Hawkeyes Scrap Alaska, Headed to Stacked Field in Atlantis

[chadfrey]

Very nice tournament for the Hawks to be in. The three game guarantee is very nice when you look at the field of teams. The Hawks will play some solid teams as a result.

 

[DoubleDown]

I might just have to see about making my way over there. Orlando to Bahamas can be a little pricey, though, flight-wise.

Start training now and I bet you could swim it.

 

[HawksMN]

Good move. Even go 2-1 or 1-2 and probably better off than AK.

 

[BJHawkstrong]

All positive for Iowa!
Building the resume early
3 game guarantee is also a really nice added bonus
A destination that these guys will all look forward too, along with their families that also make the trip.
A great destination for the fans also
Level of competition early in the season is a good thing to prepare for the difficult conference season.
I think this was a total no brainer as soon as they learned there was an opportunity
If they can win the whole thing that will surely send them into the top 20 and possibly top 10ish.
Year 4 of the Fran plan is underway!

 

[gohawkz]

Awesome news.

 

[ssckelley]

But good news everybody. We picked up Green Bay who was 18-16 last season and a proud member of the Horizon League!

Where did you see this?

 

[1hawkeye1]

Where did you see this?

I meant the Alaska Shootout picked them up as a replacement in their tourney. Not that they are on our schedule.

 

[hawkeyebob62]

Start training now and I bet you could swim it.

Not even with Ryan Lochte AND Michael Phelps dragging me along. I am a terrible swimmer in terms of "built-for-the-long-haul".

 

[1977Hawkeye]

Good move. Even go 2-1 or 1-2 and probably better off than AK.

+1. As we learned about the RPI this past year, it's not even the results of the games that matter, it's all about who you played. The RPI views a loss to a good team as better than a win over a bad team. It's a win-win for Iowa to play in this tournament. All the better if it can win a couple games (or three).

 

[ssckelley]

Good move. Even go 2-1 or 1-2 and probably better off than AK.

I disagree, wins and losses on a neutral count 100% towards your win percentage (vs .6 win at home or 1.4 road and vice versa). Your overall win percentage is still 25% of your RPI score and as we found out last year moves the RPI score the most towards the end of the season. GAS would have gotten Iowa at least 2 wins on a neutral court, probably 3 if they would have avoided playing Anchorage (DII school). They would have gotten a decent opponent win percentage out of it. In the battle for Atlantis Iowa might get a better opponent win percentage but if they do not win at least 2 of the 3 games then in the end it will hurt their RPI. Bottom line when it comes to the RPI is avoid playing low major teams that finish with a 6-24 overall record.

In the end I do not think it will matter, obviously this Atlantis tournament will be more fun to watch and if Iowa proves it is good enough then they will find themselves in the NCAA tournament anyway. Next season we should be arguing about what seed Iowa gets versus whether or not they are in the tournament.