More interested in thinking about the Hawkeyes than the super bowl so I am going to ramble a bit.
This team has been as enjoyable to watch as any Iowa team I have watched in maybe forever. 10-1 in conference is ridiculous and what's more ridiculous is 9 of them have been by double digits and the other was a 19 point comeback on the road to win going away. I can actually watch this team without living and dying with each possession and waiting for the long dry spell of not hitting a shot to happen. Frans teams the last five years were good but it was so hard to sit back and enjoy because the margin of winning and losing was so slim and we would be forever on the bubble. Clearly this was better than the Lick era, most of the Alford and similar to a lot of the Dr. Tom era but still uber stressful.
Specifically comparing this team to the last two years it is so much better. Last years team was often called "Aaron Whites" team. I give him a ton of credit for leading iowa from a 6-6 conference record to 12-6 and off the bubble. He really put the team on his back but for most of the year he wasn't a great offensive threat and the offense bogged down a lot. Defensively he gambled a lot and didn't always rotate/help.Two years ago it was "Marbles team" He was also really really good but it was him then a whole bunch of guys who may have been good players but didn't always have clearly defined roles.
This year- the reward of having so much experience- every starter appears to know and excel at their role . It's not really Utoffs team or Woodys team or whoever. Each of the starters really owns their role which has resulted in some elite play by all 5 such as Woodys defense and rebounding, Joks offense, Utoffs offense and shot blocking, Clemmons shut down defense , MGs toughness and intelligence. Not to mention the bench embracing their roles. Don't know where it will end and I know the stressful games are coming but the last month and a half have so fun and relaxing.
This team has been as enjoyable to watch as any Iowa team I have watched in maybe forever. 10-1 in conference is ridiculous and what's more ridiculous is 9 of them have been by double digits and the other was a 19 point comeback on the road to win going away. I can actually watch this team without living and dying with each possession and waiting for the long dry spell of not hitting a shot to happen. Frans teams the last five years were good but it was so hard to sit back and enjoy because the margin of winning and losing was so slim and we would be forever on the bubble. Clearly this was better than the Lick era, most of the Alford and similar to a lot of the Dr. Tom era but still uber stressful.
Specifically comparing this team to the last two years it is so much better. Last years team was often called "Aaron Whites" team. I give him a ton of credit for leading iowa from a 6-6 conference record to 12-6 and off the bubble. He really put the team on his back but for most of the year he wasn't a great offensive threat and the offense bogged down a lot. Defensively he gambled a lot and didn't always rotate/help.Two years ago it was "Marbles team" He was also really really good but it was him then a whole bunch of guys who may have been good players but didn't always have clearly defined roles.
This year- the reward of having so much experience- every starter appears to know and excel at their role . It's not really Utoffs team or Woodys team or whoever. Each of the starters really owns their role which has resulted in some elite play by all 5 such as Woodys defense and rebounding, Joks offense, Utoffs offense and shot blocking, Clemmons shut down defense , MGs toughness and intelligence. Not to mention the bench embracing their roles. Don't know where it will end and I know the stressful games are coming but the last month and a half have so fun and relaxing.
