MSU loss sucked...but

JonDMiller

JonDMiller

Publisher/Founder
That loss sucked big time...heck even my 11 year old daughter was still stinging over it yesterday and she doesn't really follow the team all that much...but we watched that game as a family and my two girls were down on the floor with me before the last shot in anticipation...laughing and enjoying a good family memory together..and then the miss.

Whew...she'll for sure remember that now given the 'pain' associated with it. But alas, we all must forge on.

Seeing Wisconsin lose at home to Northwestern just slapped me out of a funk.

Iowa still has a very good basketball team. They are a top 20 team and they can still get better this season. For those who have given up or 'are done', that's a bit much don't you think?

Iowa athletics are a diversion from the realities of life we all have...as are all sports. This Iowa basketball team is a welcome diversion from one of the most brutal winters in decades...can you imagine this winter with Todd Lickliter at the helm?

I can, because that crap happened less than four years ago...less than four years ago Iowa was losing back to back games to Minnesota and Wisconsin by all time, hundred-plus year series history largest margins.

The loss stunk and it stung....but good grief, are memories really that short? And it's college hoops...what we are watching right now is the journey, but this sport is all about the destination and that destination is March
 
NW is going to be a decent team. I think this week has proved to me that Iowa's issues are above the shoulders. The teams they know they are better than, they put away. The teams they are looking up to, they struggle with. That is also the reason that they can have as many rebounds as MSU, yet fail to get the rebounds when it matters most, or shoot a good FT%, yet fail to make them when it counts.

People have been ragging on Fran a lot, but I really think there is a method to his madness. I am not saying he wanted to lose, but I think he understands that the season really begins in a month. Leaving guys in and going with different lineups is him feeling out things for March. We will be fine. This team can beat anyone in the country if their head is right. That takes time.
 
With Iowa, OSU and Wis all losing at home this week... not a week to be playing at home, apparently. :p
 
theboat said:
NW is going to be a decent team. I think this week has proved to me that Iowa's issues are above the shoulders. The teams they know they are better than, they put away. The teams they are looking up to, they struggle with. That is also the reason that they can have as many rebounds as MSU, yet fail to get the rebounds when it matters most, or shoot a good FT%, yet fail to make them when it counts.

People have been ragging on Fran a lot, but I really think there is a method to his madness. I am not saying he wanted to lose, but I think he understands that the season really begins in a month. Leaving guys in and going with different lineups is him feeling out things for March. We will be fine. This team can beat anyone in the country if their head is right. That takes time.
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This is the bottom line for me. I do think this is one of the best Iowa teams in many, many years. On any given night it could beat anyone, assuming everything is clicking and the players remain focused. There were some stretches against MSU where this team played the best individual and team defense you'll ever see in college hoops. There were others where the team played well for 30 seconds, then a let down and Appling or Harris suddenly found themselves isolated and able to bury the three.

It's coming. I'm not done believing.
 
I am by no means "done" with this team. I am frustrated, it hurt a lot, but I will still watch and hope every game. I think it's fair to say now that I got caught up in the hype. This team just isn't as good as I thought they were. With that said, the majority of teams who play good teams night in and night out will have a couple of bad games. I'm hoping the 15 minute FG drought was simply just a "bad game" and they will bounce back big this weekend.
 
If anyone is "all done" with this team, it is their loss. While Iowa won't be winning the BIG, they have a good team that is fun to watch. Iowa will be in the NCAA, and depending on matchups could win a couple games. I kind of feel like that is the ceiling for this team (sweet 16) as I think they are a top 20 team. Heck, you never know, a team can get hot and go even further.

Even if they don't go that far, I'm not going to get too down on the first good NCAA tourney team that Iowa has had in what 7-8 years now?
 
I am not sure what "give up" means, I will always support the hawks and want them to win every game. From my perspective I just had to readjust my thinking. I was really on board and buying into the hype about this team from this board and the media. It was nice to be excited about our hoops team again. But, this loss put it in perspective, we are not as good as we were being hyped to be. It was deflating to have to realize that. We are likely a tournament team but we still can't beat very good teams. Top 20? Not sure about that.
 
I was thinking to myself after the loss, that it felt much better after losses during the Lick era when apathy had set in with me and I had no expectations. Now that I am fully vested again, losses like that suck and are bad for the ticker. I also find myself getting worked up far more for Iowa basketball than Iowa football. It's a good thing and a bad thing! I think those that say they are done are just vested like the rest of us and upset by the loss. They're not done!
 
This season is another step to what I hope Fran can build here.. A program that is consistently in the elite o the BIG. Iowa has been producing some very talented players that would not give Iowa a sniff. I hope that will change and those players dream of wearing an Iowa uniform. And an opportunity to wear it so they can achieve their dreams here.Not at Kansas or UNC.
 
Jon, part of the problem is that Iowa fans have forgotten how to behave towards the bball season. We really only have familiarity with football successes and failures in the past decade or so.
 
While the loss stung. I really see it differently. If someone were to tell me that Iowa would have went without a field goal for 15 minutes and left as many points as we did at the free throw line, I would have expected to be blown out. While the offensive woes and mental toughness is a question mark, there are very few teams in the nation that could have played that well defensively to stay in the game, let alone take it to overtime.

I don't like the outcome at all. But this team continued to play thru it and made a game of it. I'm not about to give up, in fact I think we still have a shot at it.
 
I was at Carver in the students section and I honestly believe that loss may be something I'll never forget. The hype surrounding that game and being played on such a big game does not happen that much at Iowa. I think it's about the same way I'll never forget the OSU football game in 2006 when Gameday came to IC.
 
imported_ankle23 said:
The '86/'87 team didn't even win the Big 10. People are crazy.
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Great point. So what if Iowa doesn't win the Big 10 this year? Yeah, it stinks not having won the conference in over 30 years, but none of that means that Iowa can't still have a great run in the NCAA Tournament.

If I'm "done" with anything, it's the thoughts of Final Fours. I'm thinking Sweet 16 as a goal, personally. Don't mistake that to mean that I think Iowa CAN'T make a Final Four this year.. I think it has the ability. I just would rather not tease myself with the thought, but instead take the tournament one game at a time. If Iowa makes the Sweet 16, then I'll start thinking "Final Four" possibilities.

I still like this team. Just trying to keep my expectations in check. Seems like I'd be setting myself up for likely disappointment if I expect a Final Four and get too caught up in the hype. Heck, I've seen a lot of really good teams go down in the first or second round.. So nothing is automatic in that tournament, regardless of seed. Just ask Steve Alford.....

Iowa could still have a great finish to the season. It starts Saturday with some unfinished business in Champaign. No wins there since 1999. Let's win that game and take it from there.
 
JonDMiller said:
Iowa still has a very good basketball team. They are a top 20 team and they can still get better this season. For those who have given up or 'are done', that's a bit much don't you think?
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Excellent post, Jon. If the bolded is a shot at tm3308's thread, I love it.
 
It's just tough to see how we keep losing. Espeically this year, where if we just make close to 70% of our free throws we win every game.

Some of Fran's sub choices have been odd. McCabe is a nice energy player, but he really seems to hurt us with his fouls. Other than his hot start shooting the ball early this year, he hasn't done much lately. Gabe seems to be clicking, so why not stick with him?

We all thought this was a tourney team, and we've been teased with some dominant ball. I think this team has the talent to get to a final four....but it really has to take a perfect storm for this team. I don't know if we can get there with our poor ft %. It's kind of too late to think we'll improve that going forward this year.

Just enjoy that we're improving each year.
 
I'm still very much invested in this team. I still think their is no ceiling on what can be accomplished in the NCAA Tournament. If we make it to the Sweet 16 and lose it's been a good year but I don't see it as our ceiling by any means. I can still see a path to the Final Four. Marble, Lohaus, Gamble, Armstrong and company didn't win the Big 10. They made the Elite 8 and were so close to the Final 4. Why?

I think the Big 10 is tough...especially on the road but even at home. The road environments prepare teams for a less intimidating neutral court environment in the NCAA Tournament. Depth is crucial in the NCAA...fatigue, foul trouble, etc. Finally, there is the lack of familiarity. It was hard to prepare for Tom Davis' style in a short period of time.

Fran's system and depth pose the same problem Davis' system did. Big 10 teams see us 1, 2 or 3 times a year every year in person and likely watch more on television. Preparing for 10 moving parts is tough. Facing our size/length is extremely difficult. It's hard to appreciate the difficulties we present during a film session. Iowa will be an extremely tough out in the NCAA Tournament. Big 10 teams see what we do regularly and are better able to adapt.

Consider last year's NIT run...when playing teams which hadn't seen us before. Remember our inability to win on the road only to win at Virginia...a team that hadn't lost at home all season. The NCAA Tournament is an entirely different animal which I think works against some teams and to the advantage of others. Advantage Iowa...IMO.
 
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They are still better than I thought they would be going into the season, so I am still happy.

It is easy to let your expectations rise with the media hype and then be disappointed when the results don't match your hyped-up expectations. That is not really fair to the team and makes the season less enjoyable.
 
I don't think anyone is actually done with this team. Done with the kool-aid or the hype, sure. But not with this group of kids.
 
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