Building confidence vs. Big 10 Prep

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brozley

Well-Known Member
I can't remember the last time Iowa was 11-2 and it feels good to say that record.

Unfortunately, only two of those wins were against pretty good teams. I hope the next step for the program will be to schedule some games against strong non-con.teams as I watch Ohio State playing Kansas after hawks play Coppin state.

I don't blame Fran for wanting to build confidence in his team and getting minutes for many guys.

The last two blow out wins were a waste as it encouraged sloppy play (20 turnovers today) and may backfire when they play Big 10 teams. Fran will have to tighten his rotation from one extreme to another as the Hawks go from playing a team that would lose to some H.S. teams to playing IU. Wish it wasn't such a radical change in level of competition.
Time will tell. Love being 11-2. Go Hawks!!
 
There are conference teams with weaker schedules than Iowa. As a matter of reference OSU's was rated 288 by Sagarin before today. Iowa was at 234. There are three automatic games of significance, ACC Challenge, ISU, and Drake or UNI. You can mix in one more challenge or tournament to strengthen the schedule, but until the talent has some experience the approach has been fine. No point rushing into a schedule your are not ready for,
 
eyekwah said:
No point rushing into a schedule your are not ready for,
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No point playing a schedule that presents absolutely no challenge either. I don't expect us to play a gauntlet schedule, but for goodness sake, this schedule has been a joke. We played 9 of our 13 games against poor-conference teams, and won those games by an average of 24 points.
 
GhostofBTT said:
No point playing a schedule that presents absolutely no challenge either. I don't expect us to play a gauntlet schedule, but for goodness sake, this schedule has been a joke. We played 9 of our 13 games against poor-conference teams, and won those games by an average of 24 points.
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And now our in good shape to make the tournament by going 9-9 or better in the B10.
 
its all about money, the really good teams don't travel. and I don't think playing 5-7 games on the road does much good either. sorry but playing on the road does not pay the bills.
if you look at Indiana's scheduleb there are just 3 games against known team's Butler, Georgetown and UNC, they finish their OOC with Florida Atlantic and Jacksonville, not to mention they jusy played Coppin State Dec 1st.
touraments you have no control over who you play
this schedule is in line with what other teams schedules.
3 neutral site game 2-1
1 away gameb 0-1
9-0 home games.
if IA had struggled like they did last year against a Cambell, then I would be worried, as for today better to struggle from 3 and the FTL and win by 30, going into the Indiana game, rather than shoot a high % from 3,
 
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A major confidence builder would be to hose the hosers ;) from Indiana. I used to say when I lived in Indiana that they would have been called the looooooosers instead of Hoosiers but their schools were so bad they never got to the letter "L" in the alphabet and stopped at the letter "H". Let the in conference rivalry talk begin. :)
 
I just want a few games that are semi-contested at halftime. I love seeing the end-of-the bench guys, but last two first halves have been a combined 82-34. I don't think it's smart to play a bunch of juggernauts, but maybe trade out some of the MEAC squads for another couple MVC teams.

Yes, the Hawks have not yet shown that they can reliably beat upper-tier MVC teams, but the Clemmons-for-McCabe lineup change was born from our two losses. It's fun to see a few non-con blowouts, but we've enjoyed five of 25-plus points with three frosh starters. Win or lose on the 31st, I'm glad Big Ten play is here.
 
Q. Coach, I know it is what it is schedule wise. Do you wish you had a couple of tougher opponents going into Indiana and not the big break?
COACH McCAFFERY: No, we scheduled these exactly the way I wanted to.
 
I am back and forth on this every year. The fact that Iowa is 11-2 speaks to them finally having enough players to have a solid rotation and would have lost three other games if they didn't have the depth.

My wife, who is a UM fan, asked me this question: Are you happy with 11-2 with the schedule they have played so far, or would you be happier if they had more losses and played a schedule similar to UM's? My answer was if they were 11-2 and played a schedule similar to UM, I would be extremely happy.

Honestly, I can't answer that question, but with this thought only. If Iowa played a tougher schedule and was 9-4, I would only be upset if they were to not compete in those 4 losses.

Playing a better schedule is all well and good if a team can compete...Iowa has put themselves in a position to compete in the BIG with their preparation. The schedule is not great, but they were competitive in their two losses to decent teams, so not all was lost. Also, Iowa didn't lose to GW a game they would have easily lost last year. Coming out of the nonconference in the past few years, Iowa hasn't really had a lot to play for other than pride. This team seems to be hungry to make a move to the NCAA tournament and prove they belong in that talk. Iowa has a ton to play for and it is going to be fun to watch.
 
brozley said:
I can't remember the last time Iowa was 11-2 and it feels good to say that record.

Unfortunately, only two of those wins were against pretty good teams. I hope the next step for the program will be to schedule some games against strong non-con.teams as I watch Ohio State playing Kansas after hawks play Coppin state.

I don't blame Fran for wanting to build confidence in his team and getting minutes for many guys.

The last two blow out wins were a waste as it encouraged sloppy play (20 turnovers today) and may backfire when they play Big 10 teams. Fran will have to tighten his rotation from one extreme to another as the Hawks go from playing a team that would lose to some H.S. teams to playing IU. Wish it wasn't such a radical change in level of competition.
Time will tell. Love being 11-2. Go Hawks!!
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Two words: GA-BE
 
sportstalent said:
Iowa has put themselves in a position to compete in the BIG with their preparation. The schedule is not great, but they were competitive in their two losses to decent teams, so not all was lost.
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I disagree. We did not face a single team that is anywhere near the teams in the top half of the BoneG. I don't know if we are in a position to compete in the BoneG because we haven't played anyone who could compete in the BoneG.

I try to predict what may happen on the 31st, and I have no clue. How will Iowa respond against a team as talented, deep, and well coached as IU? Who the hell knows? It has literally been 10 months since these guys faced a team this good. Sorry, But Wichita St and Virginia Tech are not barometers for facing Michigan St. and Illinois.
 
GhostofBTT said:
I disagree. We did not face a single team that is anywhere near the teams in the top half of the BoneG. I don't know if we are in a position to compete in the BoneG because we haven't played anyone who could compete in the BoneG.

I try to predict what may happen on the 31st, and I have no clue. How, will Iowa respond against a team as talented, deep, and well coached as IU? Who the hell knows? It has literally been 10 months since these guys faced a team this good. Sorry, But Wichita St and Virginia Tech are not barometers for facing Michigan St. and Illinois.
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See you are wrong...Iowa had 5 tests and failed 2...zero after a lineup change. Iowa had to figure out who they were this non-conference and have done so. They have had some adversity and came back from it. The BIG is another story that hasn't been written just yet...it is 18 separate chapters with the first on New Years Eve...I am predicting a hell of a finish to a food year. Iowa knows what they are and aren't good at...most of the last five years they only knew what they weren't good at before the BIG. This team is different.
 
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