I don't get it...

[Foval21]

I don't understand how the local media and fanbase (myself included at times) continue to complain and call this season a failure when this team will still be a 8/9/10 seed in the NCAA tournament for the 1st time in nearly 10 YEARS! When Iowa State was an 8 and 10 seed with a similar record the past 2 years the local media did nothing but praise, cheer, and proclaim those Cyclones teams. Those ISU teams even had Royce White, Babb, Ejim, Niang, Clyburn, Lucious, Booker, McGee, and Allen. Looking at those rosters, if anything, ISU underachieved. Royce White, Melvin Ejim are All-American caliber players. Iowa has no one close to AA talent.

I just don't get the bias. Iowa hasn't made the tourney for so long that they can't just go from an 8 year absence to instant contender. When ISU made their first return to the tourney 2 years ago they were an 8 seed - much like Iowa may be - yet there was no "what a failure this team is" talk on local radio, TV, and message boards like all there has been for Iowa this season.

That crap has gone on for years. It happens in football too. Think a few yrs back when Iowa had a bunch of arrests and the news jumped on it. Yet you never heard about the isu or uni players getting arrested...even though Iowa had a few more it wasn't like a 20 to 1 split the other schools had similar numbers of players arrested. Think about how Rhoads and hoiberg are media darlings too. When you are the top school in the state people just try to bring you down.

 

[clicheusername3]

2 different scenarios resulting in 2 different sets of expectations.

1) Pretty much everyone one said what Hoiberg was trying to do with all those transfers was not going to work it was going to blow up.. ISU, in Hoibergs 2nd year was picked to finish near the bottom of the conference. They end up going to the dance, expectations exceeded.

2) Year 3 they lose their top player in White, along with a starting point guard, again not a lot of high expectations, but they had 2 transfers waiting in the wings and they make the tourney again.

3) This year, probably considered a bubble team to start the season and will end up a 3 or 4 seed expectations exceeded. (Another transfer makes a huge impact)

Next year ISU has a couple of really good transfers starting again, but like in previous years, it will be hard to gauge the result until they start playing. So they probably get picked 6th or 7th in the conference . Though I think people need to start figuring that Hoibergs teams will be pretty decent given the experienced transfers they always bring in.

Iowa was picked to finish top 4 in the conference, they just missed the tourney last year and brought virtually everyone back. Marble their best player was returning for his senior year. Fran's team's had improved every year. If not for a poor non-conference schedule last year, they would have been in.

Given all that you kind of expected them to make a big splash into the dance, it just didn't happen that way for whatever reason. Still does not mean people should not be excited about it..

/thread

 

[expos1994]

The end of the regular season has been a major disappointment. Not other to put it.

It has lowered expectations for the post-season down to most would be happy with a 1st rd NCAA win. If they just keep right on sucking through the two tourneys... well then the season will be labelled a huge disappointment. And it's easy to understands why.

But with the family stuff that Fran's dealing with, he'll get a pass from me.

 

[ColumbusHawk]

I don't understand how the local media and fanbase (myself included at times) continue to complain and call this season a failure when this team will still be a 8/9/10 seed in the NCAA tournament for the 1st time in nearly 10 YEARS! When Iowa State was an 8 and 10 seed with a similar record the past 2 years the local media did nothing but praise, cheer, and proclaim those Cyclones teams. Those ISU teams even had Royce White, Babb, Ejim, Niang, Clyburn, Lucious, Booker, McGee, and Allen. Looking at those rosters, if anything, ISU underachieved. Royce White, Melvin Ejim are All-American caliber players. Iowa has no one close to AA talent.

I just don't get the bias. Iowa hasn't made the tourney for so long that they can't just go from an 8 year absence to instant contender. When ISU made their first return to the tourney 2 years ago they were an 8 seed - much like Iowa may be - yet there was no "what a failure this team is" talk on local radio, TV, and message boards like all there has been for Iowa this season.

If you are under the belief that Iowa basketball sucks this has been a good season. Let's face it. Since Lute left, Iowa basketball has pretty much sucked. In over thirty seasons the Hawks have challenge seriously for the Big Ten title only twice. Once the Big Ten was so awful that no team made the sweet sixteen. No Final Four appearances. Basically, this is a typical Tom Davis season. Not a serious challenger, middle of the pack finish.

About the best thing Iowa fans can put their hats on is that Mr. Davis never lost a first round game. It sure beats the hell out of Lute. However, Mr. Davis couldn't win after the first round. Whereas, Lute took three teams to the Final Four & won a National Championship. Unless you are close to fifty, you are clueless to what Iowa used to be.

 

[HerkyDude]

I think it's the end of game meltdowns and watching leads slip away that are most frustrating. Reminds me of some of the football games. The team's mental toughness and chemistry better multiply or the next week will not be good for Hawkfans

 

[volhawk50]

With Michigan winning the B1G Regular Season the BTN not only had too lofty expectations for Iowa, but also too lofty expectation for Wisconsin, MSU, and OSU who were at least three games behind the conference champion. Are their fans crying about a disappointing season?

Absolutely, except for Wisconsin. It's actually probably worse for them, because their whole season has been a letdown, not just the last 6 games. I seem to remember a lot of people before the season picking Iowa either 5th ahead of Indiana or 6th behind IU, so their expectations were pretty reasonable except for the IU part.

 

[Skeets77]

The beginning of the season everybody was having woodies over where Iowa was being ranked. I remember reminding knuckleheads around here it doesn't matter, it's how you finish the season that prepares you for post season. When it comes to NCAA basketball it is about "what have you done for me lately" nobody is calling this session a failure but it has been disappointing the last 5/6 when you see no improvement and we continue to make the same mistakes and I put that on coaching.