Northwestern in 2nd place...what the *ell.....Official Iowa @ Northwestern Game Thread
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HawkGold
Well-Known Member
Fran nailed it with Bobby post game. Flip double teamed. D played Murray hard and tight.
5 on D with 1 double team and not worried about a drive around. Which means at least 1 player was left alone. Those mostly were..... CM and PM.
I don't know why posters/fans think...oh well bad night shooting. NW was OK with the M's shooting uncontested on the perimeter all night long.
Conner should have committed to driving but that was a tough go against NW and Murray had same issue.
It's not about luck and a bad shooting night. Just like Iowa with a mediocre at best QB struggled to pass with a bad line. Can't just say, oh well a bad night in the passing game. Iowa on O in BB handicaps itself.
5 on D with 1 double team and not worried about a drive around. Which means at least 1 player was left alone. Those mostly were..... CM and PM.
I don't know why posters/fans think...oh well bad night shooting. NW was OK with the M's shooting uncontested on the perimeter all night long.
Conner should have committed to driving but that was a tough go against NW and Murray had same issue.
It's not about luck and a bad shooting night. Just like Iowa with a mediocre at best QB struggled to pass with a bad line. Can't just say, oh well a bad night in the passing game. Iowa on O in BB handicaps itself.
If NW would play its best game vs Iowa playing its best game, that would be a doozie to watch. That hasn't happened yet this season: at Carver the Cats shot less than 25% from 3; tonight the Hawks shot probably worse + 3 technicals.
Overall, tho, if those teams played 10 times on a neutral court, I'd pick NW to probably win 7-8 of them. Their defense is the the real deal, and there are a lot of teams in the NCAA tourney who've never played against a defense like that. Add in their guards, who can get a shot anytime, and they're just a darn good bball team.
Very disappointed in PMac's play tonight...for the first 33 minutes of the game he literally didn't do anything more than any h.s. player could do. Multiple times he passed up opportunities to shoot, to drive, to put any pressure on the defense....he did literally nothing but pass the ball. Then after Daddy got tossed, he suddenly came to life, doing his patented drive into the lane, getting a basket and fouled. When Uhlis and PMac and CMac aren't hitting treys, it's a slog for this team.
Overall, tho, if those teams played 10 times on a neutral court, I'd pick NW to probably win 7-8 of them. Their defense is the the real deal, and there are a lot of teams in the NCAA tourney who've never played against a defense like that. Add in their guards, who can get a shot anytime, and they're just a darn good bball team.
Very disappointed in PMac's play tonight...for the first 33 minutes of the game he literally didn't do anything more than any h.s. player could do. Multiple times he passed up opportunities to shoot, to drive, to put any pressure on the defense....he did literally nothing but pass the ball. Then after Daddy got tossed, he suddenly came to life, doing his patented drive into the lane, getting a basket and fouled. When Uhlis and PMac and CMac aren't hitting treys, it's a slog for this team.
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thedukeofearl
Well-Known Member
I think Iowa assistant coaches should discontinue their usual 'step between Fran and the refs' to supposedly prevent Fran from rushing the refs. Fran's a grown man...if he hasn't learned enough self-control at this point in his life and coaching career to control his temper, then he should suffer the consequences.
I expected my middle school children to have control over their emotions, and if they didn't they faced consequences. Is it too much to ask an adult public employee representing our state on a national stage to have the emotional control of a 13 year old? It's a simple yes or no question.
I'm just saying, quit the faux 'hold me back' game. Let's see if Fran really wants to physically assault a ref or if he's just a play-bully trying to look tough. I think I know the answer to that one.
I expected my middle school children to have control over their emotions, and if they didn't they faced consequences. Is it too much to ask an adult public employee representing our state on a national stage to have the emotional control of a 13 year old? It's a simple yes or no question.
I'm just saying, quit the faux 'hold me back' game. Let's see if Fran really wants to physically assault a ref or if he's just a play-bully trying to look tough. I think I know the answer to that one.
Northside Hawk
Well-Known Member
Well Collins had to be held back in Iowa City a few weeks ago. Holtmann, Underwood, just about every Coach in this league.
The B1G has had a rep for decades for having the worst officiating in NCAA hoops, and for having refs who like to stir the pot and turn the spotlight on themselves. While the things you mentioned about Fran representing his university are all true, he's hardly the Lone Ranger in this regard.
Dadman
Well-Known Member
Willing to put a cup of coffee and a pastry on this projection?
We had way too many wide open 3s by way too many players to chalk it up to anything other than a bad shooting night. Up until the Fran ejection, we would have been in a tight game if we were just having a bad shooting night instead of a terrible one. We would have been rolling them with a good shooting night. That said, this team does have a real confidence issue shooting the ball on the road.
I think Fran has underachieved putting together a good roster this year but has overachieved so far on results with this roster. Especially considering we probably lost at least 2 games earlier in the season because of injuries. But we also benefited from a weaker conference this year too. I'd be really optimistic for next year if Kris was coming back. If he didn't have a twin brother, I don't know why any NBA team would want to take a chance on him looking at how he's played so far. It's been rough.
HawkGold
Well-Known Member
Missed is that as a coach you do things differently. A flex for example involves intense lane area screening that keeps players from standing around. PM and CM are generally not great shooters. NW dictated who would be open and taking shots. No one followed them leaving Perkins or Ullis to have a nice drive. You watched the blue print of how a mid will take down Iowa.
If leaving those guys in then run a flex or have CM at the point...which I dislike but would change things up. NW was in CMs pocket when he tried to dribble in close.
This was entirely on Fran.
Exactly. They had a defensive game plan for us and we played right into it most of the time. We took way too many tough 3s (almost half our FGs were 3s) Their guards controlled the game and Perkins barely got it going. It was pretty much away from us in the 2nd half when he did. That's a game where we really needed him to go to the hole more and make good decisions. He's just so hit or miss with that. We just don't have anyone else that can.
Careful what you wish for...I really don't. We don't match up well with them and if we do it'll be on a neutral court obviously. I'd rather have another shot at Purdue honestly. And I don't like our odds against them either.
STILLBUSTER
Well-Known Member
Iowa isn't going to play a mid-major. Their going to get a 7, 8 or 9 seed and be playing the likes of Pitt, UNC, Ok State, Kentucky, Auburn, Arkansas -- another high-mid power 5 team just like themselves.
This will be one of the toughest NCAA first round games for Iowa in years and, very likely, a loss.
C
The McCaffery Brothers shoot too good for the other team to have the game plan of leaving them wide open. It's ridiculous to think otherwise. Now I'm sure they focused on other things first. But you act like the plan was to leave them wide open and hope they miss. Also the game plan was clearly way different for us on offense in the 2nd half. We almost entirely went away from the 3. That was coaching no doubt. But good luck telling D1 players to not shoot wide open 3s. It's one of the best shots in the game.
Right now the bracket simulator has us as a 5 seed. I gave Rutgers and Maryland 1 more loss each and we ended up the 3 seed with Maryland the 6 and Nortwestern the 2. We couldn't ask for a better bracket. Purdue, Indiana, Illinois, and MSU all on the other side. Sign me up. Gotta win at Wisconsin tho which seems really unlikely.
The BTen conference has brought this on themselves by not cracking down on childish coach behavior early and often. There's NEVER a reason for a coach to be outside of their box or to step onto the court during a game, and it happens constantly. Should be an automatic tech. Refs take verbal abuse the entire game, until....well, they subjectively decide they've had enough. Verbal abuse of officials shouldn't be allowed at all. Automatic tech. Do you really think coaches would continue to act like 2-year olds if every time they got a tech they'd have to miss coaching 3 games? I don't. This isn't rocket science. To quote a Jack Johnson song, "if it's hell that you want, it's hell that you'll have". The conference enabled this situation to develop; they could put a stop to it tomorrow if they wanted to. And they should.
HawkGold
Well-Known Member
You just don't get it. Go back and rewatch without a beer. They left the be on the perimeter.
I don't know if the Hawks will win or lose their 1st round game, but I agree with your seeding estimate in the 7-8 range, and there ARE going to be a LOT of 7/10, 8/9 games involving mid-level P5 teams from the BTen, SEC, and ACC. It'll make for a more intriguing 1st round than usual.
HawkGold
Well-Known Member
Agree. But with Flip hanging around the basket with 2 defenders it takes away some of the drive lane.
But yes NW put on a clinic coaching. Frans response was to swear at the refs.
