Kenpom: 3rd most efficient offense

[icantfindausernamethatisntused]

Good News: Iowa has the 3rd most efficient offense per Kenpom.

Bad News: Iowa ranks 128th in defensive efficiency.

Overall Ranking: #40 - which would project Iowa to be on the bubble for the NCAA tournament (Iowa was ranked #37 last year).

 

[anon_i8nzeu2gbf0ba]

That's the story right there, OP. As I said in another thread, if Phil Parker ran Iowa's basketball defense and Fran was KF's offensive coordinator, the Hawkeyes would be Big Ten and national title contenders every year, kind of like Ohio State is now.

Why we have two head coaches in major sports who don't understand that you have to be effective on both sides of the ball is, well, frustrating.

The Hawkeyes played hard last night, but the defense was weak, including giving up four or five crucial offensive rebounds to Michigan that, all by themselves, were the difference in the game.

I like this Iowa team, but somebody has to get them to not only play hard but play smart defense if it's going to end up where it wants to be.

 

[SSG T]

And yet, people keep making posts wondering how they're going to do this or that on offense.

And I said before the season, they'll score, I have no concerns about the offense, even if JBo calls it on the season. Their season hinges on if they can improve their defense. If the can get the difference in efficiency (between O and D) to 17-18, they'll be good. They're at 15ish now.

So, either their O needs to get even better, or they're D needs to improve. Improving the D would be the easier option.

 

[EvilMonkeyInTheCloset]

Good News: Iowa has the 3rd most efficient offense per Kenpom.

Bad News: Iowa ranks 128th in defensive efficiency.

Overall Ranking: #40 - which would project Iowa to be on the bubble for the NCAA tournament (Iowa was ranked #37 last year).

128th out of 347 though.

That's right around in the top third of the country.

If this were college football, we'd be roughly 48th best, and we'd certainly take that if it were our offensive ranking, which is almost as bad as Iowa basketball's defense .

Spoiler

Technically, it's worse because we're 98th in total offense for football out of 130 teams.






But at least we're 9-3!!!

So it's all about perspective, people.

 

[SDHawkDoc]

Can't be taking steps backward in the D efficiency category.

Getting to number 1 on O efficiency probably isn't going to make much difference if D efficiency stays at 128.

I said before the start of the season that getting into the mid 70s for D efficiency should be the target. They've got a lot of spots to move up to get there.

 

[RocknRollface]

And yet, people keep making posts wondering how they're going to do this or that on offense.

And I said before the season, they'll score, I have no concerns about the offense, even if JBo calls it on the season. Their season hinges on if they can improve their defense. If the can get the difference in efficiency (between O and D) to 17-18, they'll be good. They're at 15ish now.

So, either their O needs to get even better, or they're D needs to improve. Improving the D would be the easier option.

That's how the defense will improve.

 

[HawkLogic]

How much of the offensive efficiency is Garza just converting at a high level? Sure, recruit a center with fantastic post moves and just feed him and you got most of your high efficiency offense. Defensively, he's not blessed with athleticism and several of the other players fran plays big minutes have challenges on defense.

 

[SDHawkDoc]

Here are the kenpom league rankings currently:

tosu 2
purdue 6
penn state 11
mich 14
maryland 15
msu 25
indy 29
wisky 34
rutgers 59
minny 68
illini 75
nu 80



Iowa 128



debbie 149


So, Iowa's 21 spots better than a complete trainwreck/dumpster fire and 48 spots behind the 12th "best" defensive unit in the conference.

 

[SSG T]

How much of the offensive efficiency is Garza just converting at a high level? Sure, recruit a center with fantastic post moves and just feed him and you got most of your high efficiency offense. Defensively, he's not blessed with athleticism and several of the other players fran plays big minutes have challenges on defense.

Garza is third on the team in ORtg at 118. CMac is 1st at 134, CJF is 2nd at 131.2.

 

[SSG T]

Here are the kenpom league rankings currently:

tosu 2
purdue 6
penn state 11
mich 14
maryland 15
msu 25
indy 29
wisky 34
rutgers 59
minny 68
illini 75
nu 80



Iowa 128



debbie 149


So, Iowa's 21 spots better than a complete trainwreck/dumpster fire and 48 spots behind the 12th "best" defensive unit in the conference.

To be fair, Iowa doesn't need great D, just good. Now, can they get there? Considering JoeT and BE will be getting more minutes if JBo is out and their biggest current problem is perimeter D, I think they can improve some.

But, it will be at a cost of offense efficiency. So, can the D improvement outweigh the loss in O.

 

[AestroHogs]

Kind of impressed that we put 91 points on the 14th ranked defense in the country

 

[SDHawkDoc]

To be fair, Iowa doesn't need great D, just good. Now, can they get there? Considering JoeT and BE will be getting more minutes if JBo is out and their biggest current problem is perimeter D, I think they can improve some.

But, it will be at a cost of offense efficiency. So, can the D improvement outweigh the loss in O.

I'm not even suggesting they need to be good defensively. I wouldn't call illanoy a good defensive team, but switching spots with them would be a significant improvement.

 

[LaQuintaHawkeye]

Kind of impressed that we put 91 points on the 14th ranked defense in the country

But 44 of those were from one player, and while not dismissing that performance from LG, it seems UM was willing to concede his dominance while concentrating on shutting down the rest of the team on offense.

 

[icantfindausernamethatisntused]

128th out of 347 though.

That's right around in the top third of the country.

If this were college football, we'd be roughly 48th best, and we'd certainly take that if it were our offensive ranking, which is almost as bad as Iowa basketball's defense .

Spoiler

Technically, it's worse because we're 98th in total offense for football out of 130 teams.






But at least we're 9-3!!!

So it's all about perspective, people.

Iowa's offensive efficiency in football ranks 58th in the country (per ESPN's FPI), which is a better apples-to-apples comparison to Kenpom's efficiency ranking in basketball. While it's true that Iowa's total offense ranks 98th in the country, that does not account for the strength of schedule Iowa played, or tempo.

 

[mtown66]

But 44 of those were from one player, and while not dismissing that performance from LG, it seems UM was willing to concede his dominance while concentrating on shutting down the rest of the team on offense.

Michigan wasn't conceding anything to Garza. Seems like you thought you were on to something with the one guy scoring 44 of those points, but guess what, Garza is on the same team as the guys who scored the other 47. And, you DID dismiss Garza's performance so don't try to make like you didn't. You said that Michigan CONCEDED to Graza as if Garza didn't earn his points. I call bullshit on you!

 

[L. Wade Childress]

Michigan wasn't conceding anything to Garza. Seems like you thought you were on to something with the one guy scoring 44 of those points, but guess what, Garza is on the same team as the guys who scored the other 47. And, you DID dismiss Garza's performance so don't try to make like you didn't. You said that Michigan CONCEDED to Graza as if Garza didn't earn his points. I call bullshit on you!

he’s saying that they didn’t double him.

 

[anon_bb9wlf9kj42py]

Here are the kenpom league rankings currently:

tosu 2
purdue 6
penn state 11
mich 14
maryland 15
msu 25
indy 29
wisky 34
rutgers 59
minny 68
illini 75
nu 80



Iowa 128



debbie 149


So, Iowa's 21 spots better than a complete trainwreck/dumpster fire and 48 spots behind the 12th "best" defensive unit in the conference.

correct me if I’m wrong but there are only 3 P6 teams worse than Iowa - Neb, UCLA, Utah.

 

[EKHawk]

Here are the kenpom league rankings currently:

tosu 2
purdue 6
penn state 11
mich 14
maryland 15
msu 25
indy 29
wisky 34
rutgers 59
minny 68
illini 75
nu 80



Iowa 128



debbie 149


So, Iowa's 21 spots better than a complete trainwreck/dumpster fire and 48 spots behind the 12th "best" defensive unit in the conference.

Can you post the offensive rankings as well?

 

[Ihawkhoops]

It seems like we are always talking about hot shooting from the opponent as somewhat of a rationalization for losses. There is also a correlation between playing Iowa and shooting lights out. Teams / players come in struggling against Iowa and are able to right the ship.

A big part of this IMO Is that players are comfortable against Iowa. They don't have a defender in their face contesting shots or making them work to get open. Guys run to their spot or dribble into their shot with little / no opposition. You watch Iowa on offense and the exact opposite unfolds. Wieskamp, Bohannon, CJ have guys up on them contesting the shot forcing them to pass it or dribble away from pressure. Iowa shooters have to move back or rush to get a shot up.

Barring some extremely cold shooting performances, I don't see Iowa beating any mid + level conference teams because they aren't capable of making teams uncomfortable defensively. Lots of guys out there capable of knocking down open gym type shots.

 

[L. Wade Childress]

With this group of players Fran has a great offense and a bad defense. It is what it is. You can’t just change the way of coaching defense and the strategy without affecting the offense. There is an upper limit on productivity based on resources as with anything else in the world.

I would say this group of players would top out as a barely top 25 team even if tony Bennett were the coach.

 

[icantfindausernamethatisntused]

It seems like we are always talking about hot shooting from the opponent as somewhat of a rationalization for losses. There is also a correlation between playing Iowa and shooting lights out. Teams / players come in struggling against Iowa and are able to right the ship.

A big part of this IMO Is that players are comfortable against Iowa. They don't have a defender in their face contesting shots or making them work to get open. Guys run to their spot or dribble into their shot with little / no opposition. You watch Iowa on offense and the exact opposite unfolds. Wieskamp, Bohannon, CJ have guys up on them contesting the shot forcing them to pass it or dribble away from pressure. Iowa shooters have to move back or rush to get a shot up.

Barring some extremely cold shooting performances, I don't see Iowa beating any mid + level conference teams because they aren't capable of making teams uncomfortable defensively. Lots of guys out there capable of knocking down open gym type shots.

Opposing team 3 point % has been shown statistically to basically be random (brief explainer as most people find this hard to believe when they first hear it: of course open 3's are more likely to be made than contested 3's, but there's game theory at play in that the better you guard the 3 point line, the less likely it is that your opponent attempts a 3 point shot. Thus, the ratio of open 3's vs. contested 3's yielded by a defense is generally the same across teams), so in that sense, there definitely are lucky and unlucky nights. For example DePaul made 55% of their 3's against Iowa, many of which were well contested. On the other hand, Texas Tech only made 17% of their 3's against Iowa, many of which were open. For the season, DePaul shoots 36% from 3, and Texas Tech shoots 35% from 3. We were unfortunate against DePaul, and lucky against Texas Tech.

With that said, essentially since Gesell and Clemmons graduated, Iowa has given up a very high rate of uncontested layups and dunks as we've struggled to stop dribble penetration. The streakiness of opponents' shooting can sometimes mask our defensive weakness or make it seem even worse than it is. At the end of the day, we aren't good enough at forcing turnovers, defensive rebounding, or preventing uncontested lay up and dunks, and as a result we don't have a good defense.

 

[LaQuintaHawkeye]

Michigan wasn't conceding anything to Garza. Seems like you thought you were on to something with the one guy scoring 44 of those points, but guess what, Garza is on the same team as the guys who scored the other 47. And, you DID dismiss Garza's performance so don't try to make like you didn't. You said that Michigan CONCEDED to Graza as if Garza didn't earn his points. I call bullshit on you!

he’s saying that they didn’t double him.

Correct. Thanks for the assist Wade.

 

[Mohawkeye]

We have to have Garza's offense, so to me the biggest problem is finding another interior player that can give him better help on defense. I think when we go big and play Kriener with him then we lose too much footspeed. Pemsl has not been the answer either. That leaves us needing to play McCaffrey/Weiskamp/Till at the PF. Personally, I like a front line of Weiskamp and MCaffrey both on offense and defense.

Frederick is a solid defender.

That leaves Bohannon. I"m wanting him to play, but between him and Toussiant on defense it isn't close.

 

[SDHawkDoc]

We have to have Garza's offense, so to me the biggest problem is finding another interior player that can give him better help on defense. I think when we go big and play Kriener with him then we lose too much footspeed. Pemsl has not been the answer either. That leaves us needing to play McCaffrey/Weiskamp/Till at the PF. Personally, I like a front line of Weiskamp and MCaffrey both on offense and defense.

Frederick is a solid defender.

That leaves Bohannon. I"m wanting him to play, but between him and Toussiant on defense it isn't close.

I'm with you on the conundrum of Garza who is a stellar offensive post man but sub par as a straight up defender and a non factor as a rim protector defending dribble penetration. Iowa really doesn't have much in the way of rim protection on the front line no matter which one you choose. I'd give Kriener the nod as the best post defender, rim protector but with Iowa's front line defender options that's essentially equivalent to being the tallest pygmy.
So, go with Connor at the 4 unless the opponent has a beefy and/or tall but slow front line. Then either Pemsl or Kriener. Given the make up of a lot of teams, a smaller lineup could very well be the best option.
We'll know soon enough if JBo will be shutting it down. If he does opt for the medical hardship, then I expect to see a whole lot of Toussaint. That improves perimeter D immediately against the opponent's primary ball handler.

 

[perryhawk]

A big part of this IMO Is that players are comfortable against Iowa. They don't have a defender in their face contesting shots or making them work to get open. Guys run to their spot or dribble into their shot with little / no opposition. You watch Iowa on offense and the exact opposite unfolds. Wieskamp, Bohannon, CJ have guys up on them contesting the shot forcing them to pass it or dribble away from pressure. Iowa shooters have to move back or rush to get a shot up.

.

I tend to agree with this but have no real basketball knowledge other than being a fan and playing pickup games a long time ago.....

So, the problem in trying to use logic on that statement is that Iowa has a very efficient offense...yet they achieve that efficiency playing teams who play us exactly the way you described...and we still score efficiently. That seems illogical to me....my gut still says that we do allow shooters to be comfortable and that is why they shoot so well against us...icantfindaname posted about 3 point shooting results being random..and I like statistics and evidence, BUT I think there are more elements that aren't measured in that statistical calculation.

So, here is my wild ass guess....I think that 3 point shooting in most cases has a LOT to do with confidence when players have practiced the shot a lot and still not had success in a game....therefore, back to your point ihawkhoops, I think when players get comfortable shooting the 3 early they get some major confidence if they hit a shot early....therefore, I am guessing that letting a team or players get off to a good start (Depaul) is the worst thing we can do. IF...RIGHT OUT OF THE SHOOT in the first 4 minute segment of the game, we pushed up on the opposition and made them uncomfortable that we would drop the overall 3 point shooting % by quite a bit....not that we then stop playing defense, but when we are a little late getting to the shooter they still might not be comfortable as they see our guy coming....maybe?

 

[Ihawkhoops]

To be more concise, Iowa plays such poor D and / or teams get so comfortable offensively that an 8 point deficit is more like a 16 point deficit because Iowa has such a low probability of getting enough stops to give themselves a chance to catch up. Iowa got the MI lead to I think 6-7 a couple of times but each time Michigan answered with a dunk or uncontested 3 pushing the lead back to 9 or 10.

Most games are going to consist of mini-runs by each time offset by turnovers, misses, etc. I just don't see Iowa being able to contest enough shots to cause misses or create turnovers.

 

[mtown66]

he’s saying that they didn’t double him.

That is not what he said. That is nowhere near what he said. It would have been easier for him to say that, but he didn't.
That may be your interpretation and I'm sure that he'll climb on, but that is not what he said. And, there were possessions when Michigan did drop down another defender. I recall most of the time that it was pretty crowded under the basket when Luka had the ball.

 

[perryhawk]

To be more concise, Iowa plays such poor D and / or teams get so comfortable offensively that an 8 point deficit is more like a 16 point deficit because Iowa has such a low probability of getting enough stops to give themselves a chance to catch up. Iowa got the MI lead to I think 6-7 a couple of times but each time Michigan answered with a dunk or uncontested 3 pushing the lead back to 9 or 10.

Most games are going to consist of mini-runs by each time offset by turnovers, misses, etc. I just don't see Iowa being able to contest enough shots to cause misses or create turnovers.

The Hawks have played poor defense...but have played decent defense as well. We played poor defense against Depaul for an entire game...against Michigan for most of the game, and SDSU for a half.....those three games out of the 9 games we've played were all or mostly bad. The other 6 were mostly good.

Practice time seems to make a difference. IF we can get healthy hopefully the defense will tighten up due to practices.