Can Iowa Continue its remarkable turnaround?

[ChosenChildren]

A team that was 14-19 last year is now 19-5. This is a remarkable turnaround. I give all the credit to the coaching staff and the players, who worked their butts off in the off-season.

Can we finish strong and earn a good NCAA bid??

 

[SteveGarvey1]

Jerry Palm has us as a 4 now. Doubt we stay that high though.

 

[deanvogs]

Is this really a “turnaround?” By that I mean I would have been the first guy to tell you this is EXACTLY what this team will look like when Jordan, Moss and Cook are Jr, two years ago. After their Fr year is what I saw in store for the program in their Jr years. The thing is I totally expect a tournament team LAST YEAR. Instead Iowa totally tanked. I think that is why this year seems like a complete turnaround, when in reality I think it is just getting the program back to the course it was on before last year happened. Yet when last year happened I think it led most of us (especially me) to think that the wheels had completely fallen off for Fran and the program.

 

[Jonrn]

This isn’t a turnaround, this is where a program should be in year 9 of a coaches tenure

 

[1977Hawkeye]

Of course they CAN. The question is WILL they? IMO it all still depends on how committed this team is to playing defense. And doing it consistently. The offense will be there, for the most part.

Barring a complete and total meltdown, I still don't anticipate winning out, but each of the remaining games are very winnable. @WIS being the least likely win, IMO.

 

[Jason Rann]

A team that was 14-19 last year is now 19-5. This is a remarkable turnaround. I give all the credit to the coaching staff and the players, who worked their butts off in the off-season.

Can we finish strong and earn a good NCAA bid??

If we win two more games, we are a lock for the tournament. That is a foregone conclusion in my book. The trick now is to continue to play well, finish strong and hope we end up with the first two rounds in Des Moines. I will add one further layer of hope. Kansas City is a host for Sweet 16 and Elite 8 games. I have lived in KC for 23 years, it would sure be fun to have them playing here!

 

[dirtwrap]

I think this is a fascinating team that is a matchup nightmare for a lot of opponents, however, a team that also has some glaring and obvious weaknesses. Moving forward in tournament play is going to be all about the matchup for this team, because we could definitely lose to a low-seeded, good shooting, mid major or small school with a couple of quick guards, or, we could run through some high seeds with blue chip players from blue blooded programs that doesnt have a physical front court, front court depth and great shooters. It just depends on our draw. We dont really have a definite identity and we have several different players that can beat you, and that is a huge plus in tournament time. We will see, and I have to say, it is fun and whether this should have happened last year or years before that, is redundant because its enjoyable now.

 

[hoxrock]

Here's the rest of their schedule:

@Rutgers
Maryland
Indiana
@Ohio State
Rutgers
@Wisconsin
@Nebraska

At 19-5 the possible end records are 26-5, 25-6, 24-7, 23-8, 22-9, 21-10, 20-11, and 19-12. Obviously nobody knows how everything will turn out but Maryland and Wisconsin are the two ranked teams on that schedule. It is plausible Iowa could lose both those games. Rutgers has turned the RAC into a house of horrors for a couple of teams this season, Nebraska has the kind of guards who can make life miserable for Iowa, and Ohio State always plays well in Columbus. If you were to corner me I'd say 23-8 or 24-7 are the most likely outcomes. Iowa I think has done too much to finish with any of the last four records. They would need alot to go their way for 26-5 or 25-6 to happen.

 

[deanvogs]

Here's the rest of their schedule:

@Rutgers
Maryland
Indiana
@Ohio State
Rutgers
@Wisconsin
@Nebraska

At 19-5 the possible end records are 26-5, 25-6, 24-7, 23-8, 22-9, 21-10, 20-11, and 19-12. Obviously nobody knows how everything will turn out but Maryland and Wisconsin are the two ranked teams on that schedule. It is plausible Iowa could lose both those games. Rutgers has turned the RAC into a house of horrors for a couple of teams this season, Nebraska has the kind of guards who can make life miserable for Iowa, and Ohio State always plays well in Columbus. If you were to corner me I'd say 23-8 or 24-7 are the most likely outcomes. Iowa I think has done too much to finish with any of the last four records. They would need alot to go their way for 26-5 or 25-6 to happen.

I think we go 4-3 or 5-2. Like Deace said, don't know which ones they win or lose, but I think that is what they go overall. If Iowa can go 5-2 and one of those wins is Wisconsin, then all Wisconsin has to do is lose one more game besides Iowa and Iowa then finishes in 4th place.

 

[JG10Hawk]

I'm expecting 4-3 or 5-2 down the stretch at this point. I could see pretty much any combination of 4-3 or 5-2 happening but if I had to bet I'd probably say 5-2 and with the below(ranked from most likely win to least likely):

Rutgers - W
Indiana - W
@Nebraska - W <-- I'm liking Iowa's chances more and more by the day.
@Rutgers - W
Maryland - W
@Ohio State - L
@Wisconsin - L

 

[WindsorHawk]

A game by game analysis has me at 25-6 with a loss at WI. I am extremely confident my 12-8 projection when we started 0-3 is a safe floor.

 

[revkev73]

Is this really a “turnaround?” By that I mean I would have been the first guy to tell you this is EXACTLY what this team will look like when Jordan, Moss and Cook are Jr, two years ago. After their Fr year is what I saw in store for the program in their Jr years. The thing is I totally expect a tournament team LAST YEAR. Instead Iowa totally tanked. I think that is why this year seems like a complete turnaround, when in reality I think it is just getting the program back to the course it was on before last year happened. Yet when last year happened I think it led most of us (especially me) to think that the wheels had completely fallen off for Fran and the program.

Last year Iowa was an emotional wreck, soft, collapsed in the midst of adversity, this year, mostly the same roster, resilient, tough, fighting, an edge, thinking they can win every game, come back from a deficit rather than rolling over, even criticizing fans who leave early in doubt!

 

[PCHawk]

Is this really a “turnaround?” By that I mean I would have been the first guy to tell you this is EXACTLY what this team will look like when Jordan, Moss and Cook are Jr, two years ago. After their Fr year is what I saw in store for the program in their Jr years. The thing is I totally expect a tournament team LAST YEAR. Instead Iowa totally tanked. I think that is why this year seems like a complete turnaround, when in reality I think it is just getting the program back to the course it was on before last year happened. Yet when last year happened I think it led most of us (especially me) to think that the wheels had completely fallen off for Fran and the program.

Interesting take and probably true. It's not like iowa was the first team in college sports history to tank an entire season because they got off to a bad start and the wheels fell off. Because of that, they needed to improve off what they did 2 years ago instead of improve off of last year. It hasn't been a huge improvement when you think of it that way.

 

[mopkins]

@Wisconsin - L