Shouldn't We make the tournament?

[Northside Hawk]

Defense isn't the end all beat all. If you can't put the ball in the bucket you can't win either. The really good teams are top 30-40 in both adjusted D and adjusted O.

Most good teams create offense off their defense. It will keep you in games when your shooting is struggling better than the other way around. I've seen a local high school girls team win six state championships since 2005 and during that time send a grand total of four players to Division 2 or 3. Because their defense was so intense other team's couldn't prepare for it. I'm entertained by high scoring as much as the next guy but guess why UNLV beat us in 1987? They were the first team to expose the weaknesses in our interior defense. I remember our NIT game against Oregon where we scored 97 and gave up 108. Season over. We lost an NIT game to Georgia 100-93 during the (brief) Ricky Davis era. When suspect shooting teams like West Virginia and Cincinnati and Virginia get exposed in the NCAA's, it's usually after they've advanced to the Sweet Sixteen (obviously not this year)

 

[lightning1]

Defense isn't the end all beat all. If you can't put the ball in the bucket you can't win either. The really good teams are top 30-40 in both adjusted D and adjusted O.

Never said it was. Defense just happens to be the topic we were discussing. You need the right balance of offense and defense. That balance should change with the changing skill sets of your teams, as the roster turns over. If you are a below average athletic team, you better not try and get into track meets with elite athletes.

 

[BryceC]

Your team couldn't get stops when it mattered. The good defensive teams they ran into, did get those stops.

They got plenty of stops when it mattered in a lot of games... they just aren't the games you cherry picked.

 

[lightning1]

They got plenty of stops when it mattered in a lot of games... they just aren't the games you cherry picked.

I "cherry picked" the games that ended your seasons.
Fast Freddie didn't coach defense. Everybody knows that.

 

[Northside Hawk]

I "cherry picked" the games that ended your seasons.
Fast Freddie didn't coach defense. Everybody knows that.

Everybody except John Paxson and Gar Foreman who couldn't wait to dump a solid defensive x and o coach (and shit all over his carcass for good measure) and replace him with the golden palomino. Someone needs to ask Paxson how those lottery picks are working out.

 

[BryceC]

I "cherry picked" the games that ended your seasons.
Fast Freddie didn't coach defense. Everybody knows that.

You're right, he didn't coach good defense. He didn't attempt to coach it or recruit players to play it. However, the two worst defenses of the era were 2012 and 2016. 2012 they were 159th in DRtg and in 2016 they were 192nd in the raw numbers. However, in 2012 they were 4th in the Big 12 in defensive PPG and in 2016 they were 10th.

The ONLY difference is that the 2016 team averaged 71.2 possessions per game. The 2012 team averaged 65.8. Both teams sucked pretty much equally on the defensive end. However, if you just looked at the defensive PPG numbers you would assume one would be much better than the other.

One of those teams spent most of the year ranked and finished the season in the top 25 with a Sweet 16 run. The other was ranked #25 once and dipped out in the second round. The team with the 10# PPG defense was significantly better.

Suffice it to say, I think you're wrong, I've got good data to back me up, and I hope the decision makers for every ISU opponent uses outdated and foolish thinking like you are.

 

[Knight78]

Thanks for doing the math on that. Basketball now is about the 3 point shot; how to shoot it and how to defend it. Without doing the homework I would guess good defensive teams allow in the 29-32% range. If you want to take a deep dive is 22.9 attempts allowed average? Where does that number fall into with the rest of college basketball?

I typically get my stats from Sports Reference. For Iowa last year the link is:

https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/iowa/2018.html

And the 755 is a little more than average. It would rank #129 out of the 351 D1 schools. Iowa, to contrast that took 672 three point shots last year, putting them at #222. We gave up 37.6% and shot 37.5%, so that's a wash. If you look at the difference in three point shots over our 33 games, it comes out to 83, which is 2.5 more three point shots per game for our opponents. So at best our opponents made one more three point shot per game than we did.

Just to make us feel bad, Villanova shot 1158 three point shots last year (#2) and shot it at 40.1% (#11).

 

[Ian Pike Hammer]

Yup and that's why Alford (well just part of why in Alfords case) and Licklighter weren't able to stick around longer.
This is Frans no excuses year. If this group is healthy it's a roster full of talented upperclassman that he put together. Garza, Nunge, and Wieskamp will be the main younger guys being leaned on but between Cook, JBo, Moss and Baer I don't see how the big dance isn't the floor for this team. We should be debating on if we'll be in the top 6 of the BIG and how high of a seed we'll get. Not will they or not...

 

[Ian Pike Hammer]

I'm somewhat on the fence here. Overall, YES, we should be a tournament team in March. One thing to remember though, the rest of the B1g Ten is moving forward too. I've read that as many as 5 teams have top 10 recruiting classes coming in and the talent there is better than what we are bringing in, being 4 and 5 stars each. Granted, they lack experience,but many are one and done kids.

 

[lightning1]

You're right, he didn't coach good defense. He didn't attempt to coach it or recruit players to play it. However, the two worst defenses of the era were 2012 and 2016. 2012 they were 159th in DRtg and in 2016 they were 192nd in the raw numbers. However, in 2012 they were 4th in the Big 12 in defensive PPG and in 2016 they were 10th.

The ONLY difference is that the 2016 team averaged 71.2 possessions per game. The 2012 team averaged 65.8. Both teams sucked pretty much equally on the defensive end. However, if you just looked at the defensive PPG numbers you would assume one would be much better than the other.

One of those teams spent most of the year ranked and finished the season in the top 25 with a Sweet 16 run. The other was ranked #25 once and dipped out in the second round. The team with the 10# PPG defense was significantly better.

Suffice it to say, I think you're wrong, I've got good data to back me up, and I hope the decision makers for every ISU opponent uses outdated and foolish thinking like you are.

Yes....according to Clown fans, giving up too many PPG is fine. Nothing bad will ever come from it and the next NC is just around the corner. I guess I'll continue with my foolish thinking. You keep your data.
I hope that every Clown coach thinks just like you.

 

[trj]

I typically get my stats from Sports Reference. For Iowa last year the link is:

https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/iowa/2018.html

And the 755 is a little more than average. It would rank #129 out of the 351 D1 schools. Iowa, to contrast that took 672 three point shots last year, putting them at #222. We gave up 37.6% and shot 37.5%, so that's a wash. If you look at the difference in three point shots over our 33 games, it comes out to 83, which is 2.5 more three point shots per game for our opponents. So at best our opponents made one more three point shot per game than we did.

Just to make us feel bad, Villanova shot 1158 three point shots last year (#2) and shot it at 40.1% (#11).

Is the key to Iowa's season next year is to take and make more 3(s)? As absurd as this sounds I could get behind this. I don't think Iowa, as currently constructed, will be ever good defensively. I don't want them to start just chucking shots,, but they have to win with offense.

 

[deanvogs]

Yes....according to Clown fans, giving up too many PPG is fine. Nothing bad will ever come from it and the next NC is just around the corner. I guess I'll continue with my foolish thinking. You keep your data.
I hope that every Clown coach thinks just like you.

Not scoring enough PPG is just as bad. Not sure what you are ragging on here lightning. Everyone knows Iowa needs to play better Defense. Yet to act like somehow Defense is more important that offense is kind of silly. The really good teams play good offense and defense.

 

[HawkGold]

Not scoring enough PPG is just as bad. Not sure what you are ragging on here lightning. Everyone knows Iowa needs to play better Defense. Yet to act like somehow Defense is more important that offense is kind of silly. The really good teams play good offense and defense.

Defense is how teams that miss out on top talent can compete. You can take a mediocre team with strength dmarts and some quickness and do well. You cant take those players and outscore top talent consistently. A team like Iowa can be stopped. I would guess the so called high scoring Hawks were a top level team in pathetic output in number of pathetic halves. When s decent team wants to shut them down they do.

 

[Tierney]

Defense is how teams that miss out on top talent can compete. You can take a mediocre team with strength dmarts and some quickness and do well. You cant take those players and outscore top talent consistently. A team like Iowa can be stopped. I would guess the so called high scoring Hawks were a top level team in pathetic output in number of pathetic halves. When s decent team wants to shut them down they do.

When the heat is on highly talented basketball players will beat less talented basketball players most of the time. Teams like Michigan, Indiana, Ohio State have an advantage over Iowa in recruiting. Iowa can hire a coach that is great at recruiting, Raveling, and hopefully also great at coaching the team. Iowa has a chance to recruit some really talented people in the next few years, and hopefully, they will. There is a reason Kentucky does so well with just one and done players.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

Yes.

 

[BryceC]

Yes....according to Clown fans, giving up too many PPG is fine. Nothing bad will ever come from it and the next NC is just around the corner. I guess I'll continue with my foolish thinking. You keep your data.
I hope that every Clown coach thinks just like you.

So you would rather have a team that allows less points (2012 ISU) but allows a horrible points per possession? To me focusing on that is just weird when there are better ways to do it.

 

[deanvogs]

So you would rather have a team that allows less points (2012 ISU) but allows a horrible points per possession? To me focusing on that is just weird when there are better ways to do it.

I’m not sure why some are struggling to understand this. If you play uptempo and have more possessions, both you and your opponent are going to score more PPG. That doesn’t mean your defense isn’t as good, it just means the opponent gets more possession so of course they will score more.

 

[HawkGold]

I’m not sure why some are struggling to understand this. If you play uptempo and have more possessions, both you and your opponent are going to score more PPG. That doesn’t mean your defense isn’t as good, it just means the opponent gets more possession so of course they will score more.

I think I found your gif.

 

[Ree4]

So you would rather have a team that allows less points (2012 ISU) but allows a horrible points per possession? To me focusing on that is just weird when there are better ways to do it.

I wouldn't try to argue with lightning, he has no concept of the use of logic or statistics.

 

[PCHawk]

I’m not sure why some are struggling to understand this. If you play uptempo and have more possessions, both you and your opponent are going to score more PPG. That doesn’t mean your defense isn’t as good, it just means the opponent gets more possession so of course they will score more.

Just like in football. Our lack of possessions makes our bad offense look terrible and our good defense look great.