Watch and enjoy our last Sweet 16 win sending Iowa to the 1987 Elite 8
- Thread starter Chishawk1425
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I remember that game and the ou cheerleaders boobies. A teen's dreams come true. Thanks to Kevin Gamble.
I am jealous of 1980s Hawkeye fans. I was around for all of it but too young for most of it
Don't worry buddy. My brother and I destroyed our vcr after the very next game, unlv. Absolutely crushing loss. Crushing.
That and the Ronnie Harmon Rose Bowl are two events that are forever tattooed in my head. Until my last breath.
Yes the life of an Iowa basketball fan has been one of pain. The 1980's were very good, no question. But even with the accomplishments of the 1980s, the list of crushing blows in that decade are enormous.
1980 Final 4 team, Lester gets hurt during the year, then gets hurt AT the Final 4 again after scoring the first 10 points of the game. Not over-doing it to say Iowa is probably ranked in the top 5-10 all year if he never gets hurt in the first place.
1979 - year Iowa won the Big 10. NCAA field was smaller then. Iowa loses on a shot that bounces around on the rim and goes in at the buzzer to Toledo.
1983 - Iowa loses in Sweet 16 to Villanova 55-54.
1981 - Iowa has to play AT Wichita State in NCAA tournament. Times were different then. Game tied late, Iowa ends up calling timeout when it doesn't have any left. Iowa loses.
1982 - NCAA tournament. Iowa wins first round, second round is playing Idaho in Pullman, Washington. Loses 69-67 in OT.
1987.- the one that hurts the most. Up 18 at half, lose to UNLV in game to go to Final 4. Devastating.
1989 - NCAA 2nd round. Lose in 2 OT to NC State 102-96
This doesn't even include the crushing defeats since then. The ones that I remember most are:
2005-06. Iowa finished 2nd in Big 10, 1 game behind OSU. Would have tied for the conference title if not for losing to Northwestern in February 51-48 on shot at the buzzer by Michael Jenkins, which hit the rim, bounced straight up and came back down through the net. Jenkins in his career averaged 2.1 points per game and shot 31% on 3's, so of course he makes it. Why wouldn't he make it.
Same season, Iowa 3 seed in NCAA' and loses to Northwestern State on a shot they still show 15 years later.
Even Fran has had some crushing blows. The 2 separate OT losses to Tennessee in NCAA tournament. The one in 2014 was the play-in game, where Tennessee went on to go to the Sweet 16 in that position. The one in 2019 kept Iowa from making it to the Sweet 16.
Just scratching the surface on these, but the opponent shots ALWAYS seem to go in at the end against Iowa. I know that this isn't really true, but it seems like it. Rutgers game this year, bingo phantom foul. You knew the shot from Myles Dread was going in against Penn State. I know Iowa won at the end of the game against Virginia. Seems like such an outlier when that happens.
Spot on.
Two more words: Chris Street.
That 1992-93 team was Top 10 and easily Sweet 16 or better caliber until that happened.
Then 2000-01, Iowa was ranked in the Top 15, tied for first in the Big Ten with Illinois and MSU at the mid-way point of the conference schedule, and then, BOOM. Out goes Luke Reckers kneecap, and Iowa loses 7 of its last 8 games.
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Yes didn't even get into those. The Street situation was one that very likely stopped a Sweet 16 or better that year, but also Iowa is a likely NCAA team the following year with Street, James Winters and freshman Jess Settles on the front line. As it was, Iowa was hanging in there in 1993-94 until Winters got hurt early in Big 10 play and Settles was left to battle all by himself as a freshman in the Big 10. He averaged 15.3 points a game, shot 57% from the field, 38% from 3, 79% from the line. 7.5 rebounds per game, 1.5 steals per game. Before the back injuries whittled Settles down, he was a tremendous Big 10 player. Those were his numbers in arguably his only fully healthy season. Winters, before he got hurt, was scoring at 18 points a game, with 6.5 rebounds a game. He and Settles were very good together on the front line. Add in Street to those 2, and you really have something.
And 2000-01, yes if Recker doesn't get hurt they have a legit shot at winning the league. Pain, pain, pain, as an Iowa hoops fan.
Great post. I was born in 91, so missed out on all the 80s crushing blows.
I guess the loss to NW State was like the UNLV loss for me. The stakes weren't near as high obviously but man that loss sucked at the time. Then the dark days of Lick. I haven't really experienced/remember Iowa being "great" in bball. Fran has had some good moments though except for deep tourney runs
Glad you posted so I did not have to. Started in 1970 for me when Iowa lost to Jacksonville. 1979 to 1989 was fun. 10 NCAA appearances in 11 years. Four sweet 16 appearances. Some really tough losses. 1979 and 81 Iowa had double digit halftime leads and lost.
Yeah I was not alive yet for the Jacksonville game. I believe Artis Gilmore was on that team, and someone named Pembrook Burrows made 11 of 12 shots and Iowa lost 104-103.
I know this is the wrong board, but yes, the ‘86 Rose Bowl deserves mention in this thread. I remember my friends and I when we went out to LA talking about how many TDs each Harmon, Hudson, Happel, Helverson, Smith, Early, and Flagg were gonna score. We jokingly boasted that each would have to score at least 2 a piece, giving us close to 100 points. Seriously, though, there seemed to be NO WAY we could lose that game. But then…
I entered Iowa as a freshman in August 1983 and graduated four years later.
During my undergrad years:
The football team reached #1 in both regular season polls, defeated Michigan twice (one of which is considered one of the greatest games in Iowa Football history), beat Ohio State, won their last outright Big Ten championship, and played in the Rose Bowl as a clear favorite.
The basketball team reached #1 in both regular season polls briefly, and came within 4 points (or you might say 20 minutes) of making the Final Four, something they haven’t even really sniffed at in the past 35 years.
The wrestling team competed (unsuccessfully) for their 10th straight NCAA championship.
The women’s basketball team set a single game NCAA attendance record at a home game against Ohio State, and came a couple points away from their first ever Final Four.
The women’s field hockey team made 3 Final Fours and won an NCAA championship.
There’s a scene in Field of Dreams where the aged Doc Graham tells Ray Kinsella “Back then I thought, ‘Well, there'll be other days.’ I didn't realize that that was the only day.”
I guess it’s kinda like that.
I remember walking out of the stadium after the game . Two ucla guys ahead of us talking about Hollywood magic strikes again.obvious they knew they were lucky to win.
Yeah, but the baseball team sucked a**, so there’s that… 🤓
Did you pay baseball? And yes perfect time. I started in 87.
Play? No, and I probably shouldn’t have commented. I just assumed we were bad back then, but I honestly didn’t follow at all. One of my regrets is that I never attended a single game at Banks Field, if only for the experience. But it wasn’t super convenient when you lived in Burge, then Daum, then on E Market St for last two years. Were we any good 83-87?
You know, like you, I never did see a single baseball game and never knew their record. No excuses. I did go to the Field Hockey ones since I knew some of the players. I only asked about baseball because a guy who worked in the lab next door was on the team during that era. He had the requisite talent to at least make the minors but he fell in love
and I think became a house husband.If I recall correctly, the 92-93 team was outrebounding teams by 22 per game until we lost Street. Still ended up the season leading the country in rebound margin by 14.
I'm not sure of the exact stats, but yeah, something ridiculous like that. Sounds about right. That team was stomping everyone on the glass. Even though they lost that game, I think they outrebounded #1 Indiana in Bloomington by something like 20.
I think the 1995-96 team was at or near the top of the country in rebound margin as well IIRC.
One thing it seemed like all of Dr. Tom's teams could do well was REBOUND. That, and get to the FT line a lot. Making more FT than their opponents attempted was an annual tradition.
Same. Of course I was only 10 at the time lol, but that was a soul crushing defeat. That game will haunt me until Iowa makes another Final Four. Or wins it all. That 1987 team was a legitimate contender. Getting to the Final Four is one thing. Winning it all once you get there is another. That team was good enough to cut down the nets.
Good thing we have some grainy video of the last Elite 8 run since we are unwilling to move on from Fran.
We are starting to become Nebraska football fans
We are starting to become Nebraska football fans
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