Look at it this way....they have to come to Carver

But we just blew out three teams who were up for us. How many teams have athletic bigs? We beat the same team twice who has. Again, we aren't immune from a bad game but there isn't a single team dancing who is. We probably won't win it all because in a 68 team tournament the odds are technically against any individual team doing it but this team has a very, very good chance of doing so. I don't see the point in getting nervous just because....this is the best Iowa basketball team we've seen in 30 years. Getting nervous about how they may fair in a game 1 month from now just because they narrowly lost one now doesn't really seem purposeful to me.

The last 3.....Penn St and Northwestern were at home (Iowa should win those games no matter what)...I will give you the Illinois game....that was a good win and historically. It just depends on who Iowa draws...but if they get a team with athletic bigs we could really struggle there. I would have to look up some teams on that. Maryland is one of them for sure....not that we would meet up them.

Best basketball team in 30 years, I want to see how this finishes out. They get that 14-4 mark and that puts them on that level. They should get there at minimum.
 
It just seems like that collectively as a fan base we freak out whenever were close to anything and spazz out and act like we're cursed or can never win the big one even though nothing is out of reach. Even the rational posters are starting to show fear even though tonight was a loss that happens and can be completely overcome. It's weird to see posts talking about how we're going to lose in March already or posts about us folding down the stretch and then see some of the same posters yell at the players through their computer screen about how mentally weak THEY are.
 
It just seems like that collectively as a fan base we freak out whenever were close to anything and spazz out and act like we're cursed or can never win the big one even though nothing is out of reach. Even the rational posters are starting to show fear even though tonight was a loss that happens and can be completely overcome. It's weird to see posts talking about how we're going to lose in March already or posts about us folding down the stretch and then see some of the same posters yell at the players through their computer screen about how mentally weak THEY are.

We are very good. Very good. But, deep down I sit here and say I'm not sure we are that good. Is it possible we caught MSU and Purdue at the right times? Now, where I would say I'm wrong there is Purdue was playing on their shooting God's night and Iowa just does not win at MSU.

Major, major step forward taking those 2 teams out 4 times together. But, did it make us look better than what we are? If Iowa could have pushed forward at Maryland and at Indiana I would have said no question this team is a number 1 seed and serious legit threat to win the Big Dance.

Bottom line, I think this team can win some games in the dance because they are very good. But, I'm not sure they have enough horses in the middle to bail them out. But, they have a shot and if they catch the right breaks who knows.
 
It's all just silly. Iowa was suppose to lose this game according to kenpom...and still win the big ten. Deep breath
 
Indiana played great. Had more energy, played harder, attacked the glass harder. Iowa was the aggressor for maybe 8 minutes out of 40. Just got outplayed
 
There are 2 things this team has that only a couple other teams have. One is the ability to have a bad game and still have a chance to beat really good teams. Almost all other teams need to play their best to even have a chance against top 10 teams. The other is that we're almost unbeatable at our best. Most teams can still lose on nights they play their best. If we play our best, 6 games in a row in march, we will almost for sure win the title. Only a couple other teams have that luxury.
 
I'd much rather be where we're at and looking at ways to improve rather than the pretender team to the west who lost to lowly Texas Tech and barely has a .500 record in the Big 12 and thinking they're elite and going to the final four. One loss right now doesn't mean the sky is falling.
 
Enjoy the season. This team has already blown away expectations. As fans we naturally raise the bar, but this was a bubble team 3 months ago. 4 years ago we were a doormat coming off the worst stretch in Iowa BB I can remember in 40 years. Today they are competing for a B1G championship and are tied for first.

This could be be the first sweet 16 team in a long time. Or better.
 
This is the calmest/tamest meltdown thread I have ever read. We all know we're still one of the best teams in the country. I think Oklahoma could still win it all and they lost at KSU. There is zero shame in losing at Indiana. I'm confident we will win the rematch...probably by double figures.
 
Windsor, thanks for pointing out the fact that the fan base is not in freak out mode. We are not cy fan. To be tied for 1st w/6 games to go. I like our position & I like our chances. Last night was one of those nights
 
What discouraged me the most in last nights game is Fran didn't make the proper adjustments defensively in time. In the first half Iowa was obviously out to stop Yogi and they set up some costly double teams on the perimeter that left shooters like Zeisloft & Johnson wide open and they delivered. Not only did that zone/double team leave them wide open but it also left the team in a horrible rebound position which resulted in 5 defensive rebounds in the first half (Indiana had 12 offensive rebounds). Fran didn't make the adjustments until half time when they came out man to man, Indiana started missing from the perimeter, and Iowa took the lead. Indiana started driving to the hoop and got easy baskets, if Fran would have switched back to a zone earlier and forced them to shoot from the perimeter Iowa may have won the game.

Iowa did a good job stopping Ferrell, too good. If you would have told me Iowa was going to limit him to 2 out of 12 shooting and just 14 points I wouldn't have believed Iowa would have lost. Hopefully Fran will mix up the defense a little better when Indiana comes to Carver.
 
A lot of our mistakes could easily be contributed to playing on the road. Teams don't stay hot shooting against us. Even Indiana shot very poorly from three in the second half. We dug ourselves a pretty deep hole and got beat. We could easily lose because it's one and done but we could still easily win the whole thing too.

It's hard to win on the road aganist good teams with elite venues. The bench is YOUNG and young players struggle more in tough road environments. This team will be just fine. This was the toughest game BY FAR left on the schedule. There is no reason to think they should lose more than 1 of the next 6.
 
Fran didn't make the adjustments until half time when they came out man to man, Indiana started missing from the perimeter, and Iowa took the lead.

We did something right before halftime because we cut the lead from 16 to 5...before the dumb play that took it back to 7.
 
It's hard to win on the road aganist good teams with elite venues. The bench is YOUNG and young players struggle more in tough road environments. This team will be just fine. This was the toughest game BY FAR left on the schedule. There is no reason to think they should lose more than 1 of the next 6.

Agreed. According to Sagarin we were an underdog going into this game...and are favored in the last 6. There's a reason we were an underdog at Indiana and we're a favorite against the same team at home. Sagarin treats home court as an 8 point swing. As of this moment we are a 6 point favorite in the rematch.
 
Box scores are essentially identical. Came down to a couple things. 2nd chance points and free throws. Good thing is you can fix FT shooting and rebounding. On to the next one!
 
Indiana is going to wish they were Maryland and didn't have to make the return trip. Because they are going to get just what Maryland would get. Pay attention Maryland. I want you to know what's coming in the conference tournament should the opportunity present itself.
 
Stoked about the rematch at Carver. So many questions left unanswered in this one.

Can Indiana catch fire again from the perimeter like they did in the first half? Can they manage to make what seemed to be every desperation shot with the shot clock expiring? Can Yogi have that poor of a shooting night again?

Can Iowa hit free throws? Can Iowa figure out how to rebound? Can Iowa guard the perimeter while preventing uncontested layups?

I wasn't sure what to make of last nights game as I didn't think either team played exceptionally well and was shocked that IU couldn't stretch the lead into double digits the way they shot in the first half.

Truthfully I'm more concerned about Maryland winning the conference at this point since we don't play them again. That said I'm very interested in the rematch as I I'm not sure what type of game we'll see from Indiana away from their house.
 
Say what you will, this is a very good basketball team; and, we won't lose another game in the BT regular season.
 
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