Purdue -13

This will be a tall task for a young Hawk team. Guys are going to have to attack the lane and draw fouls to get some of their bigs in foul trouble. Also need to hit the free throws though, something this team has struggled with. It's hard to see Iowa stopping Purdue in the paint. I'm glad Cook is back cause they'll need a physical presence down low to go along with Pemsl and Wagner. If the Hawks get hot from outside, that could help offset the lack of points in the paint. Otherwise it could be a long day.
 
ssckelley said:
Jok will have to go nuts just to keep this one under 10 points.
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There are so many ways to win or lose a basketball game that it makes no sense to even say something like that. What if their bigs get into foul trouble? What if their whole team shoots like crap? What if Jok has a pretty good game and Moss and Bohannon both make 6 3s?

If they are 14 points better than us, all it takes to win is for them to miss a few more shots than expected and us to make a few more shots than expected. The margin for error is extremely small in basketball. That's why there are so many upsets.
 
After watching some of the Big10 action tonight I'd say look for a lot of fouls. MSU is going to have over 15 fouls in the 1H at Minny.

Luckily for us we do have enough big guys to rotate in there if we run into some foul trouble.
 
We must not forget the Revenge Factor that the boilermakers have waiting for the Hawks. They will be highly motivated by our outstanding victories over Purdue last season.....

The huge comeback at Purdue, our D carried the day mounting a comeback for the ages. Many turned the game off, thinking it was over. The Hawkeye faithful were treated to a great victory.....

http://www.hawkcentral.com/story/sp...-mens-big-ten-conference-basketball/78211914/

Then about 2 weeks later at Carver we neutralized the large lads once again, defeating the boilermakers, holding Hammons and Haas to 11 total points.....

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400839306

Haas is a handful this season showing massive improvement.....

If we can keep Haas and Swanigan from dominating the boards and scoring at will, we can win this one, however I do see this as a loss, hopefully a close game.....

I wouldn't start Cook at Purdue. If he is totally recovered, I would bring him in with Baer to give the starters a break.....


By the way, the game at Minnesota might be very difficult to win. Gophers are ahead of the spartans by 10 with about 3 minutes left in the first half.....
 
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thedukeofearl said:
By the way, the game at Minnesota might be very difficult to win. Gophers are ahead of the spartans by 10 with about 3 minutes left in the first half.....
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Yes Minny has impressed me a little bit. I thought they just skated by on an easy schedule. They do have some athletes this year. A little bit is that MSU isn't very good. I don't know if Minny has enough shooting though.
 
NikeHawk21 said:
Yes Minny has impressed me a little bit. I thought they just skated by on an easy schedule. They do have some athletes this year. A little bit is that MSU isn't very good. I don't know if Minny has enough shooting though.
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The Spartans have played a very tough preconference schedule and their record displays this, but they are Michigan State and almost certainly will be in tournament shape at the end of the conference season. But, still the gophers are playing hard. The second half should benefit MSU, because of talent and coaching. Hope the gophers prevail though.....

:cool:
 
Revision to above post:

The Spartans will, more than likely, be in the race for the conference title as the season goes on. A Minny loss would benefit us more than a Spartan loss. We will have to dominate the middle and bottom of the conference to finish with a 9-9 record, which would be amazing.....

I can see us going 8-10 with a few breaks though. However, being a rabid homer, I expect us to be "The Team That Nobody Wants to play" at the end of the season.....

:cool:
 
Well MSU came roaring back. Have a chance to win. One thing I noticed is that both teams have a lot of quick players that we would have a tough time keeping in front of us. I'd expect to see Fran employ a lot of zone vs those teams because they don't have a ton of shooting.
 
NikeHawk21 said:
Well MSU came roaring back. Have a chance to win. One thing I noticed is that both teams have a lot of quick players that we would have a tough time keeping in front of us. I'd expect to see Fran employ a lot of zone vs those teams because they don't have a ton of shooting.
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Interesting early conference game. Tied at 66 right now with 34 seconds left.....

Lot of quickness on display here.....

:cool:
 
What I like so far is this...Iowa has won their two big "mental" games with ISU and UNI. In the past, with more talent and lots more experience these games were huge struggles with high levels of anxiety with off the chart "choke meter" readings. A game at Purdue against a good team with lots of Iowa inexperience will be less stress...players are young, want to prove themselves, and they aren't playing with lots of the "bad tapes" that existed in the past few teams. It is a clean slate...go for it...you aren't expected to win...show them....show yourselves you belong.
 
NikeHawk21 said:
After watching some of the Big10 action tonight I'd say look for a lot of fouls. MSU is going to have over 15 fouls in the 1H at Minny.

Luckily for us we do have enough big guys to rotate in there if we run into some foul trouble.
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So the refs are calling like they are supposed to, and calling the rough fouls and hand checks??

If so, then mugging Jok might draw some fouls. That would get us to the line.... It's a strategy that I would plan on, but not count on.... But rather count it as a bonus if it happens. And expect it to not happen and prepare for the muggings.
 
I'm surprised at how many posters think Iowa has a good shot in this one. Life on the road in the Big 10 is tough, especially against a top 15 team who expects to compete for a Big 10 title.

I consider myself a pretty big homer and I think Iowa has a very low chance of winning and most likely even keeping this one close.

Remember one of the concerns about this team was that we don't have a "true center." Whoever guards Haas is going to be giving up 4-5 inches. Swanigan is a matchup problem for anyone and Edwards is as good of a wing player as there is in the conference.

I hope I get to eat some crow tomorrow but I think some people are in for a long night if they are expecting Iowa to win this one.
 
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