I just watched the YouTube video of Iowa's second game against MSU after watching a replay of the Iowa-OSU game (and a day after watching the replay of the WI game). The big difference? Iowa looked relaxed, confidant, and MADE OPEN SHOTS. Uthoff looked about 20 years younger in the MSU game, no weight on his shoulders at all. Jok wasn't getting mugged on every back-cut or inside screen. Ellingson actually played and even though he didn't do anything special, he also didn't make mistakes (when is the last time he saw the floor?). Gesell had two early fouls, but played within himself the second half (and in fairness, played well against WI and OSU). Clemmons played a monster game against MSU, decent against WI, not so much against OSU. Woodbury was solid against MSU, great against UW, HORRIBLE down the stretch against OSU. Uhl played relaxed yet aggressive against MSU, so-so vs. Wisconsin, decent against OSU (and probably should have been in the game in the final minutes instead of Woodbury given how off he was).
The really big thing I noticed, though, was the defensive intensity of WI and OSU (and earlier Penn State) against Iowa compared to the relative weakness of intensity MSU played with in January. Iowa was the aggressor back then, unafraid to fail. Now it's the other way around, Iowa looking scared to lose and other teams hungry to win. I'm not sure if they can get that hunger back or not, but the biggest key is Iowa not flowing well on offense and making their shots versus teams playing much more aggressively on defense and not afraid to foul Iowa. The fouling, even though Iowa goes to the line, has disrupted Iowa's offensive and defensive flow, especially transition. Notice how much teams are subbing guys after made or missed baskets, too, not so much for match ups or anything like that, but to stunt Iowa's flow in transition. Teams are making the game ugly and disjointed and Iowa is a rhythm team that does its best work with uninterrupted play, lots of up-tempo transition ball, both offensively and defensively. Teams are forcing Iowa to play half-court almost exclusively and mugging both Jok and Uthoff and even when they take advantage they get fouled, causing the flow of the game to get disrupted. It looks to me like it is seriously affecting Iowa's shot selection, shot proficiency, and offensive confidence. It sucks, but teams seemed to have figured out how to disrupt Iowa's flow and the Hawks' intensity and confidence has ebbed ever since the IU game.
My hope is that this IU game is a bookend and the end of whatever sense of entitlement Iowa might have felt they'd garnered. IU is now rated higher than Iowa, the Hawks are in danger of falling below a 4-seed (and perhaps sixth or seventh overall in the b10 if they lose out), so hopefully Iowa comes out as if their lives depend on it. Their chances of even coming close to a B10 championship are on the line and so are their chances at a decent seed in the Tourney. They better get their act together and play like they belong or they are going to go down in double digits--or even single digits (that's the other thing I've noticed--Iowa loses the close games almost all the time whereas they have no problem winning comfortably. Time to learn how to close out opponents or make some key conversions late in the game).
The really big thing I noticed, though, was the defensive intensity of WI and OSU (and earlier Penn State) against Iowa compared to the relative weakness of intensity MSU played with in January. Iowa was the aggressor back then, unafraid to fail. Now it's the other way around, Iowa looking scared to lose and other teams hungry to win. I'm not sure if they can get that hunger back or not, but the biggest key is Iowa not flowing well on offense and making their shots versus teams playing much more aggressively on defense and not afraid to foul Iowa. The fouling, even though Iowa goes to the line, has disrupted Iowa's offensive and defensive flow, especially transition. Notice how much teams are subbing guys after made or missed baskets, too, not so much for match ups or anything like that, but to stunt Iowa's flow in transition. Teams are making the game ugly and disjointed and Iowa is a rhythm team that does its best work with uninterrupted play, lots of up-tempo transition ball, both offensively and defensively. Teams are forcing Iowa to play half-court almost exclusively and mugging both Jok and Uthoff and even when they take advantage they get fouled, causing the flow of the game to get disrupted. It looks to me like it is seriously affecting Iowa's shot selection, shot proficiency, and offensive confidence. It sucks, but teams seemed to have figured out how to disrupt Iowa's flow and the Hawks' intensity and confidence has ebbed ever since the IU game.
My hope is that this IU game is a bookend and the end of whatever sense of entitlement Iowa might have felt they'd garnered. IU is now rated higher than Iowa, the Hawks are in danger of falling below a 4-seed (and perhaps sixth or seventh overall in the b10 if they lose out), so hopefully Iowa comes out as if their lives depend on it. Their chances of even coming close to a B10 championship are on the line and so are their chances at a decent seed in the Tourney. They better get their act together and play like they belong or they are going to go down in double digits--or even single digits (that's the other thing I've noticed--Iowa loses the close games almost all the time whereas they have no problem winning comfortably. Time to learn how to close out opponents or make some key conversions late in the game).
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