This was in the Athletic this morning. Pomeroy compares teams to previous tourney teams. Ours was Indiana in 2013. Not sure I follow that. (I can't even remember who was on that team). But it's an interesting and somewhat positive write up.
(Obviously can't link because it's a subscription, but here's what he wrote:
Closest comp: 2013 Indiana
Tournament wins: 32
The problem with Iowa is that it isn’t very similar to teams of the recent past. The 2013 Indiana team that lost in the Sweet 16 had the best offense in the country, but the defense was ranked inside the top 30 heading into the tournament.
There are two national title teams on Iowa’s list. In 2015, Duke entered the NCAA Tournament with the 37th-best defense, but got its act together to hold it first five tourney opponents below 0.9 points per possession en route to the championship. And in 2009, North Carolina also started the tournament ranked 37th in defense and held five of its six opponents to under a point per possession.
Setting aside the discussion of whether Iowa’s personnel is suited to playing elite defense the way Duke’s and UNC’s were, the defensive numbers have improved substantially in recent weeks. So much so that the Hawkeyes avoid being compared to first-round losers such as 2012 Missouri and 2014 Duke, who were high seeds and had serious issues defensively. Their improvement may be as much due to opponents having off nights as any sort of scheme change. But the reasons for the improvement may not be that important. The fact that Iowa can experience long stretches where its defensive numbers are among the best in the country is telling. If the Hawkeyes can keep it up, a deep run is clearly possible.
(Obviously can't link because it's a subscription, but here's what he wrote:
Closest comp: 2013 Indiana
Tournament wins: 32
The problem with Iowa is that it isn’t very similar to teams of the recent past. The 2013 Indiana team that lost in the Sweet 16 had the best offense in the country, but the defense was ranked inside the top 30 heading into the tournament.
There are two national title teams on Iowa’s list. In 2015, Duke entered the NCAA Tournament with the 37th-best defense, but got its act together to hold it first five tourney opponents below 0.9 points per possession en route to the championship. And in 2009, North Carolina also started the tournament ranked 37th in defense and held five of its six opponents to under a point per possession.
Setting aside the discussion of whether Iowa’s personnel is suited to playing elite defense the way Duke’s and UNC’s were, the defensive numbers have improved substantially in recent weeks. So much so that the Hawkeyes avoid being compared to first-round losers such as 2012 Missouri and 2014 Duke, who were high seeds and had serious issues defensively. Their improvement may be as much due to opponents having off nights as any sort of scheme change. But the reasons for the improvement may not be that important. The fact that Iowa can experience long stretches where its defensive numbers are among the best in the country is telling. If the Hawkeyes can keep it up, a deep run is clearly possible.
