Still smiling.

[Bulldogs1974]

Who would have thought 7-1 start in the big ten with that schedule. That was a brutal start to conference play.
A good loss on the road to a top ten team while playing bad.
We will still be top ten and are playing like a top ten team.

 

[Bearhawk0505]

Barely lose at Maryland on an off night for our best player. This team is tough and in the thick of the title race. I have a feeling we will be seeing Maryland again.

 

[Mohawkeye]

Yep. Nothing that a Northwestern/PSU/Illinois beat down run can't remedy.

 

[Packer54]

Agree! We are in great shape.

 

[HawkeyeDenny]

The should be favored in every game the rest of the year except maybe at Indiana...I think they beat Maryland 7 or 8 times out of 10 on a neutral court...

 

[Bulldogs1974]

Agreed

 

[DavenportHawk8]

yup agreed! We played good tonight, but not great! We had some players step up and some others who struggled! It happens in CBB.

Iowa has to realize that they have some winnable games, just keep grinding and keep going. They will be fine and go on another win streak. Don't hang their heads, flush it and move on. They still control their own destiny in both conference and the NCAA. GO HAWKS!

 

[kzoohawk80]

7-1 tied for 1st place and have played MSU 2x, Purdue 2x, Maryland and Michigan once. Can't complain about that. This team is clearly the favorite to win the Big Ten. The schedule will help them in the 2nd half of the Big Ten. Just win the games your suppose to and this is going to be a really special year.

 

[kwik44]

Not an excuse at all, but did anyone else know you play with the home teams ball?
I guess they used an Under Armour ball tonight & Jok is quoted as saying it was heavier and felt likena street ball? Maybe a reason for the shots left short?

Anyone else think it's very odd there isn't a universal ball?

 

[Mohawkeye]

I didn't know Under Armour even made a ball. Sounds very shady

 

[ldavid20]

Anyone else think it's very odd there isn't a universal ball?

How is this not a rule? And how has Nike or Spalding not sponsored this?

 

[EpenesaEpenesa]

Squandered a golden opportunity to put a stranglehold on the Big Ten race. If they just get an average game from Uthoff, they get outta there. Still in great shape, but it was right there to be had.

 

[St. Louis Hawk]

Iowa played so-so. Against a Top 10 team. On the road. Maryland made several runs, and Iowa answered all but the last. Out best player had probably his worst game.

And we lost by 6.

Missed opportunity to step on the throat of the entire league, but still ... I feel about this team exactly like I did about Iowa football in 2002 after the ISU loss - yes, we should have won, but we are a dangerous team and are going to do great things the rest of the year.

To quote Bart Scott about this weekend's game:

 

[SDHawkDoc]

A little short term pain, won't last long.
They'll lose the media love. So what.
Just need to get back on track this weekend.
Protect home court the rest of the way. Steal a few on the road.
14-15 wins in B1G play well within reach.

 

[LaoHawk]

Maryland is an UA school like Nike is to Oregon, and the weight difference could explain why Uthoff was off all night on his shots as well as some others, only Jok and Clemmons adjust (street ballers naturally). Sounds like a good excuse but it's just one game and brings the team back to refocus, at least it's now instead of during the B1G tourny or March Madness. Move on, next half of the conference.

 

[thewop]

The ball may have felt different, but I seriously doubt it was heavier. Yes our shooters were short, long, everything all night, but there are weight standards on balls, right? Am I crazy?

Maryland shot almost as poorly as we did (26-58 vs 27-63). We Turned it over 11 time, and Maryland 10. Going into the game TO's was the one statistical category we were much better in, and they took care of it better than we did. FT shooting was nearly equal until the end when we started fouling intentionally.

 

[hawkeyemike23]

Who would have thought 7-1 start in the big ten with that schedule. That was a brutal start to conference play.
A good loss on the road to a top ten team while playing bad.
We will still be top ten and are playing like a top ten team.

Yep, we're in a great place, just have to make sure we move on and bounce back and get the W on Sunday to close out a terrific first half of the B10 season.

 

[luvmyhawks]

No reason to get down on this team after last nights game. Iowa wasn't going to go undefeated rest of the season, so why not have a good loss.

 

[LuteHawk]

The Hawkeyes are still a good team. Nobody expected
them to go undefeated in the Big Ten Conference. We
cannot expect Uthoff to be a Michael Jordan every game.
We can be proud that this team fights every night they play.

 

[Clonewithasigh]

Iowa played so-so. Against a Top 10 team. On the road. Maryland made several runs, and Iowa answered all but the last. Out best player had probably his worst game.

And we lost by 6.

Missed opportunity to step on the throat of the entire league, but still ... I feel about this team exactly like I did about Iowa football in 2002 after the ISU loss - yes, we should have won, but we are a dangerous team and are going to do great things the rest of the year.

To quote Bart Scott about this weekend's game:

Both teams had their struggles. Uthoff had an off night, but the Terps missed free throws and went 0-10 from 3 in the 2nd half.