, thus hoping Joe sees more time. We also have an advantage with our depth. Pat, Nunge, and Keegan will need to once again play well. Gonna be fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think being off and playing the game at 9:00 am local time for Gonzaga have to be negatives of some sort. With that said, I think Iowa would be wise to slow the game down and make Gonzaga defend as much as possible. They like to push tempo so we need to get back on defense and I think we would be better off playing zone on them to reduce the driving lanes. They aren't the best shooters and a little soft in the defensive interior. i think we can make them run around a lot on defense and wear them down. Then take control of the game in the 2nd half to get the W.
Daaaaa Hawks 398- Gonzaga negative 56. Garza goes off for 195, mini Garza pitches in 36.
(sorry if joke was already used, i didn't read the whole thread)
(sorry if joke was already used, i didn't read the whole thread)
There is really no reason for Iowa to play any man defense with JBO and Garza on the court against the zags.
I don't think the 3/4 court press thing is a good idea either with their guards.
Iowas best chance to win is let Zags shoot 3s and keep Luka out of foul trouble.
Close loss, I feel.
Gonzaga is a 4.5/1 favorite to win the national championship. We're at 8/1, which is AWESOME, but Vegas still thinks Gonzaga is the better team.
I think Gonzaga wins in a close game. They might be rusty from the COVID cancelled games, but we'll see!
Gonzaga is a 4.5/1 favorite to win the national championship. We're at 8/1, which is AWESOME, but Vegas still thinks Gonzaga is the better team.
I think Gonzaga wins in a close game. They might be rusty from the COVID cancelled games, but we'll see!
I think there's a lot of important intangibles in this game. For starters, as someone posted earlier this is like a 9am tip for west coast. I'm sure Few is doing things to counter the early start, but I do think the morning tip will be a factor. Second, they haven't played since 12/2 and only played 3 games. They've beaten better competition than we have, but we've had 6 games to gel with ample, not excessive, rest.
IMO the recipe for a win is a fast start and 3/4 press. They have great guards and can run with anybody so the press will get beat in this game, but it's worth it if we can get them out of rhythm for a few minutes at a time.
Hawks 94-88
IMO the recipe for a win is a fast start and 3/4 press. They have great guards and can run with anybody so the press will get beat in this game, but it's worth it if we can get them out of rhythm for a few minutes at a time.
Hawks 94-88
Would love to see us come out knocking in 3 pointers like we did against UNC. Even early in the game it has to be a bit disheartening for the opposition.
Unfortunately I don’t think we have an answer for Suggs..... I think he, or that match up is the difference in this game.
Things in Iowa's favor: travel - 4 Iowa players have already experienced playing at the Pentagon, Garza, Connor, Weeze, Nunge, Gonzaga none - Iowa averages 5 threes and 2 free throws more then Gonzaga - 4 of Gonzaga's players average 32+ minutes per game, no player on Iowa averages more then 30 - Gonzaga hasn't played for 2 weeks and just started practice this week - Iowa has more experience overall then Gonzaga with 7 players that are either seniors or have redshirted one or multiple years, Gonzaga has but three players that are either seniors or have redshirted - Iowa plays up to nine players, Gonzaga seven - and the #1 advantage for Iowa, GARZA.
Things that favor Gonzaga: athleticism, speed, quickness at certain positions.
Not predicting who will win but I like the Hawks chances.....
Things that favor Gonzaga: athleticism, speed, quickness at certain positions.
Not predicting who will win but I like the Hawks chances.....
Exactly, but we have to be active in that zone and deny interior penetration via dribble and pass. Gonzaga is a TERRIBLE 3 point shooting team overall (261st out of 323 teams, <30%) and if possible we should do everything in our power to make them beat us from beyond the arc.
I think Toussaint plays a lot in this game for his D on Suggs. JBo just doesn't have the lateral quickness to guard Suggs.
Maybe I'm a fool for thinking this, but Iowa has better stats overall in almost every meaningful category, including defensive metrics than Gonzaga. This may obviously be biased due to the limited sampling size and the overall quality of opponents faced to date. Regardless, I think Iowa has a reasonable chance to win Saturday and that's all that any fan can expect in the early stage of the season.
We play zone most of the time so its not really a "matchup".
I don't really have a great feel for how zags will handle a zone. Every real opponent they've played has been exclusively man and they've destroyed man in the half court against everyone except West Virginia.
They all have a tremendous feel for cutting and passing. They're fun to watch.
Im actually most worried about Timme drawing fouls on Luka. Hes an excellent post player and he will be the one in the middle of the zone they will look to operate through.
As good as they are they're still not as good at scoring points as Iowa.
The zags best 3pt shooter would be 4th on this Iowa team so Iowas best bet is to turn this into a long distance shooting competition. If we try to extend the zone out to the shooters they will drive and back door cut us all day.
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Well, even in the zone someone will be guarding him.....at least I hope so.
If this game is in February or during our Frannual rough patch, then we're in trouble.
But, hawk fans it's not.
Iowa Big, 92-79
But, hawk fans it's not.
Iowa Big, 92-79
It'll be a lot easier for Luka Garza to get 30 points than it will for Suggs. And if not Luka? Well--we have other weapons. I'd be worried if I were Gonzaga. It will be a challenge for both teams. And besides, even if we win the pollsters will have us 2nd behind Baylor. It's just how they view Iowa.
Gonzaga has doubled every good post player they've faced so I'd rather see Luka get 20 and 8 assists. If that happens we win.
But only for a couple of weeks. Baylor has to play at Iowa State Jan. 2.
That's a joke, son.
Lots of assumptions we see scores in the 90s. I see a lower scoring game. It happens. Gonzaga coming off a long "rest", Iowa making defense a priority.
Iowa 73, Gonzaga 66.
Iowa 73, Gonzaga 66.
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