Live by the free throw, die by the free throw

[LawVHawk]

Trying to draw fouls by driving to the basket to get opponents into foul trouble and to put yourself on the line is the strategy you use when you do not have shooters on your team. It is painfully obvious this is the game plan Fran McCaffery and his staff have put into place ... unless and until they can recruit better distance shooters to Iowa City.

The key is you HAVE TO MAKE FREE THROWS. If you don't in that strategy, you're sunk. In previous wins, that plan has worked. Tonight, and against Michigan, it did not.

Stunning statistics:
FTM-A
Iowa 30-43
MSU 11-20

FGM-A
Iowa 18-48 incl 3-12 from beyond the arc
MSU 25-59 incl 10-29 from the three

Sparty took 11 more shots than Iowa and 17 more 3-pointers, making 7 more treys than the Hawks. All other stats -- rebounds, assists, turnovers -- are virtually even. That thar's the game, folks.

 

[HawkMD2007]

It's the damn refs. They didn't call enough fouls on MSU.

 

[spliff45]

Apparently FTs are the most difficult shot in the game

 

[hawkeyehotch]

LawVHawk: Best analysis I've seen/heard all night.

 

[HawkeyeWalker]

Even with the absurd scoring drought...it still simply came down to FTs...again.

Just so frustrating. Seemingly so easily fixable...

 

[hawkeyehotch]

Even with the absurd scoring drought...it still simply came down to FTs...again.

Just so frustrating. Seemingly so easily fixable...

I think when Iowa works as hard as they did tonight on defense -- it takes a toll on their legs and as a result, their shot accuracy.

 

[brhawks18]

Trying to draw fouls by driving to the basket to get opponents into foul trouble and to put yourself on the line is the strategy you use when you do not have shooters on your team. It is painfully obvious this is the game plan Fran McCaffery and his staff have put into place ... unless and until they can recruit better distance shooters to Iowa City.

The key is you HAVE TO MAKE FREE THROWS. If you don't in that strategy, you're sunk. In previous wins, that plan has worked. Tonight, and against Michigan, it did not.

Stunning statistics:
FTM-A
Iowa 30-43
MSU 11-20

FGM-A
Iowa 18-48 incl 3-12 from beyond the arc
MSU 25-59 incl 10-29 from the three

Sparty took 11 more shots than Iowa and 17 more 3-pointers, making 7 more treys than the Hawks. All other stats -- rebounds, assists, turnovers -- are virtually even. That thar's the game, folks.

Great analysis.

I do not and did not want to believe this. But unfortunately I cannot think of one player on the Iowa roster with the intestinal fortitude (the gonads) to take control on a consistent basis the last 5 minutes of each game when it's close. It takes a special person and I don't see it with this group. Mike Gatens is the last one I remember.

 

[volhawk50]

Even with the absurd scoring drought...it still simply came down to FTs...again.

Just so frustrating. Seemingly so easily fixable...

This is something that hit me pretty hard a while ago. Iowa went 15 minutes without hitting a field goal, and missed a bunch of free throws, and still had chances to win in regulation and tie in overtime. Amazing. It's almost like they reinvent losing every time they lose.

 

[racerhawk]

It's the damn refs. They didn't call enough fouls on MSU.

They could've called a very important one on the last shot of the game, but "that's basketball."

The importance of how refs call games makes college basketball really challenging to watch sometimes.

Of course, the refs called a ton of fouls on MSU, because MSU fouled a ton. If Iowa makes free throws, they win.

 

[HawkeyeWalker]

This is something that hit me pretty hard a while ago. Iowa went 15 minutes without hitting a field goal, and missed a bunch of free throws, and still had chances to win in regulation and tie in overtime. Amazing. It's almost like they reinvent losing every time they lose.

Barely losing, even with the drought and bad FT shooting, is what weirdly gives me some hope. MSU was down 2 players, key ones, but is still a very good team.

Gotta get a few wins going though.