FWIW:
- Joe W is on a roll. Tom posted that he was 25 for his last 43 on 3 pointers, so, yeah, that qualifies as "hot". Taking good shots too. You know you are hot when you reverse pivot on a FT line drive and shoot a flat turnaround that rolls in. You don't shoot that if you're not hot, and it doesn't go in if you're not hot. They compared him to 6'5" 200lb Tyler Herro of the Miami Heat, and I think it's a good comparison although I'm not sure Joe W can create off the dribble as well - will need to see more Herro video to be certain. Herro averaging 16.7 ppg, 5.9 rpg on 34% shooting from NBA 3.
- MSU isn't very good, but that wouldn't have kept them from beating many past Iowa teams. This team defended them pretty well, knew the scouting report, and then once they got them down by 15-20 points MSU looked done. They had one final push late in the 1st half and then Joe W (again) buried a 3 and it was over.
- Iowa did a good job flashing Connor baseline when his guy doubles, and they need to find that more often. I think when Connor feeds the post, it's hard for him to get to the weak side where the opening would be - all he can get is a kickback 3 which we don't want (unless it was yesterday apparently). However, if someone else feeds Garza and Connor is already on the weak side, and Connor's guy leaves, he should be wide open on the weak side block. I know we like Connor feeding the post, but when they are doubling off him this might be a better way to make them pay.
- Nunge had a great game - pretty sick stat line and active. He still needs that upper body strength so that he isn't falling away on his true post moves, because with a hook shot there is no need to fall away. You need to stick a shoulder in the defender and make him take a step back, then you can just go up with it. Nunge's arm's look bigger, but he needs some shoulder and core work or something (don't rely on me for training advice!)
- Murray had a great game and just foul trouble kept him from more. I thought I heard the bench yell for him to "get up on him" on a guy located 25 feet out, so I think they wanted to pressure some of the MSU players based on their scout. That caused him a foul or two, combined with the mystery calls from the Refs. I think the Refs got a lot right, but they had 3 or 4 just head scratchers.
- I think we are in the phase where we are playing a deeper roster in anticipation of shortening it up as we near tournament time. Right now I think Nunge, Patrick and Murray are givens. It is just Joe T, Ulis and Perkins who are in question, and I think perhaps only 1 or 2 of them will be playing much in 2 weeks. Right now I think they are looking to see if Perkins can handle the ball well enough to be the main guy of that 3 (Connor can play some point) or not. Joe T played better yesterday, at least in terms of turnovers. Perkins had at least 1 turnover. Ulis is solid but not spectacular. I think the next 3 games might determine who might get less playing time down the stretch. My guess is (A) Perkins, (B) Joe T, (C) Ulis in terms of who might have an edge for more time.
- Garza does seem to have hit a wall where fatigue can cause you to miss some close shots or be a bit off on the 3. He is still spending a lot of effort getting position and running the court, but when tired those contested shots at the rim are hard especially a 5 foot bank shot. Hopefully they can find him some rest here and there.
- Our defense and rebounding were quite good - if we were playing Illinois some of the 3's would have gone in but overall a pretty good effort. Offensive rebounds have hurt us this year but we were ok yesterday.
- Our upcoming schedule has Wisconsin twice, OSU, Michigan, PSU and Nebraska. If we split Wisconsin, and split Michigan/OSU, and can win the other 2 we would finish 4-2. I think that's a fair goal.
- Wisconsin plays Packline defense, which takes away driving lanes but can expose them to 3 pointers. The key against them will be hitting our 3's and keeping turnovers down as there are usually 20% fewer possessions. Wisconin ranks #7 in adjusted defense this season.
- Wisconsins "Tempo" rank the last 5 years: 322, 342, 331, 347 and 334. Iowa is 107 this year.
- To better understand Packline defense, and what it's strength's and weaknesses are, check here for an overview: https://www.basketballforcoaches.com/pack-line-defense/
