Does Iowa Need To Play More Physical On Defense?

Physical teams get the benefit of the officiating as the year goes on. Refs just expect them to be physical so they start allowing it. They know we aren't physical so they still call touch fouls on us.

Bob Huggins has built a career on this fact.

This is my point about Izzo and Mich St.
 
My favorite part about teams playing so physically against us is the 2nd half where they murder us on one end and dont get fouled but we breath on them and get called. All in an attempt to even out the foul calls
When you lose by 20 it most often isn't the officials who are to blame.
 
I absolutely agree. But quite frankly, our bigs have to set the softest screens.. it seems like Iowa has to work so extremely hard to get a good look, but other teams have open looks all the time. It seems like every shot is contested or forced up with the shot clock running down.

If this team doesn’t run and gun on fast breaks, they’re going to have hard time winning due to a very weak half court offense.
Ball isn't moving like it was a month or two ago. And more and more passes are going to where the passer thought the cutter would be, or were trying to hit cutters in traffic at an impossible angle.

Same comment, different thread. But so true. Get the ball moving again and better shots will be available again.
 
I guess it's hard to gauge how officials are going to call the games throughout the season. It seems that every year the season starts out, they call every ticky tack foul in the book. But as they go through the season, they focus only on certain fouls. Towards the end of conference play, they swallow their whistles and every game turns into a street fight. For once, I just wish we could get consistent officiating throughout the entire season. It's confusing to the players, coaches, and the fans. Where do they get these guys? Doesn't anyone hold these guys accountable?
 
I guess it's hard to gauge how officials are going to call the games throughout the season. It seems that every year the season starts out, they call every ticky tack foul in the book. But as they go through the season, they focus only on certain fouls. Towards the end of conference play, they swallow their whistles and every game turns into a street fight. For once, I just wish we could get consistent officiating throughout the entire season. It's confusing to the players, coaches, and the fans. Where do they get these guys? Doesn't anyone hold these guys accountable?

Good post. I agree. I think you can parallel Iowa’s end of the season slides with that theory.
 
One problem with playing more physical is that Garza, who is not a physical player, would be fouled out in the first half. No one, since Woodbury's freshman year, has gotten called for more ticky tack fouls than Luka.
 
One problem with playing more physical is that Garza, who is not a physical player, would be fouled out in the first half. No one, since Woodbury's freshman year, has gotten called for more ticky tack fouls than Luka.

I think you kind of protect him. Hopefully with his height and Cook's athleticism, they could hold the middle pretty well. I guess I'm thinking of more of the guards playing with contact or taking chances.
 
The cat I have TO calculator who WILD.Person change note over too watch thin thinking Where's LEAF.LEAF! needle is the expect yelow!! PANCAKES!

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@earlkoppelman gets wasted every day at Dave's Place in Eureka, CA and I always think it'd be funny to call the local cop shop for a welfare check. But I don't know whether to report alcohol poisoning or a stroke.
Thanks I Think? Big Game thursday. No reason we cannot win. More Desire.As they say "STARTS" at TOP huh. Go Tough Hawks.
 
To me, Fran's teams often play "soft". Rutger's laid out the perfect template to beat Iowa and offset Iowa's size, length advantage and great shooting. Iowa was ranked I believe 12th in the nation in offensive efficiency and pretty much tied with Michigan St in the BIG.

Rutgers, like Mich St., got right up in the Iowa players mugs and did not give Iowa's guards any space. Michigan St. does the same when playing, with much success. Rutgers could afford to do this as they were willing to sacrifice fouls because of their depth. We've complained about Fran's depth he plays in the past as he typically could go 10 or 11 players. I realize Nunge is redshirting and Pemsl is out, but he has gone that deep in the past and could next year as well. This makes me wonder, should Iowa ramp up the physicality and be willing to sacrifice more fouls? Bang a little more or be willing to play with more contact? This clearly gets into Iowa's head when they play teams that do that. If you struggle to play clean defensive ball, maybe a team should go that route, especially with deep teams. Why the hell not? Soft play is not getting Iowa anywhere, but having a 121 rating or above in defensive efficiency.

We all know how Mich. St. gets away with a lot of contact or not every hit on the arm is called. In games, the more contact the more the refs are going to have to let go, IMO, or they are going to be blowing the whistle every other play. I think after time, it's human nature just to not see certain things after time. This is how Mich. St. can dictate how games are called.

I think many will point out that you worry that Iowa's free throw made advantage will shrink considerably or go away, but that hasn't been paying big dividends lately anyway. Iowa struggles in games where physical play is allowed.

I just think they need to play a bit more physical and a bit more scrappy, even if more fouls are called. They can't play soft anymore.

Thoughts ?

Bill Raftery, the greatest college bb announcer of all time= "A little trouser tug!"
 
I am not going to talk about officials costing Iowa games in the BT. However, these crews that we see in Iowa City are the biggest joke in the world of college basketball. Don't make excuses for their ignorance of the rules, their poor positioning on the floor, their inability to keep up with the speed of the game, their inconsistency, which confuses the players. Until the BT powers decide to correct officials' behaviors, and hold them accountable, we will continue to see very poor basketball with little finesse and a lot of thug matches. End rant.
 
To me, Fran's teams often play "soft". Rutger's laid out the perfect template to beat Iowa and offset Iowa's size, length advantage and great shooting. Iowa was ranked I believe 12th in the nation in offensive efficiency and pretty much tied with Michigan St in the BIG.

Rutgers, like Mich St., got right up in the Iowa players mugs and did not give Iowa's guards any space. Michigan St. does the same when playing, with much success. Rutgers could afford to do this as they were willing to sacrifice fouls because of their depth. We've complained about Fran's depth he plays in the past as he typically could go 10 or 11 players. I realize Nunge is redshirting and Pemsl is out, but he has gone that deep in the past and could next year as well. This makes me wonder, should Iowa ramp up the physicality and be willing to sacrifice more fouls? Bang a little more or be willing to play with more contact? This clearly gets into Iowa's head when they play teams that do that. If you struggle to play clean defensive ball, maybe a team should go that route, especially with deep teams. Why the hell not? Soft play is not getting Iowa anywhere, but having a 121 rating or above in defensive efficiency.

We all know how Mich. St. gets away with a lot of contact or not every hit on the arm is called. In games, the more contact the more the refs are going to have to let go, IMO, or they are going to be blowing the whistle every other play. I think after time, it's human nature just to not see certain things after time. This is how Mich. St. can dictate how games are called.

I think many will point out that you worry that Iowa's free throw made advantage will shrink considerably or go away, but that hasn't been paying big dividends lately anyway. Iowa struggles in games where physical play is allowed.

I just think they need to play a bit more physical and a bit more scrappy, even if more fouls are called. They can't play soft anymore.

Thoughts ?
Therein lies the reason Fran and Hawk fans get upset by the refereeing of games. If those calls are not being made by the officials Iowa will do poorly. Vice-versa if those calls are made Iowa usually has won this year. This makes Iowa's success entirely in the hands of the stripes. The younger refs tend to allow more physical play in the guard court. The emphasis of "hands off" the ball handler is gone this year. Lot's of arm and body into JBo on almost every play. They're doing it to Wisekamp, Baer, Moss and Conner as well now. I don't know what the answer is. JBO goes out of his way every game to show the refs how much other teams are beating on him but they don't seem to care. It seems the answer is to hope they call some of them and if we make the NCAA tourney maybe we get tighter games called. Knowing the Big Ten I don't expect any change until then. Teams like Michigan St. are so deep and talented they can get into foul trouble and still bring an ALL-American off the bench, Iowa can't do that.
 
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