Iowa - Louisiana Tech Preview/Prediction
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storminspank
Justin VanLaere
MBB: Iowa vs. Louisiana Tech Preview/Prediction
By Justin VanLaere
With a victory tonight, Iowa would be winners of 4 out of their last 5 games. The last time Iowa could boast that achievement was back in early January 2009. It would also mean the Hawkeyes would have won 5 out of 7, with their two losses being by 3 pts each to teams they had double-digits leads over at one point in their respective games. That’s progress. It’s what this program desperately needs. Iowa needs this win heading into Big Ten action.
Game Info
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (9-4, 0-0) vs Iowa Hawkeyes (6-5, 0-0)
POMEROY RATINGS: LATECH – 214, Iowa 80
RPI: LATECH – 149, Iowa – 209
Tip Off: Tuesday, December 21st, 2010; 7:05 PM CST
Iowa City, IA – Carver-Hawkeye Arena (15,550)
TV: Mediacom/BigTenNetwork.com • RADIO: AM-600, AM-800, AM-1040
SERIES: Iowa leads series 2-0.
TV NOTE FROM IOWA SID: Tuesday’s game will be televised in Eastern Iowa on Mediacom. Fans can watch Iowa’s final non-conference game on channel 123 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, Waterloo and Des Moines, and channel 95 in Moline. The game will air network-wide on Mediacom Connections, tape-delayed, at 9:30 p.m.
Probable Starters
IOWA
PG – Bryce Cartwright, 6’1”, 180 lb, JR
G – Matt Gatens, 6’5”, 215 lb, JR
F – Eric May, 6’5”, 225 lb, SO
F – Melsahn Basabe, 6’7”, 225 lb, FR
C – Jarryd Cole, 6’7”, 250 lb, SR
LATECH
G – DeAndre Brown, 5’11”, 160 lb, SR
G – Kenyon McNeaill, 6’1”, 185 lb, FR
F – Brandon Gibson, 6’5”, 225 lb, SO
F – Olu Ashaolu, 6’7”, 220 lb, JR
C – J.L. Lewis, 6’8”, 240 lb, SO
VanLaere’s Analysis
The Bulldogs, out of the WAC, aren’t a particularly good road team. They are at the end of a five game stretch where four of those games are on the road. LATECH has already lost to three teams on the road with a Pomeroy Rating over 200 (McNeese State, Northwestern State (my stomach just turned), and AR Little Rock).
LATECH, although poor on the road, isn’t void of talent. They’ve got a couple point guards playing at the 1 and 2 spots for them that will create an interesting matchup for Iowa. DeAndre Brown is a JUCO transfer from Navarro College, where he earned Texas JUCO Player of the Year honors two years ago. He is currently the Bulldogs’ leading scorer and go-to-guy in the backcourt. Complimenting Brown in the backcourt is freshman Kenyon McNeaill, a former Nebraska commit. McNeaill has good range on his jumper that will stretch Iowa’s perimeter defense.
The frontcourt isn’t too shabby for LATECH, either. Junior forward, Olu Ashaolu (be careful how you pronounce that), already has seven double-doubles on the year. His aggressiveness is a double-edged sword. Although he hits the boards well, he really struggles with foul trouble. Look for Iowa to exploit this.
KEYS TO GAME FOR IOWA:
- Put out a Lost and Found for Eric May. May, Iowa’s leading scorer, has gone missing in the last three games. In the first 8 games, Eric shot over 50% from the field (including a scorching 57.9% from downtown). In the last 3 games, he has shot 28.6% from the field (including a very below average 25% from behind the arc). Additionally, on the defensive end, May was averaging almost 3 steals per contest, yet has just 3 total takeaways in the last three contests. Hopefully, Eric can get back on track in this final warm-up before the conference slate starts.
- Keep the Bulldogs off the Glass. LATECH does a fairly decent job on the boards, so Iowa needs to find a way to get on the glass in this contest.
- Press Often and Early. The Bulldogs turn the ball over at a very high rate (somewhere around ¼ of their possessions result in a turnover). If Iowa can get some easy turnovers, they will gain confidence and get out to an early lead, giving Iowa some much needed momentum.
- Hold Onto the Large Lead. I can see Iowa being able to get out to a double-digit lead at some point in the first half. With that, comes a sense of composure that needs to exist for the team. Far too many times this Hawkeye team has broken out to a large lead only to see it shrink down to nothing. It’s time this team learns how to maintain that big lead.
PREDICTION: This Bulldog team beat UL-Monroe by just 9 points, a team Iowa beat by almost 30 points earlier in the year. LATECH hasn’t beaten a school from a major conference since 2005 and I don’t see that changing tonight. FINAL SCORE: Iowa 77, LATECH 61
By Justin VanLaere
With a victory tonight, Iowa would be winners of 4 out of their last 5 games. The last time Iowa could boast that achievement was back in early January 2009. It would also mean the Hawkeyes would have won 5 out of 7, with their two losses being by 3 pts each to teams they had double-digits leads over at one point in their respective games. That’s progress. It’s what this program desperately needs. Iowa needs this win heading into Big Ten action.
Game Info
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (9-4, 0-0) vs Iowa Hawkeyes (6-5, 0-0)
POMEROY RATINGS: LATECH – 214, Iowa 80
RPI: LATECH – 149, Iowa – 209
Tip Off: Tuesday, December 21st, 2010; 7:05 PM CST
Iowa City, IA – Carver-Hawkeye Arena (15,550)
TV: Mediacom/BigTenNetwork.com • RADIO: AM-600, AM-800, AM-1040
SERIES: Iowa leads series 2-0.
TV NOTE FROM IOWA SID: Tuesday’s game will be televised in Eastern Iowa on Mediacom. Fans can watch Iowa’s final non-conference game on channel 123 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, Waterloo and Des Moines, and channel 95 in Moline. The game will air network-wide on Mediacom Connections, tape-delayed, at 9:30 p.m.
Probable Starters
IOWA
PG – Bryce Cartwright, 6’1”, 180 lb, JR
G – Matt Gatens, 6’5”, 215 lb, JR
F – Eric May, 6’5”, 225 lb, SO
F – Melsahn Basabe, 6’7”, 225 lb, FR
C – Jarryd Cole, 6’7”, 250 lb, SR
LATECH
G – DeAndre Brown, 5’11”, 160 lb, SR
G – Kenyon McNeaill, 6’1”, 185 lb, FR
F – Brandon Gibson, 6’5”, 225 lb, SO
F – Olu Ashaolu, 6’7”, 220 lb, JR
C – J.L. Lewis, 6’8”, 240 lb, SO
VanLaere’s Analysis
The Bulldogs, out of the WAC, aren’t a particularly good road team. They are at the end of a five game stretch where four of those games are on the road. LATECH has already lost to three teams on the road with a Pomeroy Rating over 200 (McNeese State, Northwestern State (my stomach just turned), and AR Little Rock).
LATECH, although poor on the road, isn’t void of talent. They’ve got a couple point guards playing at the 1 and 2 spots for them that will create an interesting matchup for Iowa. DeAndre Brown is a JUCO transfer from Navarro College, where he earned Texas JUCO Player of the Year honors two years ago. He is currently the Bulldogs’ leading scorer and go-to-guy in the backcourt. Complimenting Brown in the backcourt is freshman Kenyon McNeaill, a former Nebraska commit. McNeaill has good range on his jumper that will stretch Iowa’s perimeter defense.
The frontcourt isn’t too shabby for LATECH, either. Junior forward, Olu Ashaolu (be careful how you pronounce that), already has seven double-doubles on the year. His aggressiveness is a double-edged sword. Although he hits the boards well, he really struggles with foul trouble. Look for Iowa to exploit this.
KEYS TO GAME FOR IOWA:
- Put out a Lost and Found for Eric May. May, Iowa’s leading scorer, has gone missing in the last three games. In the first 8 games, Eric shot over 50% from the field (including a scorching 57.9% from downtown). In the last 3 games, he has shot 28.6% from the field (including a very below average 25% from behind the arc). Additionally, on the defensive end, May was averaging almost 3 steals per contest, yet has just 3 total takeaways in the last three contests. Hopefully, Eric can get back on track in this final warm-up before the conference slate starts.
- Keep the Bulldogs off the Glass. LATECH does a fairly decent job on the boards, so Iowa needs to find a way to get on the glass in this contest.
- Press Often and Early. The Bulldogs turn the ball over at a very high rate (somewhere around ¼ of their possessions result in a turnover). If Iowa can get some easy turnovers, they will gain confidence and get out to an early lead, giving Iowa some much needed momentum.
- Hold Onto the Large Lead. I can see Iowa being able to get out to a double-digit lead at some point in the first half. With that, comes a sense of composure that needs to exist for the team. Far too many times this Hawkeye team has broken out to a large lead only to see it shrink down to nothing. It’s time this team learns how to maintain that big lead.
PREDICTION: This Bulldog team beat UL-Monroe by just 9 points, a team Iowa beat by almost 30 points earlier in the year. LATECH hasn’t beaten a school from a major conference since 2005 and I don’t see that changing tonight. FINAL SCORE: Iowa 77, LATECH 61
storminspank
Justin VanLaere
Sometimes you get lucky.
tweeterhawk
Well-Known Member
Wow, Stormin. Nice job on the prediction. Got any numbers for me in Vegas? 
