Official Late Night Hoops thread

[thedukeofearl]

I said we would go 2-0. I actually meant 1-1. Sorry about the mixup.

No worries, they are guaranteed to win at UCLA

USC shot 10 of 15 from 3, outrebounded Iowa 37 to 20, and had more assist. Yet, won by 10. Iowa won the 2nd half 57 to 50. USC is mostly Seniors and Juniors.

Iowa just couldn't get the lead under 5pts. Great effort, but USC was on fire from 3pt range to ice the game.

Their threes were bouncing off the back of the rim, bouncing a couple more times on the rim and
rolling or dropping in

 

[thedukeofearl]

Well, at least they didn't give up a hundred points! Ha!
Back to the same ol' same ol' Frannie D.

Nothing beats a moral victory

 

[HawkinWI]

Hey guys! First time in a long time on here. So what gives on the defensive end? It is obviously a recurring theme under McCaffrey. I'm looking for some glimmer of hope on the defensive side because last night was pretty bad! The opponent shooting 66% and out-rebounding you by 17 is a good way to lose by 30. Not sure how it only ended up being a 10 point margin.

 

[thedukeofearl]

Hey guys! First time in a long time on here. So what gives on the defensive end? It is obviously a recurring theme under McCaffrey. I'm looking for some glimmer of hope on the defensive side because last night was pretty bad! The opponent shooting 66% and out-rebounding you by 17 is a good way to lose by 30. Not sure how it only ended up being a 10 point margin.

Trojans were rather athletic, and we weren't prepared for their style of play

We will learn from this game and adjust

 

[Grady]

Owen had an outstanding job last night, they couldn't stop him

Perhaps his best game for the Hawks, at least one of them

Agreed. USC had no answer for him.

 

[trj]

Was going to run it back today, but I already know enough. I am moving on to UCLA this Friday.

 

[PCHawk]

Damn, Pryce imo is our best guy off the bench right now, can rebound and hit shots. He's shooting close to 50% from the field and over 40% from 3. He's a sophomore who's playing the most minutes of his life, I'm willing to give him a little time to develop before I want him to transfer to UNI. Plus, 9 pts a game from a player on your bench? You'll take that on any B1G team. I bet he's a pretty nice player his Jr. and Sr. seasons. Guys mature and develop at different rates, Pryce is money imo. I'd rather him in than anyone else off the bench that Iowa has and he often times is playing the bulk of his minutes down the stretch, so Fran trusts him more than the rest.

Now, did he play his best game his sophomore year on a road trip across the country? No, he didn't.

I agree. Pryce might end up being 6th man of the year. Not sure how you can hate on him as a bench player right now.

 

[PCHawk]

So much of shooting is confidence. I'm starting to wonder if the reputation of our bad defense is giving opposing players confidence coming into the game. I'd be curious to know what opposing player's contested shot make percentage is against us compared to other teams. It just seems like players always light it up regardless of the defense being played on them. Maybe they come in oozing confidence because of our reputation?

 

[Hawkfnntn]

If Iowa wins more than 1 road win this season, it will be more than I expected. I just don't assume they will win any. I thought they played well and didn't give up last night. They are capable of getting stops, just not enough of them and can't keep up unless they are shooting lights out.

I don't give them much of a shot on Friday either...but I like that they will be out there for a few days before hand. UCLA is coming off some bad losses and are going to be looking to get right, so I don't expect much of struggle.

And no team should expect to go dancing in tournament with no road wins at all... Has it ever been done before? This team sure doesn't seem good enough to become the first. There's been jekyl and hyde teams before that'd have been great at home and suck on the road but not usually to such an extreme that they never won any on the road before.

 

[Hawkfnntn]

I agree. Pryce might end up being 6th man of the year. Not sure how you can hate on him as a bench player right now.

His best play is front of him there's no doubt. He's getting pushed around a lot and is struggling with quicker guards. Nothing new or unique about that. But he'll get stronger and will have a good career. Just wish he could defend/rebound better. It's not from a lack of effort he's just not physically capable right now

 

[InGoodCo]

I agree. Pryce might end up being 6th man of the year. Not sure how you can hate on him as a bench player right now.

And you also see his potential right? Great shooter, seems to rebound really well when he's in. He still needs more weight, strength, playing time and confidence and he's well on his way to being a really good player for Iowa. Also, a lot of schools wanted Pryce and if he were to transfer out, he aint going to the Mo Valley.

 

[InGoodCo]

Hey guys! First time in a long time on here. So what gives on the defensive end? It is obviously a recurring theme under McCaffrey. I'm looking for some glimmer of hope on the defensive side because last night was pretty bad! The opponent shooting 66% and out-rebounding you by 17 is a good way to lose by 30. Not sure how it only ended up being a 10 point margin.

If that game was in Iowa City, Iowa would have won by 20.

Even good defensive teams, like say Nebraska for example, play terrible defense on the road. It's not exclusive to just Iowa. Nebraska is ranked 21st in AdjD on Ken Pom. So, pretty good defensive team. One of the better ones in the B1G. Yet, they lost by 36 at Purdue and gave up 106 pts a couple nights ago. Yet, they lost by 37 and gave up 90 to Michigan State on the road.

I guess what I am saying is, unless you're pretty elite, D rarely travels in CBB. I also am someone who doesn't care about the Defense nearly as much as most. Some teams are built a certain way. Iowa is built to score, have high # of possessions, fast break and shooting the 3. They are absolutely elite on offense and quite possibly one of the best offenses in basketball consistently. If we can be elite on one side of the ball and we're alway going to be in the top 10 or so on offense? I am ok conceding some D. I'd rather be able to score and put the bucket in the basket vs. being able to D up and hold teams.

Defense rarely travels in hoops

 

[InGoodCo]

And no team should expect to go dancing in tournament with no road wins at all... Has it ever been done before? This team sure doesn't seem good enough to become the first. There's been jekyl and hyde teams before that'd have been great at home and suck on the road but not usually to such an extreme that they never won any on the road before.

I don't know this for sure, but I feel confident that there has been multiple teams make the dance without a true road win. Most teams don't win on the road except maybe once or twice a year unless you're one of the top maybe 20 teams. And those top 20 teams still probably have a losing record on the road.

It happens, teams win on the road. Iowa will probably find one somewhere this year, it's just not something I expect. I expect to lose every true road game, when they win one I am pretty happy. I expect to win every home game, when they lose one I am sad.

 

[PCHawk]

And you also see his potential right? Great shooter, seems to rebound really well when he's in. He still needs more weight, strength, playing time and confidence and he's well on his way to being a really good player for Iowa. Also, a lot of schools wanted Pryce and if he were to transfer out, he aint going to the Mo Valley.

Any time you have a +40% 3 point shooter it's a good thing. And it's not like he's a guy who can't hardly get shots off. He shoots them fairly often.