Nothing is guaranteed, but Iowa State has the talent to reach the Final Four and compete with anyone.
I’d disagree about offense. I believe heading into last nights game they were top 10 in defense and offense. That’s been muscle man’s problem, great defense but not enough offense but not this year. He’s got 2 great shot creators, Jones and Gilbert, Lipsey who’s tough as nails and multiple bigs. Jefferson is pretty legit. Only loss to the number 1 team in the country that went down to the wire. As an Iowa fan it’s tough to take.
It was a disappointing loss, but here are some facts:
I think Iowa State is ranked number four in offensive efficiency at this point. So, we’ll see if that holds up. But as of today, with games against (2) Auburn, Dayton, Colorado, Iowa, and (5) Marquette; it’s top five.
I mean you’re right for the most part, though you’re clearly trolling if you think we’re anywhere near a top 10 team. Look who Iowa St has already played and beaten this year. They’ve proven themselves. If we could have this kind of effort on a nightly basis we probably would be a tournament team. We rarely play as hard as we did last night. And we still lost because Iowa State never panicked and just locked down at the end.
This is to me why the Hawks lost last night. Iowa isn’t ready yet but is still a relatively young team. Nobody cares that they are !
Iowa had 3 players with over 36 minutes. They were gassed at the end and it showed. Dembele, Traore, Pryce each should have played another 4-5 minutes to give starters a blow.
I don't think I said that. I believe I said the Hawks "were overmatched - physically and skill-wise." Which I think it true. But the Hawks did indeed have a chance to win. ISU made plays down the stretch (and got a lucky break) and Iowa didn't.
there are still enough players at our price point to play hard, rebound, and defend like ISU....
I actually agree with what you have said, just highlighted the bold. I think ISU got a break on an out of bounds play, but also felt Iowa did on the one on the sideline in front of the scorer's table looked to actually be a foul that wasn't called on Harding, and Iowa got that ball. Certainly both teams had a chance to win the game.
Leading by 13 in the first half and having a 4-6 point lead for 17 minutes in the second half doesn’t mean squat. All that counts is who is leading at the end of the game.
THIS. Can't recruit top shelf guys to Iowa? Bull hockey. Jefferson, Jones, Gilbert, Lipsey. Iowa would be much better w/ just 2 of those 4. The rest are Fran-level players.....and our (NBA to be) star was 30% from 3pt, 1 assist, 1 steal, 3 TOs, 4 fouls (ISU had 1 player w/3 fouls and the rest <3) and 0-0 from FT line. In 39 minutes of play. This roster has no one who could start on any top-20 team.
Fran's teams haven't made a Sweet-16 since way before NIL.
That’s the thing though. There was a noticeable jump in activity. Did it translate to points no. But that will happen when you give up 20+points on offensive boards.
"Once they decided . . . " LOL
That’s not true at all. We were gassed at the end, as evidenced by the missed free throws. I’m not unhappy with the effort at all. They played their asses off but we were exhausted at the end of the game and we were getting zero good looks. And they scored every time down the floor. Sandfort thinks every shot is a good one when in fact it’s not, especially at end of games.
If you couldn't see that ISU's defensive intensity picked up dramatically in the last 4-8 minutes, you need to go back and rewatch the end of the game. There were no clean looks. Our offense consisted of, give the ball to Josh and hope he can create something, which wasn't fair to him.
I did re-watch the last 8 minutes of the game.
You forgot to mention that ISU ramped up their defensive intensity
100% and have said it for years. You don't win in March with just offense because you will have nights where the shot doesn't go in.
So it was the official's fault. Got it.
Iowa was right there with them, so do you think Iowa is what a S16 team looks like?
No. One close score does not reflect future results. This team can't rebound and they were destroyed on the boards for the second straight game. They are currently 326th in the nation for rebounding margin. That's not a recipe for tournament success.
So does ISU giving up 80 points to a team they beat soundly on the offensive boards constitute them playing good defense?
According to your analysis, we don't need a change at head coach.. We just need the games to be 36 minutes long instead of 40, and for every call to go Iowa's way every time.
