Last Night was Encouraging

[BlackNGoldBleeder]

Had a nine-day layoff after a big win over the in-state rival; lost a senior leader for the season; started a true freshman at point guard who struggled; lost a big lead in the second half; overcame all of that and got the W.

The turnovers were obviously problematic, but I chalk a lot of that up to the layoff and some to Cincinnati's scrappy play.

I underestimated this team. You got three legitimate double-figure scorers and a solid eight-man rotation. Last night was huge for Bakari's confidence, which I think has been the main issue with him.

This is an NCAA tournament team.

 

[hooper56]

Good post, you make some really good points.

 

[BlackNGoldBleeder]

Good post, you make some really good points.

Thanks.

 

[SDHawkDoc]

In a year of many good teams and few to no great teams, Iowa looks to be in the mix for a tourney bid. If they take care of kennesaw state as expected, the early portion of the season will have gone much better than I thought and none of the losses to date should hurt them come selection time. With the "right" combination of wins and losses a 9-11 league record could get them in.

 

[crstuff]

Yes encouraging and Jbo tuff to replace. I think we were an NCAA team with Jordan but without him I'm thinking nit is more reasonable. I try to stay focused that it's just for entertainment purposes. Maybe outside of Michigan and Ohio State we will compete in every game.

 

[Ronman]

Assuming we don't crap the bed going into January, we will finish 10-3 for what we thought was going to be a very tough segment of the season. Oddly enough, some of our losses (Depaul and SDS) were games I thought we would win and some of our wins were rather unexpected. Overall, I don't see how you can't be satisfied with the season so far.

 

[Kurt Warner]

Agree completely op

 

[BlackNGoldBleeder]

Yes encouraging and Jbo tuff to replace. I think we were an NCAA team with Jordan but without him I'm thinking nit is more reasonable. I try to stay focused that it's just for entertainment purposes. Maybe outside of Michigan and Ohio State we will compete in every game.

Time will tell.

Going 10-10 in the conference would put them at 20-13 (yes, I'm assuming a W over Ken. St). Get one or two wins in the conference tourney, and they should be in.

I actually think they'll do better than 10-10 in the conference, but again, time will tell.

 

[mazda1]

The conference will be interesting. If teams can force us out of our 4 guard rotation it could be difficult.

I’ve said all along I don’t think we are deep enough to overcome foul troubles and/or injuries. If we stay healthy we look to have an outside shot at the NCAA tournament, but the NIT seems more likely.

Next year I see us in the top tier of the league with a healthy J Bo, and I hope we see a good big recruit or two in 2021 for when Luka is gone. We have to potential to be very solid for several years by adding a couple of solid bigs.

 

[sober_teacher]

I haven't looked at the conference slate in awhile. It seems like there's a lot of quality in the conference, but no one has really stood out so far. .500 conference record seems doable. NET rankings, SOS, RPI, stuff shouldn't drop too much at this point, so you'd have to figure Iowa would make the tourney if they can get to 19 wins, far exceeding my expectations for the year. At minimum, getting on the bubble at least looks very doable barring any more injuries.

 

[anon_qczsdwtnv6esw]

The scariest thing to me is they just cannot afford any more injuries. By the end of the season they will be running on fumes as it stands now. But I do enjoy the fact that Fran cannot make 'Hockey lineup changes' this year! lol.

 

[perryhawk]

Had a nine-day layoff after a big win over the in-state rival; lost a senior leader for the season; started a true freshman at point guard who struggled; lost a big lead in the second half; overcame all of that and got the W.

The turnovers were obviously problematic, but I chalk a lot of that up to the layoff and some to Cincinnati's scrappy play.

I underestimated this team. You got three legitimate double-figure scorers and a solid eight-man rotation. Last night was huge for Bakari's confidence, which I think has been the main issue with him.

This is an NCAA tournament team.

Yep....I will further the notion of the layoff and its effect on play. I was very very worried because my recollection is that in games coming off of final's week Iowa teams under Fran have shown significant rust....or were disconnected in their execution, etc.....it has been a real issue.

In this case we were playing a physical, defensive minded, payback motivated team that had just knocked off a rated Tennessee team.

I do think that these circumstances contributed greatly to our turnover and probably free-throw shooting issues....and yet our guys were mentally tough enough and talented enough to overcome these factors. As ugly as it was, I am very very happy about that win.

 

[owenhawk]

Yes encouraging and Jbo tuff to replace. I think we were an NCAA team with Jordan but without him I'm thinking nit is more reasonable. I try to stay focused that it's just for entertainment purposes. Maybe outside of Michigan and Ohio State we will compete in every game.

Iowa will compete with those teams as well. Not saying they will win but will compete. Even without Bohannon, I don’t see any reason why they won’t be an NCAA Tourbey team. The teams they have beat on the road and on neutral floors are all as good or better then half the Big Ten. If Iowa gets to 9 Big Ten wins they will be in. They only need 8 more in Conference. I think the biggest potential obstacle would be another injury to their rotation.

 

[Pepperman]

First off, I'm wildly surprised at the results so far. I've long been a skeptic of Coach Fran, but right now he's certainly got the upper hand in the "what have you done for me lately" contest...

That said, LWadeChildress made a very good point to me a couple months ago - this team has two players that could very well be all conference and there are some supporting cast members that fill things in nicely. I had asked what that should translate to in terms of results, thinking the answer would be an NCAA berth, and well... hell if that's not possible now?

I'm still concerned about depth, especially with the grind of the B1G schedule. I don't see many positives when Pemsl is on the floor, but we obviously need him. I assume we'll get good results from Garza and JW, so as long as CJ keeps improving and if Evelyn can maintain anything close to what we saw against Cincinnati... well, anything could happen.

Go Hawks

 

[CanadaHawk]

1) No injuries
2) Consistency from BK and JT

Those 2 happen and Iowa competes with anyone and 10-10 looks very possible.

 

[owenhawk]

1) No injuries
2) Consistency from BK and JT

Those 2 happen and Iowa competes with anyone and 10-10 looks very possible.

If those happen, is day not just possible but probable.

 

[Hawk_4shur]

CMac, CJ, Joe & Garza have proven to be mentally tough, as well as physically. They seem to be able to hit shots under pressure. Of course, FT's against Cincy can be used as Exh #1 that I am completely off base.

BE could also join that club if he can play like he did against Cincy.

Iowa has lost a ton of games the last 5 years because they couldn't make enough shots at the end of games, JBo the notable exception.

We'll see .....

 

[The Deplorable Sleeping Dog]

As of today I can think of 100 reasons for Iowa to win 11 or more.

And remember, Iowa BBall is due for some big luck and a surprise season.

 

[CEDHawk]

Yes, everything I’ve seen from the Hawks up to this point gives me every reason to believe we are a tournament team. But like everyone else has said, we can’t afford even one more injury. It’s kind of scary saying we even need a beat up Pemsl to provide rest for other players. And for free throws going forward, I expect to see a lower percentage made due to the players having to play more minutes and we all know free throw percentages go down with fatigue. Hopefully it won’t drop too much as I hate losing games by a few points when several free throws were missed.

 

[blhawk]

I agree with OP on most points, last night was really encouraging in that we played about as bad as we could for a long stretch in second half but still made the plays when it mattered. Just like when refs swallowed whistles in Hilton and they cut it to 7. That shows grit, which other teams of Fran's have lacked in my opinion.

I'd like to think Hawks are ncaa caliber, just curious how we hold up in big ten with no room for injuries and lots of young guys. It's a deep conference, hopefully these guys keep surprising us in a good way. I like this team a lot, even a solid NIT run would be fine with me. Easily Fran's best coaching performance so far I'd say.

 

[walleye hunter16]

Yes encouraging and Jbo tuff to replace. I think we were an NCAA team with Jordan but without him I'm thinking nit is more reasonable. I try to stay focused that it's just for entertainment purposes. Maybe outside of Michigan and Ohio State we will compete in every game.

To be competitive is ALL I ever expect for any of the teams.

 

[EvilMonkeyInTheCloset]

Had a nine-day layoff after a big win over the in-state rival; lost a senior leader for the season; started a true freshman at point guard who struggled; lost a big lead in the second half; overcame all of that and got the W.

The turnovers were obviously problematic, but I chalk a lot of that up to the layoff and some to Cincinnati's scrappy play.

I underestimated this team. You got three legitimate double-figure scorers and a solid eight-man rotation. Last night was huge for Bakari's confidence, which I think has been the main issue with him.

This is an NCAA tournament team.

We've also done more than enough damage in the non-conference schedule to afford not having to rely on pulling off "upsets" as much in conference play.

 

[SDHawkDoc]

As important as it was in that specific game against cincy, it's more important that Bakari continue to bring something significant to the table the rest of the season. I don't expect that kind of offensive production every night, but it can't just be a one off. He needs to be a contributor regularly.

 

[BioHawk]

Well, Toussaint can only get better. If he can just get a handle on his ball control and play a bit of defense I think the rest of the team can get the points. He can make shooting an offseason priority. I think he can get it done.

 

[CanadaHawk]

Well, Toussaint can only get better. If he can just get a handle on his ball control and play a bit of defense I think the rest of the team can get the points. He can make shooting an offseason priority. I think he can get it done.

It is encouraging that Iowa can gut out a win in this fashion with it being a woodshed learning game for Toussaint.

 

[HoustonREDHawk]

This team is playing with more toughness and heart than we have seen for a few years. The only returning player maybe not playing as well as he can might be JoeW, who has still been a solid contributor. If JoeT can get over the jitters and just play ball, this team will be competitive with almost any team. B1G is tough, but Hawks have shown they can win against good teams. With all of the injuries, the Hawks have no margin for injuries, foul trouble, etc.

 

[BBHawk]

It was nice to see BE come through on a night when Joe T was off. And to see the rest of the team pull together to get a win, not at home, against a physical team. Good job Hawks!

 

[HerkysDad]

JT is quick and fast. But instead of turning the afterburners on in the backcourt...I wish he would save it until he is face to face with a defender. Waiting to do a quick change of speed in the front court might keep him out of foul trouble.