Record for the rest of the season?

[steelrain]

We have 12 more B1G games for the remainder of the regular season. What do you think the team finishes for the remaining games? I think they are capable of going 9-3 the rest of the way to finish 23-8.

Date Home/Away Opponent Time
1/27 vs

Wisconsin 7:30 PM CST - W Won 68-62

1/30 @

Maryland 7:30 PM CST - L. LOST 72-82

2/2 vs

Illinois 12:00 PM CST - W. WON 72-65

2/5 @

Purdue 6:00 PM CST - W

2/8 vs

Nebraska 5:00 PM CST - W

2/13 @

Indiana 7:00 PM CST - W

2/16 @

Minnesota 12:00 PM CST - W

2/20 vs

Ohio St. 6:00 PM CST - W

2/25 @

Michigan St. 6:00 PM CST - L

2/29 vs

Penn St. 11:00 AM CST - W

3/3 vs

Purdue 8:00 PM CST - W

3/8 @

Illinois 6:00 PM CDT - L

 

[BirdistheWord]

Pass the bong.

I would say 7-5

Losses: @MD, @IL, @MSU, @IU, Penn St.

 

[steelrain]

Pass the bong.

I would say 7-5

Losses: @MD, @IL, @MSU, @IU, Penn St.

Disappointing that optimism is equivalent with getting high. I pity you.

 

[icwesthawk]

Pass the joint, 8-4 with the losses on the road

 

[Moral]

12-0 and Garza drops 69 on MSU.

 

[EKHawk]

I'm thinking 8-4 is doable with losses at MD, IL, MSU, and IU - providing we stay healthy moving forward. They have a shot in any game except maybe MSU, which always seems to have the refs in their corner at home.

 

[BirdistheWord]

Disappointing that optimism is equivalent with getting high. I pity you.

maybe my sarcasm meter is broken. Or maybe yours was.

 

[Ballhawk1221]

We win the rest of our home games and go 2-4 on the road. @MD and @MSU are losses, split the other four.

 

[KuwaitHawk]

I am crazy, think we go into MSU and pull the upset and then lose a clunker at home.

 

[Eternal Return]

I have no idea, but if Iowa keeps playing the way they have the past two weeks then all of the games are going to be fun to watch.

 

[wbrhawkeye]

We have 12 more B1G games for the remainder of the regular season. What do you think the team finishes for the remaining games? I think they are capable of going 9-3 the rest of the way to finish 23-8.

Date Home/Away Opponent Time
1/27 vs

Wisconsin 7:30 PM CST - W

1/30 @

Maryland 7:30 PM CST - L

2/2 vs

Illinois 12:00 PM CST - W

2/5 @

Purdue 6:00 PM CST - W

2/8 vs

Nebraska 5:00 PM CST - W

2/13 @

Indiana 7:00 PM CST - W

2/16 @

Minnesota 12:00 PM CST - W

2/20 vs

Ohio St. 6:00 PM CST - W

2/25 @

Michigan St. 6:00 PM CST - L

2/29 vs

Penn St. 11:00 AM CST - W

3/3 vs

Purdue 8:00 PM CST - W

3/8 @

Illinois 6:00 PM CDT - L

I agree with these picks but think we lose to MN on the road. They are playing tough

 

[steelrain]

maybe my sarcasm meter is broken. Or maybe yours was.

Probably mine. It's been broken for weeks.

 

[HoustonREDHawk]

OP is pretty optimistic. I just want to beat Wisky and go on healthy for the rest of the season. Too bad CJ missed Nebbie and was hurt for PSU. Those were winnable road games.

 

[mtdew_fever]

It's all about winning a few road games.....which few in the B10 has done this season.

We have 12 more B1G games for the remainder of the regular season. What do you think the team finishes for the remaining games? I think they are capable of going 9-3 the rest of the way to finish 23-8.

 

[skydog0784]

I actually think the OP isn’t that far off. I see 8-4 with 2 out of 3 on the road against PU, IN, MN.

Winning all 3 will be a tall order.

 

[mazda1]

We have potential to win or lose any of our remaining games. My concern is will the short bench and/or the freshman wall hit us down the stretch.

I don’t see a lot of room for us to improve significantly from how we’ve been playing.... which is close to maximizing potential.

I don’t see Luka stepping up beyond what he’s done to this point.
Joe W has been solid and short of more aggressiveness I can’t see him raising his game the rest of the way.
CJ has been clutch and is shooting it great. He’s so solid and plays within the system so well I don’t see his game rising.
Conner has improved his shooting over last year and I think it will get better as his career grows, but at this point in the season I doubt it steps up dramatically as legs tire.
We all see Joe T as a bundle of untapped potential. The last game was hope for things to come, but he’s the one guy that could improve his game significantly down the stretch.
Ryan has been very solid, but we know what we’ve got as a senior.
Athletic limitations don’t leave much ceiling for Pemsl.
B.E. hopefully becomes a bit more consistent.

I guess I’m really saying we are playing at our peak now without much room to grow from where we are at. If we can sustain this performance we’ll be a tough out for anyone, but there’s not likely to be huge improvements over down the stretch.

 

[BirdistheWord]

Probably mine. It's been broken for weeks.

made me laugh.

 

[Gridiron24]

23-8 at best, 21-10 at worst

 

[TriCityHawk]

7-5 We always lose one we should win

 

[H4wkfan4life]

What they are "capable" of? 12-0!!

I don't watch enough other teams to have a clue so i'll say 6-6 which would have me plenty happy.

 

[Fighter of the Nightman]

Illini fan...

... I think we split with you guys, but I could see us losing both. Maybe I’m scarred from being in attendance for both of your shooting practices vs. us last year, LMFAO. I’m riding high, and I think we have as good of a squad as anyone in the league right now ... but you’re the one team that scares me.

I’d be pumped if I were you guys.

 

[HoustonREDHawk]

In prior years, I have said that the fan base mostly gets too optimistic when things are going well and way too upset when those lofty expectations aren't met. I agree with the post saying each player is already near his peak, except JoeT, and injuries leave us with no margin for error at all. I am not going to predict, but I'll say that a 6-6 finish would not be bad at all. If you look at the road games left, I believe that Iowa will be an underdog in all 6 of those games.

Let's enjoy the ride and beat the freaking Badgers, who have been a thorn for a while, and go from there.

 

[Hawk fan in MN]

I'm thinking 8-4 is doable with losses at MD, IL, MSU, and IU - providing we stay healthy moving forward. They have a shot in any game except maybe MSU, which always seems to have the refs in their corner at home.

I think it will be tough to beat Minny at the barn

 

[Eternal Return]

Illini fan...

... I think we split with you guys, but I could see us losing both. Maybe I’m scarred from being in attendance for both of your shooting practices vs. us last year, LMFAO. I’m riding high, and I think we have as good of a squad as anyone in the league right now ... but you’re the one team that scares me.

I’d be pumped if I were you guys.

I have to admit, I did not expect the Illini to look this good this year. The Iowa-Illini games are going to be dogfights this year. My guess would be home-and-home victories, but I wouldn't put any money on those games--too unpredictable. But, damn, fun seasons for Iowa and Illinois this year. It's been a LONG time since Iowa and Illinois were battling to be at or near the top of the league during the same season.

 

[steelrain]

I still think this team has the ability to 8-3 the rest of the way. With the grit the team is showing I think we have a good shot at finishing between 2nd or 3rd in the conference.
At Indiana, at Purdue, and at Minnesota are all going to be tough games but I think the Hawks can win at all of them.

Other conference matchups pending:
Illinois: @Iowa, Maryland, MSU, @Rutgers, Iowa
MSU: @Illinois, Maryland, Iowa, @Maryland
Maryland: Iowa, Rutgers, @Illinois, MSU, @MSU, @Rutgers
Rutgers: @Maryland, Illinois, Maryland

 

[jasonrann]

12-0 and Garza drops 69 on MSU.

 

[paladinhawk]

7-5 We always lose one we should win

Did that already...Once per season is enough. This team is mentally tough.

 

[rendango]

This week is huge. 3 games against very good teams. Wisconsin is already a win. Let's play a fun "what if" scenario. If Iowa wins on Thursday @Maryland and then wins at home on Sunday vs. Illinois, I think it is very possible that they will skyrocket all the way up to the top 10 in the national polls. It would be one of the largest jumps but it would be warranted. 3-0 this week would be as impressive of a week as any team has had all year in the country. They would be sitting at 17-5 overall, 8-3 in the conference (either 1st or 2nd place), and hold the most quality wins in the nation by a landslide with 10 (Mich St. is currently 2nd with 7).

That would be interesting.

 

[HoustonREDHawk]

One more W, but the next couple are going to be really tough. Let's make some turtle soup Thursday.

 

[HeRKeYHoPeFuL]

This week is huge. 3 games against very good teams. Wisconsin is already a win. Let's play a fun "what if" scenario. If Iowa wins on Thursday @Maryland and then wins at home on Sunday vs. Illinois, I think it is very possible that they will skyrocket all the way up to the top 10 in the national polls. It would be one of the largest jumps but it would be warranted. 3-0 this week would be as impressive of a week as any team has had all year in the country. They would be sitting at 17-5 overall, 8-3 in the conference (either 1st or 2nd place), and hold the most quality wins in the nation by a landslide with 10 (Mich St. is currently 2nd with 7).

That would be interesting.

Uh, kansas already has 12 quality wins.

 

[rendango]

Uh, kansas already has 12 quality wins.

Uh, they have 6...

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/bpi/_/view/resume

 

[paladinhawk]

Uh, they have 6...

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/bpi/_/view/resume

Err... ESPN's definition of "quality win" is not the same as (what I think the NCAA uses) Quad 1 plus Quad 2 wins. Kansas has 12 quad 1 / quad 2 wins.

Either way the Hawks would be in elite company if they manage to win the next two.

 

[Ronman]

Realistically, all five of our remaining road games are going to be tough.

 

[CanadaHawk]

We have potential to win or lose any of our remaining games. My concern is will the short bench and/or the freshman wall hit us down the stretch.

I don’t see a lot of room for us to improve significantly from how we’ve been playing.... which is close to maximizing potential.

I don’t see Luka stepping up beyond what he’s done to this point.
Joe W has been solid and short of more aggressiveness I can’t see him raising his game the rest of the way.
CJ has been clutch and is shooting it great. He’s so solid and plays within the system so well I don’t see his game rising.
Conner has improved his shooting over last year and I think it will get better as his career grows, but at this point in the season I doubt it steps up dramatically as legs tire.
We all see Joe T as a bundle of untapped potential. The last game was hope for things to come, but he’s the one guy that could improve his game significantly down the stretch.
Ryan has been very solid, but we know what we’ve got as a senior.
Athletic limitations don’t leave much ceiling for Pemsl.
B.E. hopefully becomes a bit more consistent.

I guess I’m really saying we are playing at our peak now without much room to grow from where we are at. If we can sustain this performance we’ll be a tough out for anyone, but there’s not likely to be huge improvements over down the stretch.

More consistency from JT and BE would be huge improvements for this team. There’s plenty of room to grow.

 

[iahawks10]

Illini fan...

... I think we split with you guys, but I could see us losing both. Maybe I’m scarred from being in attendance for both of your shooting practices vs. us last year, LMFAO. I’m riding high, and I think we have as good of a squad as anyone in the league right now ... but you’re the one team that scares me.

I’d be pumped if I were you guys.

Last year against Illinois, Iowa shot lights out at CHA. I don’t expect that this year, but I’d settle for good shooting afternoon. I also thought Illinois kept the game somewhat a contest for most of it for how well Iowa was shooting.

Last year’s game was the best Iowa shooting performance that I can remember.

 

[Fighter of the Nightman]

Last year against Illinois, Iowa shot lights out at CHA. I don’t expect that this year, but I’d settle for good shooting afternoon. I also thought Illinois kept the game somewhat a contest for most of it for how well Iowa was shooting.

Last year’s game was the best Iowa shooting performance that I can remember.

I was having a beer with an Iowa fan at Big Grove after the game, and he mentioned it being a school record or very close. Not surprising, lol. Also, I just saw that our series vs. each other has been quite streaky:

Between 2/24/2001 and 2/26/2012, Illinois went 14-4 vs. Iowa, including going 5-4 at CHA. However, since then Iowa is 9-4 vs. Illinois, with a current 4-game winning streak and even a 3-1 record in Champaign during that time. Overall, since 2000, it's 21-14 in Illinois' favor. I have memories of quite a few battles in there! Crazy that this will be the first time both teams meet ranked since the 2006 season!

(Sports Reference is a hell of a site!)

 

[CanadaHawk]

This week is huge. 3 games against very good teams. Wisconsin is already a win. Let's play a fun "what if" scenario. If Iowa wins on Thursday @Maryland and then wins at home on Sunday vs. Illinois, I think it is very possible that they will skyrocket all the way up to the top 10 in the national polls. It would be one of the largest jumps but it would be warranted. 3-0 this week would be as impressive of a week as any team has had all year in the country. They would be sitting at 17-5 overall, 8-3 in the conference (either 1st or 2nd place), and hold the most quality wins in the nation by a landslide with 10 (Mich St. is currently 2nd with 7).

That would be interesting.

In previous years, I’d say such optimism would be the kiss of death for Iowa. This year, I’m not so sure. Keep everyone healthy, and let’s see where the chips falls.

 

[HoustonREDHawk]

In previous years, I’d say such optimism would be the kiss of death for Iowa. This year, I’m not so sure. Keep everyone healthy, and let’s see where the chips falls.

I agree. This team has more grit than any team Iowa has had in a while, but with the very short bench, any fan expecting Iowa to win most or even half of the remaining B1G road games is probably going to be looking for someone to blame. Every road game for the rest of the season is going to be tougher than the B1G road games we already have played. CJ being out really hurt Iowa's chance to be in a really strong position in the losses to PSU and Nebbie.

 

[steelrain]

I agree. This team has more grit than any team Iowa has had in a while, but with the very short bench, any fan expecting Iowa to win most or even half of the remaining B1G road games is probably going to be looking for someone to blame. Every road game for the rest of the season is going to be tougher than the B1G road games we already have played. CJ being out really hurt Iowa's chance to be in a really strong position in the losses to PSU and Nebbie.

Plus Pemsl not playing well further hurts our bench performance. We are REALLY thin right now. Any further injuries and we are going to be in trouble.

 

[HoustonREDHawk]

Plus Pemsl not playing well further hurts our bench performance. We are REALLY thin right now. Any further injuries and we are going to be in trouble.

Exactly what I have said. We basically have a 7-man rotation. Pemsl is out there because they need another large body for a few minutes. If we have foul trouble, which happens on the road regularly, or someone is injured (like CJ for PSU and Nebbie), our odds of winning aren't good.