Fran fade lands Iowa in the AP top 25

InGoodCo

InGoodCo

Well-Known Member
Fran McCaffery has Iowa in the AP top-25 on Feb. 21 (in the midst of the Franuary fade) after losing two players to the NBA and two key pieces to transfer. It will be interesting revisiting season predictions here in a few weeks as I felt like overwhelmingly the consent was Iowa was going to be terrible after that kind of attrition.

This could be Fran's best coaching job since arriving at Iowa. They end the season with 3 really tough games but this team has a ton of opportunity to better their resume over the next 3 weeks.
 
Weird, the AP voters must really like Iowa. They finally beat a ranked opponent after losing to Michigan in the same week and they decide to put Iowa in the top 25. Neat, but now they have to prove they belong. Unranked Michigan State is next (can you believe that?), it's a home game so hopefully Iowa can protect the home court.
 
ssckelley said:
Weird, the AP voters must really like Iowa. They finally beat a ranked opponent after losing to Michigan in the same week and they decide to put Iowa in the top 25. Neat, but now they have to prove they belong. Unranked Michigan State is next (can you believe that?), it's a home game so hopefully Iowa can protect the home court.
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Right, this is the time where we find out what they are.

So goes the argument for playing tougher earlier games as what gets you noticed and respected. Played a bunch of cupcakes and beat them all plus a suspect Virginia team and nothing. But you can lose the Michigan game at home, win the OSU game which only made you 4-3 in the last 7 but it will get you ranked.
 
HaydenHawk56 said:
Well deserved thus far. Hopefully they can keep it going.
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No reason not to win the next 3 and fight hard and even lose in the last two and you will be rewarded seed wise if they show they can punch back and forth with Michigan and Illinois. Though paying Michigan back would really be keeping it going. Michigan is on the brink of losing it and if you can play well at Rutgers and OSU you can take one at UM.
 
InGoodCo said:
Fran McCaffery has Iowa in the AP top-25 on Feb. 21 (in the midst of the Franuary fade) after losing two players to the NBA and two key pieces to transfer. It will be interesting revisiting season predictions here in a few weeks as I felt like overwhelmingly the consent was Iowa was going to be terrible after that kind of attrition.

This could be Fran's best coaching job since arriving at Iowa. They end the season with 3 really tough games but this team has a ton of opportunity to better their resume over the next 3 weeks.
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Guilty as charged. Picked them to be eleventh in the conference. I throw myself at the mercy of the court.

However your honor I did predict an up and down season and stated that by B1G tournament time Iowa would be a team that would be gelling and not a team anyone in the conference would look forward to having to play against.

Leniency your honor???
 
Always good to have recognition, now don't get cocky and lose one out of the gate........

Be nice to do a 3-2 in the last five games, maybe get another W in the BTT, and maintain the ranking to a 7 seed
 
BigD said:
Guilty as charged. Picked them to be eleventh in the conference. I throw myself at the mercy of the court.

However your honor I did predict an up and down season and stated that by B1G tournament time Iowa would be a team that would be gelling and not a team anyone in the conference would look forward to having to play against.

Leniency your honor???
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Penance is due, BigD



:cool:
 
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BigD said:
Guilty as charged. Picked them to be eleventh in the conference. I throw myself at the mercy of the court.

However your honor I did predict an up and down season and stated that by B1G tournament time Iowa would be a team that would be gelling and not a team anyone in the conference would look forward to having to play against.

Leniency your honor???
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I do not think anyone really believed Iowa would finish in the upper tier this year- I recall thinking it would be a fun team to watch though, and it has been. Except the Rutgers game. That was butt ugly.
 
Fran is a very good coach. He consistently gets more out of his team than the talent warrants, IMO. He took this program from a dumpster fire to a respectable program that is almost always in the top half of the conference and in the hunt for a tourney bid. His achilles heel is the conference and NCAA tourneys, where he has never really done much. And, unfortunately, that's like saying a girl is really pretty except for her face......

This is the type of team that can do well in the tourney. We just need to get hot and a bit lucky.
 
speaking of butt ugly games, on Dec 26, 1968, Iowa lost to St Johns 55-57, our record then was 3-4, but then we sorta went on a win streak until we had to play Jacksonville with their twin 10' footers
 
BigD said:
Guilty as charged. Picked them to be eleventh in the conference. I throw myself at the mercy of the court.

However your honor I did predict an up and down season and stated that by B1G tournament time Iowa would be a team that would be gelling and not a team anyone in the conference would look forward to having to play against.

Leniency your honor???
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The season ain't over, bud. With any Iowa sport other than rasslin' your best bet is to go into the season with pretty low expectations so you don't get disappointed. Hopefully this team peaks in March rather than December and we can finally win the tournament. That deep run where we lost to Baylor was great, but after this trip to NYC I want the banner coming home.
 
It was actually brought up by some posters and pointed out that Fran has only finished below .500 in the B1G 3 times since his arrival and 2 of those times were his first 2 seasons. I hardly count those 2 first seasons against him, but if we're being fair, he has to own them just like all the rest.

A lot of people expected that trend to continue because, hell, we have 12 years of data at this point, Fran is a lot more known for producing than not at this point. I've been a regular on this board and I routinely made comments about how healthy this program is and was. It is not at all shocking to me they are in this position.
 
okeefe4prez said:
The season ain't over, bud. With any Iowa sport other than rasslin' your best bet is to go into the season with pretty low expectations so you don't get disappointed. Hopefully this team peaks in March rather than December and we can finally win the tournament. That deep run where we lost to Baylor was great, but after this trip to NYC I want the banner coming home.
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See, now this is funny..............
 
okeefe4prez said:
The season ain't over, bud. With any Iowa sport other than rasslin' your best bet is to go into the season with pretty low expectations so you don't get disappointed. Hopefully this team peaks in March rather than December and we can finally win the tournament. That deep run where we lost to Baylor was great, but after this trip to NYC I want the banner coming home.
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I know I can’t argue with what you just said. Just didn’t expect to be where they are at this point and time. Let’s keep the ball rolling.
 
NorthKCHawk said:
Fran is a very good coach. He consistently gets more out of his team than the talent warrants, IMO. He took this program from a dumpster fire to a respectable program that is almost always in the top half of the conference and in the hunt for a tourney bid. His achilles heel is the conference and NCAA tourneys, where he has never really done much. And, unfortunately, that's like saying a girl is really pretty except for her face......

This is the type of team that can do well in the tourney. We just need to get hot and a bit lucky.
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I'm ok with girls who are really pretty except their face.
 
NorthKCHawk said:
Fran is a very good coach. He consistently gets more out of his team than the talent warrants, IMO. He took this program from a dumpster fire to a respectable program that is almost always in the top half of the conference and in the hunt for a tourney bid. His achilles heel is the conference and NCAA tourneys, where he has never really done much. And, unfortunately, that's like saying a girl is really pretty except for her face......

This is the type of team that can do well in the tourney. We just need to get hot and a bit lucky.
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“And, unfortunately, that's like saying a girl is really pretty except for her face......”

LMAO…………….. When ever I need a good laugh you guys have a way of making it happen!
 
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