- Seth was spot on when talking both at half and at the end of the game about the value of Iowa getting stops and then pushing the ball up the court. It's not all about fast break points, it's about starting your motion offense before all 5 defenders are in a set position - it means that you already have them in "help defense" mode at the beginning, and it's harder for them to pressure the PG and force us away from the paint. In the 2nd half we couldn't stop them, and then they were able to get set and push our offense out further and we couldn't get open looks off cuts and our isolation drives weren't very good.
- Virginia shot WAY better from 3 than they normally do in the 2nd half, so that was a bit of an aberration, but they kept the bench guy in (Murray) who was hot and kept driving and kicking to him, especially in our zone. That's why I thought man would be better because a guy could lock onto him and not help as much, but the other 4 couldn't keep guys in front of them. Thought the Ulis/Perkins lineup was to help slow those drives down, but didn't help a ton. We got just enough defense to win.
- When our offense got stagnant I thought we were trying to get Bohannon the ball too much, or trying to isolation drive from the wing by clearing out a side. Neither worked well, and we ended up with contested 15 footers. I was screaming to use the low post as you can get better looks, you can get kickout 3's or cutters from there, and you can get to the foul line. We FINALLY did it with Rebraca and he was effective (other than at the FT line), but I thought we could and should use Keegan more in there. If he gets doubled, we'll get 3's. Feeding the post helps a ton when they are extending your offense and you can't get guys free outside.
- Bohannon was terrific and made a couple of clutch shots to slow down momentum. His last shot was a bit forced, but these close games are why he's so important down the stretch. Got picked on a few times on defense but overall not bad.
- Keegan was just average tonight - glad his ankle wasn't too bad. Thought he grabbed his knee at first and was like OMG but looks mild. He had that nasty crossover when driving baseline from the wing in the 1st half where the defender fell down - he needed to use that in the 2nd half because he (and Kris and Patrick) got funnelled to the baseline and couldn't get the reverse spin to work. I do like how Iowa is able to isolate guys - they just need to feed the post a bit more.
- Joe T did a pretty good job tonight. Had a few moments with turnovers but made up for them with some nice jumpers and that critical shot late. I do like his standard mid-range jumper off the dribble a lot better than when he drives full speed to the rim or does that low percentage turn around fade away. So far this season is playing better - good for him.
- Patrick played well I thought - nice 3 pointer, couple of other good baskets and good decision making - didn't force too much. Still lacking strength so can get stoned on drives by stronger defenders, but overall nice effort. Great block at the end - thought it was Keegan but his Dad sure was happy
- Kris was pretty good overall - his 3 always looks nice. He is working on his drives but he got caught in the air shooting tough shots a few times when he couldn't get where he wanted. Just has to keep working on it.
- Rebraca is sneaky good as I've been saying and he can eat some fouls inside to protect Keegan. Physical rebounder and good effort guy. His right handed hook is a great shot to have when your team needs a good shot late because it is hard to block, and we don't feature him enough that the defender has seen it much. Had a few other chances to hit him on flares to the 3 point line or rolls to the bucket, but missed him unfortunately.
- We had a ton of guys roll to the bucket that we missed, either on pick and roll, rim runners in transition, or back cuts. We could have had 5 lob dunks tonight probably. The one we did have was great timing though . Just need to look for guys in those situations as they were open a fair amount when we didn't throw it.
- Defensively our rotations were pretty good in the 1st half. They changed up enough in the 2nd that neither of our defenses worked - it came down to try to bleed shot clock by slowing them up the court and then getting 25 seconds of defense. It was too easy for them to drive and kick or drop it off for a dunk. Our on ball defense just has to keep them from turning the corner - I'd rather have their PG pulling up for a 3 off the dribble than kicking to that Murray dude for a catch and shoot 3. Yikes.
- Ulis was solid but I note that when he dribbles he seems more under duress with a defender in his face than Bohannon does....I think it is because he continues to dribble almost straight in front of him, while Bohannon is angled more with his off arm protecting the ball better. Anyone else feel this way?
- They ran through a screen on that last inbound play and the refs ate their whistles. What was odd is that Fran didn't even seem to care about it. Odd.......
Likely that we lose by double digits on Friday given the matchup and our lack of rim protection and defensive rebounding, but you never know. We have enough 3 point horsepower to beat almost anyone, so another good test. We just don't play well at Purdue so hard to be optimistic in this situation haha.
Might sneak into the Top 25 if we can be respectable on Friday.
Go Hawks!
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