I know watching this team right now we are all asking what happened to the team we saw the first half of the conference schedule. The first thing that pops out to me is that they were blowing away teams by 12 points a game. It would have been nice to continue that but not realistic. They were picked to finish 9th in the standings and took their opponents by surprise. The second half of the season they became the hunted and teams did a better job game planning against them. When you look at the losses not one is a blow out loss, the losses are by an average of 5 points a game. Think about that...they hit one more 3 pointer and the opponent makes one less 3 pointer that's a 6 point swing.
It's not as bad as it looks
- Thread starter Razorhawk2
- Start date
The Hawks were playing like a Top 5 team in the nation. Now they are playing like a middle of the pack B1G team. Not fun for anyone, but no reason to give up. Hawks need a win tonight to get some swagger back. If they lose to Indiana at home, I can't see them beating Meatchicken on the road.
While it is true that we are probably like one important possession away from winning a couple of these games, this is where the extremely poor coaching comes in to play. It is well documented what Iowa's record under Fran is for games decided by 5 points or less (something like 11-25). Average coaching would have that at .500, but Fran does so little to help his teams in that last 4 minute window. I believe coaching cost them ISU, OSU and possibly PSU for sure.
I'm not in the fire Fran or even blame Fran camp. When shots are falling for players I don't think the coach should take credit for that. When shots aren't falling I don't think the coach should be blamed for that. Basketball is just about putting the ball in the basket and some nights it's more difficult than others. For the most part these losses have come down to one or two possessions around the 1 minute mark with the game on the line. Opponent makes a shot...Iowa misses a shot...Iowa fouls hoping opponent misses free throws.
Most fans probably feel this way, but it seems like our opponents get much better shots in the last couple of minutes than Iowa does. The Hawks always seem to be forcing something up, while the other team gets a good look. It's baffling. But it must come down to coaching, fatigue or both.
Is Fran not to blame for the same predictable plays at the end of the game? It's either MG drives and looks to score or trying to run Jok and Uthoff off multiple screens when you know they're going to be held and the center is going to help on MGs drive. Heck even when Iowa is up and trying to run clock it's MG driving and either trying to make a layup or get fouled which we all know he isn't a good free throw shooter in late game situations. How about using a timeout and setting something else up.
Listen guys, I get everyone's frustration on this thread and every other thread on this board. All I'm trying to say is that our Hawkeyes are in a terrible shooting slump. If they can shoot their way out of it and I believe they can this season is not lost. You can't play the "what if" game it will drive you mad!
Last edited:
Agree. Our opponents have gotten out on us and into our space making it uncomfortable for our shooters. The guys are working much harder to get shots leading to wear and tear. Combine that with the pressure of being highly ranked at one time and subsequent losing which leads to a loss in confidence. Self doubt is a dangerous thing. This group of kids has never excelled under intense pressure and that may also contribute to Fran's late game record. These guys have played in a lot of those contests.
Hope they can turn it around tonight and get something positive going again. These guys have played their tails off for 3-4 years and won a lot of games along the way so that still is not lost on me. No one likes losing.
Hope they can turn it around tonight and get something positive going again. These guys have played their tails off for 3-4 years and won a lot of games along the way so that still is not lost on me. No one likes losing.
Nearly all of this is true about having to make a shot or two and things look much better. However, when the coaching staff has done nothing noticeable to change the manner in which we try to score, most junior high teams know how to stop us. The only time I can remember Fran really setting up a play was during Gatens senior year when everyone in the world knew he was going to get the ball and they ran different stuff to get him shots. Granted, Matt still worked his butt off to make it work, but nothing since then has worked. Last year, AW just became a bull in the china closet and went to the hole every time during the end of the season. Get Uthoff or Jok to play like that and this team would not have the issue.
Hate to be negative but 2 guys, Jok & Uthof were hitting 3's when these other teams were fortunately not playing well.
We don't match up anywhere with IU, MSU, Md, Wis, Even Mich.
Don't see a bright side, sorry.
We matched up with UM since they had no one to counter JU. Every other team listed does. He just needs to keep being aggressive, and selfish.
Last year Iowa won 6 straight B10 games to get into the NCAA tournament. (That is playing well in crunch time), This year they had a very difficult schedule early on and most people were hoping we would win 50% of those games. We did much better than that and played some of the best games I have seen Iowa play in a long time. I believe that Iowa peaked early so that they could be competitive in those games and they were and they played great. They lost some of that mojo later in the season but were never out of any game that was played. Iowa's won-lost record on the road was terrific and they finished it by beating Michigan who needed the win to possibly get a tournament bid.
I look for Iowa to play very well in the B10 tournament. They have had a great season and most people on this board would have taken a 12-6 record in the B10 at the beginning of the season. The Michigan win is a huge one and Uthoff's play at Michigan I believe will carry over into the B10 tournament and beyond.
So you're saying that it's not Iowa’s level of play that has changed, but that the opponents--apparently now taking the Hawks more seriously--level of play has changed?
I call BS.
Look at who Iowa was beating by double digits in the first half of the B1G season. The second half of the season, where Iowa had its recent swoon, was easily the weaker portion, and should have been a relative cakewalk if they'd played even close to the level that they had been earlier. Teams--no matter how over matched they are--will make adjustments based on what they see in film, etc. But the better team--which Iowa arguably was in every one of the games they lost in the recent downturn--will counteradjust. That's where Fran's teams have had trouble two of the last three years, where the losses toward the end of the season have been mostly self-inflicted.
Apparently you didn't read this entire thread or what I said. Iowa's level of play has changed mainly due to a shooting slump where no one other than Jok could hit the broad side of a barn. This happens in basketball all the time, couple that with this team having a target on their back in a tough conference like the B1G then it was unrealistic to expect a 2 or 3 loss season from this team. The only team in this conference that has shot the ball consistent in conference is Indiana and that is after a non conference schedule of not shooting the ball well.
I think my concern is that in order to make a serious run in the NCAA tournament, we're likely going to need to win a handful of close games - which, of course, has been a bit of an issue.
Between the sporadic free throw shooting, inconsistent blocking out on the defensive glass, and questionable late game Xs/Os and game management, it seems like we typically either win big or struggle late - which is not your traditional tournament run recipe.
On the other hand, if this team gets hot - I firmly believe it can play with anyone in the country.
We actually have tickets to the Final Four in Houston (long story) - still holding out hope to have a dog in the hunt.
Between the sporadic free throw shooting, inconsistent blocking out on the defensive glass, and questionable late game Xs/Os and game management, it seems like we typically either win big or struggle late - which is not your traditional tournament run recipe.
On the other hand, if this team gets hot - I firmly believe it can play with anyone in the country.
We actually have tickets to the Final Four in Houston (long story) - still holding out hope to have a dog in the hunt.
I do agree this team seems to tighten up in close games and that if they get hot can play with anyone in the country.
I don't see the losses as Fran's fault. Definitely things he could have done differently, but this team goes psycho in the last 5 minutes of games. Missing free throws, throwing the ball away, missing layups, and defensive lapses. I would point more to the lack of another scoring option than bad coaching. As we saw when Michigan switched to the 1-3-1, I believe we had 3 straight turnovers trying to throw a bounce pass into the lane with 2-3 Michigan defenders in the area. Even if the guy catches it, he is going no where. Not what you expect from a senior-laden team IMO.
Every BIG win is a big win. UM wanted and needed that game badly. Uthoff decided to get into the lane a lot and he was bailed out multiple times. He got caught with the ball in his chest multiple times and got fouls called that he probably won't get in the upcoming tourneys. Our ball movement, player movement and spacing and late shot clock defense better get significantly better or we are in for a short run.
