Bryant is 337 in kenpom
- Thread starter SayHawkKid
- Start date
hawkeyebob62
Well-Known Member
Plus, in hockey, pretty much everyone has "$EC speed"
I was encouraged that on a night where they were off, be it Christmas hangover, overlooking the opponent, etc...when they had to make a play down the stretch they did. It also sure looked like Bryant was playing out of their heads.
Last year we lost this game (on several occasions actually). This is the first egg we've laid so far, so hopefully it's the exception, not the rule.
Last year we lost this game (on several occasions actually). This is the first egg we've laid so far, so hopefully it's the exception, not the rule.
If seen teams look like they were better than their rankings, bad teams look like they were playing well due to their opponents playing bad, and bad teams look like they were just playing out of their minds. I think the last one is what happened here.
Adam
Well-Known Member
I'm not discrediting your larger point, but that is not our only egg (Michigan St) of the season. Luckily we squeaked out the win so we can all take a long exhale and re tighten our seatbelts.
I put MSU into its own category...we always play poorly at the Breslin center. If memory serves our last B10 tournament title team in 06 got it handed to them up there as well. For whatever reason that place has been a house of horrors for Iowa.
Adam
Well-Known Member
Lol I believe it's that way for most teams.
It's ok if you want to drop that egg in a different basket, but its still an egg lol.
Stanzi
Well-Known Member
They got stomped by a top 10 team on the road in one of the most difficult places to play. I think MSU is simply that much better.
I don't think they are THAT much better. I just think Fran has a way of letting 15 point losses turn into 30 point losses. It annoys me while its happening, but in the grand scheme of things it isnt that big of deal because it was going to be a loss anyway.
Of course you could argue that that same coaching flaw can turn a potential win into a loss by letting an 8 point run in the first half turn into a 15 point run. He really does need to get better at minimizing opponents runs.
InGoodCo
Well-Known Member
Yeah, I agree, I expect Iowa to win or at least have a much better showing vs MSU in IC. Or, I at least hope so. I think MSU is obviously better, but not THAT much better than Iowa. I think Fran has a tipping point where once a lead becomes insurmountable he just kind of calls off the dogs so to speak and tries different things. I think he's been better at stopping runs this season and using time outs. I think I have an issue sometimes with him knowing how to push the buttons on his players or knowing how to read each team. Like when he has upperclassmen - he'd let them play through dry spells and runs by other teams. That obviously wasn't a great idea seeing how many of those teams crashed at the end of games. Last year, he didn't have an answer for any thing because he was out manned and no matter what they tried, line up, defense, timeouts - no amount of in game coaching was going to help drastically enough to hide they were a guard short to be competitive. This year, he's coached much better so far IMO with time outs and runs and trying to kill momentum IMO.
D
DDThompson
Guest
Bryant is definitely under-rated by Kenpomm. They're at least #302
trj
Well-Known Member
Miminizing opponents runs has been an issue since Fran got here, even with the good Iowa teams he has had. Those runs right before half and those that come right after half are a killer because you know Iowa isn't coming back from that. As a fan that is disheartening because there is just no hope of a come back. Tom Davis was a flawed coach, but there was always that hope. That 30 point come back against Kansas will never happen with a Fran team.
That's why at the beginning of year I was like Iowa doesn't have to be great on defense, but if they can get key stops during games where a 8-2 run, doesn't become a 20-5 run, it would go a long way in improving their win total.
I’m just saying Iowa under other coaches has performed poorly at Breslin before, only to later play them much tighter if not win at Carver. Iowa is 3-22 at Breslin. Not many have done worse than that.
That same pud WI team we couldn't beat in Carver. Sad.
Northside Hawk
Well-Known Member
That loss was on three people. Fran, Fran, and Fran.
Greg Gard, from tiny Cobb, Wisconsin, did what the Philly slicker seldom does. He called a timeout when the deficit reached eight at the 13 minute mark. He then made adjustments, protecting his foul challenged players by using Pritzl, Iverson, and Davison to front our bigs, and crossing his fingers. It worked. It won them the ballgame.
Our players and coaches walked of that floor in a daze wondering what happened. Wisconsin knew they stole one. You could see it in their reaction.
This probably won't happen but if we miss the NCAA'S by one game this will be the one everyone points to. Just like that late season home loss to Illinois in 2017.
kicker22
Well-Known Member
I thought I read somewhere that we scheduled to win championships?
How is that working?
lightning1
Well-Known Member
This^^. It's hard to put a finger on it but this is what happens. If I had to blame one thing, it would be Fran's past refusal to use time outs to stop runs by the other team. I can recall screaming at the TV for a time out, several times since Fran was hired. He'd let a 5 point lead turn into a 14 point deficit, without calling a time out. I'll never understand that.
