Schedule Ahead...

[NorthKCHawk]

"...at least a second weekend." ???
Okay, gotta tap the brakes here a little. This is a team that has and does all the things you mention, but it's also a team with significant weaknesses whose star scored 36 pts and yet nearly lost to 2-10 NWestern AT HOME yesterday.

This team is fully capable of making the Sweet 16. Am I predicting that? Probably not right now. There are some warts, but I disagree on the critique based upon the NW game. Iowa had just come off a long West Coast swing. NW is better than its record. NW is well coached. Iowa did not play its A game, but it found a way to win. If that way was their star player doing star things, then so be it. Grinding out wins on an off night is what good teams do.

Setting aside the warts with this team, here are things that point towards a second weekend:

You have a bona fide superstar at the most important position.
Guard play wins NCAA tourney games, not front courts.
Defense wins tournament games, not offense.
Ben seems to kind of, sort of, perhaps, maybe know a little bit about winning in tournaments.

 

[SwirlinLingerie]

I guess you can say weaknesses or warts, but the fact is McCollum has built a team that is around top 20 in both offense and defense. What else is there? As Billy Bean said, we're not selling jeans here. Those efficiency rankings have proven to be very predictive of NCAA success. How good are you at putting the ball through the basket? How good are you at keeping the other team from putting the ball in the basket?

 

[ChosenChildren]

BMC is a great coach. He gets his kids to play with great intensity most of the time. Iowa plays FAST on both ends. That is hard to do.

 

[eyekwah]

Competitor for 5th thru 8th. The key is avoiding losses to OSU, WI, MD, PSU. The 2 games cushion is big.

 

[HuckFinn]

"...at least a second weekend." ???
Okay, gotta tap the brakes here a little. This is a team that has and does all the things you mention, but it's also a team with significant weaknesses whose star scored 36 pts and yet nearly lost to 2-10 NWestern AT HOME yesterday.

One snow flake don’t make a blizzard.

 

[CyberJJJ]

If Nebraska comes back to earth just a little, which could happen, that bodes well for Iowa in terms of how schedule fell. We did sweep them last year albeit with a different coach and team.

We had Purdue on the ropes at their place a month ago until Smith took over. I like our chances on valentine's day.

Scary to think of how well we've been playing and yet STILL eighth place in the conference. Would love to have the Minnesota-Illinois week back with no flu bug but suspect the flu runs through most teams during the season. But damn this league!!! This may be this year the B1G finally gets its first natty in a quarter century. Auburn, Houston and Florida all look relatively down this year. For Arizona, UConn or Duke to win it all they're going to have to go through a B1G gauntlet. I just hope teams like Michigan, Illinois and Nebraska don't peak too early for the conference's sake. Then you have Purdue, MSU, Wisconsin and, yes, Iowa in the next tier? Good luck rest of the NCAA!

Have you seen Houston play lately? They started the season slower, but they have two five-star freshmen playing at a high level, with Kingston Flemings coming on as a real stud. I believe they are back up to 3rd in the AP poll this week.

 

[thedukeofearl]

Have you seen Houston play lately? They started the season slower, but they have two five-star freshmen playing at a high level, with Kingston Flemings coming on as a real stud. I believe they are back up to 3rd in the AP poll this week.

They certainly look like Final Four material

 

[Grady]

Second weekend means winning in round 2. That has to be the goal of every Iowa team always...at least until the streak ends.

What significant weaknesses does this team have? With a top 20 offense and defense, this team is very well-positioned for a March run.

What I was initially responding to was your comment that the Hawks are poised to "at least" get to the Sweet 16, which implied to me that was the low bar, where I see that as the highest possible outcome for this team.

The significant weakness of this team is well-known: rebounding. We rank 159th in offensive rebounding and 119th in defensive rebounding. No surprise, given our height disadvantage. A secondary, but important, weakness is the lack of a PG who can break down a defense, which is obvious when Combs is in the game. If teams take away Stirtz' right hand, there's no other guard who can break down guys 1-on-1...that's when Iowa's offense gets stagnant. These aren't 'disqualifying weaknesses', but I sure don't think this team is Elite 8 material.

What has to be the biggest (pleasant) surprise to McCollum is the way his team is shooting the 3. They struggled early in the season, and Coach Mc said he wasn't surprised -- that the two exhibitions they lost exposed their lack of 3-pt shooting. Yet here we are, only a handful of games away from the BTen tourney, and the Hawks sit #21 in the nation in 3pt FG %. Amazing.

 

[Grady]

One snow flake don’t make a blizzard.

Ha. Indeed. What's amazing about that NWestern game is that vs Iowa they started 3 FR. If they stick around, the Cats could be decent in a few years.

 

[SwirlinLingerie]

What I was initially responding to was your comment that the Hawks are poised to "at least" get to the Sweet 16, which implied to me that was the low bar, where I see that as the highest possible outcome for this team.

The significant weakness of this team is well-known: rebounding. We rank 159th in offensive rebounding and 119th in defensive rebounding. No surprise, given our height disadvantage. A secondary, but important, weakness is the lack of a PG who can break down a defense, which is obvious when Combs is in the game. If teams take away Stirtz' right hand, there's no other guard who can break down guys 1-on-1...that's when Iowa's offense gets stagnant. These aren't 'disqualifying weaknesses', but I sure don't think this team is Elite 8 material.

What has to be the biggest (pleasant) surprise to McCollum is the way his team is shooting the 3. They struggled early in the season, and Coach Mc said he wasn't surprised -- that the two exhibitions they lost exposed their lack of 3-pt shooting. Yet here we are, only a handful of games away from the BTen tourney, and the Hawks sit #21 in the nation in 3pt FG %. Amazing.

I gotcha. Yep, not trying to imply the Sweet 16 is a low bar.

Rebounding is great and all, but only as it relates to scoring or keeping the other team from scoring. And Iowa is really good at both of those things, as measured by the offensive and defensive efficiency ratings. Among all games, Iowa is 17th out of 18th in the Big Ten in rebounding. Yet they sit at 8-4 and are playing great, winning basketball. Teams that use much of the shot clock while searching for the highest percentage shot possible won't be all that good in offensive rebounding numbers. The whole point it to make the shot - and ideally the first time. That's why I am stressing to pay attention to the offensive and defensive efficiency ratings. They are suggesting Iowa has a very good team.

I agree that Iowa is worse without Stirtz in the game. Good thing he plays 40 minutes.

Overall, Iowa is great offensively. 20th in the country.

 

[thedukeofearl]

Have you seen Houston play lately? They started the season slower, but they have two five-star freshmen playing at a high level, with Kingston Flemings coming on as a real stud. I believe they are back up to 3rd in the AP poll this week.

In one of the expert sites

We are a 7 seed playing Georgia in the first round

Second round, if we emerge victorious, we would play #2 Houston

Luck of the Draw

NCAA Tournament Bracket Watch: Can Duke, UConn lose their No. 1 seeds?

The Blue Devils and Huskies have been entrenched on the top line for most of the season, but both lost over the weekend.

www.nytimes.com

The link is from The Athlete

 

[thedukeofearl]

One snow flake don’t make a blizzard.

Would depend on the size of the snow flake

 

[haydensly]

In one of the expert sites

We are a 7 seed playing Georgia in the first round

Second round, if we emerge victorious, we would play #2 Houston

Luck of the Draw

NCAA Tournament Bracket Watch: Can Duke, UConn lose their No. 1 seeds?

The Blue Devils and Huskies have been entrenched on the top line for most of the season, but both lost over the weekend.

www.nytimes.com

The link is from The Athlete

This is why I don't think we get to the round of 16 this year. Now, if we keep winning and get a higher seed then I like our chances much more. But if we end up with a 7 or 8 seed I'm afraid we won't have enough to get past the second round opponent.

 

[Dadman]

I wouldn't want to play us

Our defense can be most annoying

 

[SwirlinLingerie]

Since we all seem to like numbers, it is interesting to note that Kenpom has the Hawks winning the next four, including Purdue and Nebraska at home and at Wisconsin.

 

[NorthKCHawk]

Nebraska is regressing to the mean. To be fair, they have had three tough losses, and are still a good team, but they benefitted from a manageable schedule to start the season and now they are facing the top end of the conference. Reality setting in. Sort of like the Patriots!

 

[HuckFinn]

Since we all seem to like numbers, it is interesting to note that Kenpom has the Hawks winning the next four, including Purdue and Nebraska at home and at Wisconsin.

Wow! OK then.

 

[Westernhawk]

nebraska I think BMC can outsmart even if it's just a puncher's chance. They're a flash in the pan and riding a wave.

Purdue on the other hand is a prototypical Big Ten monster. That team and staff has been to the big time before and isn't going to get rattled by a team like ours. The physical part is just too much IMO. As has been said before, there's no replacement for displacement and that team is just too big and strong where it counts. Down in the paint is where the men get separated from the boys.

Their UCLA loss was tight, and every team is going to have a hiccup like they did against Indiana which is an in-state game that's always unpredictable like ours is with ISU (most years).

Purdue outrebounded Iowa 24-20 in West Lafayette. Not exactly dominant. Offensive rebounds were 6-4, again Purdue with the slight advantage. Iowa shot a better FG %and 3PT % in that game, but got destroyed with free throw attempts, which is arguably an indicator of inside dominance I suppose. I think Iowa has a shot at home against them. But, I'm hawktimistic, which is a downfall of mine at times.

 

[Fryowa]

Since we all seem to like numbers, it is interesting to note that Kenpom has the Hawks winning the next four, including Purdue and Nebraska at home and at Wisconsin.

 

[Grady]

Can't believe the Boilers let that game get to OT. Up by 12 with 2.5 to play, they got cocky: had a fast break and instead of pulling it back out, threw up a quick 3 pter which missed. So instead of being up 12 with 2 min remaining, NE went down and hit a quick 3 and suddenly it's only a 9 pt lead with over 2 to play. And the next 2 times on offense, Purdue settled for 3s (missed) rather than driving and getting to the foul line. Then when the Huskers started fouling out of necessity, Purdue missed a ton of FTs in the last minute. Baaaaad.