Recap, Reaction: Hawkeyes Top Utah

I’m shitfaced at a company Christmas party. Glad the Hawks won. I will run it back tomorrow and nitpick everything. Hawks winning 95-89 tells me a lot.
 
I am sober now, so I took a look at the box score and will watch the game tomorrow. Is there something going on with Traore that I need to know?
 
I recorded the game and watched later on in the evening.

That was a fun and entertaining game to watch. Both teams played a fun and up paced offensive game and even a good amount of defense too.
 
One of the most interesting developments during yesterday's game was when Freeman picked up a really stupid 4th foul midway through the 2nd half, so Fran sat him and then inserted Dembele around the 10 min mark. Dembele played solid and did what he does best: defensive rebound. I kept waiting for Fran to put Freeman back in the game...and waited...and waited. Never happened. Dembele played the entire rest of the game. Fran tends to go with lineups that are working, no matter who's on the floor, and yesterday was perhaps the most extreme example of that.
Yesterday was also the first time in his 2-year Iowa career that I remember Pryce Sandfort hitting a shot that actually mattered in a key game. My thoughts on that are: 'congrats'...and given how much playing time he gets, 'it's about time'.
 
One of the most interesting developments during yesterday's game was when Freeman picked up a really stupid 4th foul midway through the 2nd half, so Fran sat him and then inserted Dembele around the 10 min mark. Dembele played solid and did what he does best: defensive rebound. I kept waiting for Fran to put Freeman back in the game...and waited...and waited. Never happened. Dembele played the entire rest of the game. Fran tends to go with lineups that are working, no matter who's on the floor, and yesterday was perhaps the most extreme example of that.
Yesterday was also the first time in his 2-year Iowa career that I remember Pryce Sandfort hitting a shot that actually mattered in a key game. My thoughts on that are: 'congrats'...and given how much playing time he gets, 'it's about time'.

Dembele was one of the main reasons we won

Outstanding game
 
It was a tough game, but the Hawks remembered the NIT loss last season and
didn't want to lose to them twice in one year

Dembele had a career game and Dix and Peyton made some highlight moves to
keep the lead

Really fun game to watch, Utah is a Good Team, but the Hawks were better
 
One of the most interesting developments during yesterday's game was when Freeman picked up a really stupid 4th foul midway through the 2nd half, so Fran sat him and then inserted Dembele around the 10 min mark. Dembele played solid and did what he does best: defensive rebound. I kept waiting for Fran to put Freeman back in the game...and waited...and waited. Never happened. Dembele played the entire rest of the game. Fran tends to go with lineups that are working, no matter who's on the floor, and yesterday was perhaps the most extreme example of that.
Yesterday was also the first time in his 2-year Iowa career that I remember Pryce Sandfort hitting a shot that actually mattered in a key game. My thoughts on that are: 'congrats'...and given how much playing time he gets, 'it's about time'.
On Pryce: Geez. Kind of rough?
 
It was a tough game, but the Hawks remembered the NIT loss last season and
didn't want to lose to them twice in one year

Dembele had a career game and Dix and Peyton made some highlight moves to
keep the lead

Really fun game to watch, Utah is a Good Team, but the Hawks were better

Pay backs are a bitch. My family and I were at that game last year in Salt Lake
City. Both teams looked sluggish last year in the NIT playoff game. This game looked and felt like a NCAA tournament game. Energy, extra effort, and very focused. Both teams really wanted this one. That’s what makes the win even sweeter.
 
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