Let's be real guys...

I know Michigan State is traditionally a top tier program every year, but they just don't pass the eye test. On top of that I was looking at their schedule and they haven't played ANYONE other than us. I'm going to be casually optimistic about this team even after last nights win.


lol... You funny!! lmao... Seriously you lost all credibility when you stated they haven't played anyone, that's just stupid..
 
I know Michigan State is traditionally a top tier program every year, but they just don't pass the eye test. On top of that I was looking at their schedule and they haven't played ANYONE other than us. I'm going to be casually optimistic about this team even after last nights win.

So you are a fake guy wanting to be real and you assume others on this board are fake too?
 
I love it. There's literally nothing any trolls or naysayers can spew that doesn't have an obvious answer. I don't mean literally as in figuratively, as it's so often inexplicably used, I mean literally literally. Seriously, any criticism of this Iowa team or its accomplishments WITHOUT knowing exactly what the reply is going to be will be done at the hands of somebody who doesn't know the game. No research, no game minutes logged on TV or in person, no savvy overall. That's how painfully simple this has been. This isn't *I know more than you do*, as most real fans don't brag about knowing the simple stuff. This really isn't even a matter of knowing, it's a matter of understanding.

That's why the desperate straw they will inevitably grasp at is an entirely different sport, lol. Being cautiously optimistic is one thing, but the type of stuff people have vomited out onto our screens is a story in and of itself. Don't argue it, they already know the answer. If they don't, give them time to watch more basketball. Who knows, maybe by the time Wagner Hutton and Cook are running the show they will have a thought worthy of the paper it's written on.

tl;dr - Trolls target great teams, don't they?
 
I know Michigan State is traditionally a top tier program every year, but they just don't pass the eye test. On top of that I was looking at their schedule and they haven't played ANYONE other than us. I'm going to be casually optimistic about this team even after last nights win.

MSU has played 6 top 25 RPI teams. They are 4-2 vs. top 25 RPI teams. They beat Kansas, Providence, Louisville, and Florida, and lost to Iowa twice. Most teams won't play 6 top 25 RPI teams all year, and most won't win more than 3 of those games.


You guys saw all of MSUs uncontested turnovers right? And our way above average shooting night?

Iowa shot 43.1% from the field, and 45.5% from 3. For the year they are averaging 46.5% from the field, and 40.2% from 3. If they shot right at their season averages they would have made 2 more FG, and 1 less 3 pointer. So they would have scored 1 more point in the game if they would have hit their season averages.
 
MSU has played 6 top 25 RPI teams. They are 4-2 vs. top 25 RPI teams. They beat Kansas, Providence, Louisville, and Florida, and lost to Iowa twice. Most teams won't play 6 top 25 RPI teams all year, and most won't win more than 3 of those games.




Iowa shot 43.1% from the field, and 45.5% from 3. For the year they are averaging 46.5% from the field, and 40.2% from 3. If they shot right at their season averages they would have made 2 more FG, and 1 less 3 pointer. So they would have scored 1 more point in the game if they would have hit their season averages.

I admit it felt like they shot lights out, but then they showed the stat that they were only 51% in the first half . That and Uthoff shot 28%. The narrative that this was a lucky night just isn't true
 
Michigan State has one of the best resumes in the country. Our resume is starting to look pretty impressive itself. Just think if we wouldn't have blown a huge lead against ISU. We might be looking at a top 5 ranking.

Win the next three, and we might be looking at one, anyway.
 
MSU is a clear legit top 15 if not top 10 team. They have one of the best players in the nation and lead the country in rebound differential. They did all that playing a top tier schedule that includes beating KU by a comfortable margin. This Iowa team is a legit top 10 if not top 5 team. Iowa also has an AA player. It also has depth. Unlike FB, this Iowa team has played a legit schedule with quality road wins...2 of them straight up dominating performances. What will March bring? It's hard to know. Right now there is not a single team in the country they cannot beat. That's hasn't been the case for a really long time.


Uthoff is also a potential 1st round NBA'er and Jok is a NBA caliber shooter. JU will be in the NBA and I believe Jok will be a role player in the NBA as a shooter. We win at ISU if either Uthoff or Jok had been able to grind out some scoring in the last 15 minutes.

What Iowa has is one of the best defensive guard tandems in the country. For the most part, in basketball, teams go as far as their pg(s) can take them. MG and Sapp can absolutely cut off the head of the snake, defensively. Did anyone notice that Iowa ran Uthoff and Baer at Valentine? They frustrated him all night. There are a lot of reasons why we won, but one is that we allowed Costello to be the primary scorer for them and he isn't a primary scorer.

Uhl, Baer, Wagner and Ellingson all played their bench roles to perfection. Keep an eye on Ellingson, he is quietly an excellent defensive player. Lastly, Iowa seems to be one of the better conditioned team I've seen of B1G this season. IU is also well conditioned.
 
You guys saw all of MSUs uncontested turnovers right? And our way above average shooting night?

In basketball, "unforced" turnovers happen when a team is playing out of sync, too fast or too slow; they don't have a rhythm. That will typically happen when the other team's defense makes that happen. Iowa game planned for 8 days leading up to Thursday night and they had MSU figured out and the players went out and executed an almost flawless defensive game plan. Exhibit A being MSU's second offensive possession when they trapped Valentine in the corner and Uthoff jumped in front of a bounce pass intended for Costello. That was a designed defensive play and it showed Izzo that Iowa would trap them on the baseline corner. That is a big part of MSU's offensive set as they typically get Costello or a 3 point jump-shooter open on the baseline.

Fran and staff kicked Izzo and staff in the "nuts" from a game plan perspective and the players went out and executed it.
 
Win the next three, and we might be looking at one, anyway.

CBS has us ranked at #7 in their poll. Iowa is starting to get recognized and you're right; we've got UM, @RU, PU, @MD and NW left in the 1st half. I gotta tell ya, that looks like at least 4 wins to me and (I'm no longer as scared of MD as I was leading to their UM loss) if we finish 8-1 in the first half, we will definitely be top 5.

It's hard to understand Calhoun, sometimes, but you can't deny his basketball knowledge. Towards the end of the game, Calhoun stated that you needed to start considering Iowa (down the road) as a potential contender. This is all speculation at this point and this team needs to keep it's focus and avoid anymore injuries, but I believe this team can be that good, eventually.
 
I don't think this team is afraid of anyone. The bigger they are. ....we all know the rest of that saying...the MSU game has given this team a new sense of accomplishment. It's like the light bulb finally went on for these seniors.....and it's fun to see that
 
I know Michigan State is traditionally a top tier program every year, but they just don't pass the eye test. On top of that I was looking at their schedule and they haven't played ANYONE other than us. I'm going to be casually optimistic about this team even after last nights win.

I understand your point and I also understand why you would say that as someone who doesn't understand the game of basketball or is unfamiliar with the two teams who played in the game you are referencing. Twice now Iowa was able to impose its will against MSU. This irks Izzo to a level we have rarely seen, as this just not happen to his teams and we have done it twice. And even if we did not look good doing it (we did) just the fact that we could control the action and we could impose our will against another team like that is impressive. I think we are a poor matchup for MSU, and this happens in basketball. But any objective viewer would have to watch the two games we played against MSU and come away thinking the Hawkeyes are pretty good. But I also think you could say that MSU may not be as good as their ranking. Once Valentine is 100% though I think they are right back there in the top 5.
 
Uthoff is also a potential 1st round NBA'er and Jok is a NBA caliber shooter. JU will be in the NBA and I believe Jok will be a role player in the NBA as a shooter. We win at ISU if either Uthoff or Jok had been able to grind out some scoring in the last 15 minutes.

What Iowa has is one of the best defensive guard tandems in the country. For the most part, in basketball, teams go as far as their pg(s) can take them. MG and Sapp can absolutely cut off the head of the snake, defensively. Did anyone notice that Iowa ran Uthoff and Baer at Valentine? They frustrated him all night. There are a lot of reasons why we won, but one is that we allowed Costello to be the primary scorer for them and he isn't a primary scorer.

Uhl, Baer, Wagner and Ellingson all played their bench roles to perfection. Keep an eye on Ellingson, he is quietly an excellent defensive player. Lastly, Iowa seems to be one of the better conditioned team I've seen of B1G this season. IU is also well conditioned.
Why don't some posters call others on these type of pollyannaish posts?

Maybe standards are set way low?
 
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I know Michigan State is traditionally a top tier program every year, but they just don't pass the eye test. On top of that I was looking at their schedule and they haven't played ANYONE other than us. I'm going to be casually optimistic about this team even after last nights win.


I'm conflicted. I didn't think they passed the eye test either but then they do have a great resume'.

I guess I'm going to stay cautiously optimistic because this has the same kind of footprint as the football season-we're better than anyone thought we'd be but are we just being set up for disappointment in the end....
 

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