The Breakdown: Rutgers Ruins Hawkeye Senior Day
- Thread starter RobHowe
- Start date
BlacknGold19
Well-Known Member
Serious questions here.. Is this level of play the last month just dealing with the grind of Conference play and it’s just that tough a league? Does Iowa regain life entering the NCAA Tournament playing on a neutral court against a team outside the Big 10? Time will tell. Such a weird Big 10 season with so many upsets. We will all have the hope when the time comes that they will go on a miracle run, but this team looks like a 1 Win at best team in the Tourney. At least we are in
Northside Hawk
Well-Known Member
Fran has said he has the players backs. This was a golden opportunity to for the players to show they had his.
They tried, but looked tense from the first possession, when Wiescamp threw a pass to where he thought a teammate was going to be. A bad omen for the rest of the day.
As for the observation that the off the court issues caught up to them, those issues are precisely where I would want attention if I was a player. Bobby Knight was one of the best ever at drawing attention to himself to take focus off his players. Bill Parcells could do it too. Even Hayden Fry to an extent. If anything, I would have seen all the distractions this week as the perfect opportunity be as incognito as possible. And come out like silent assassin's on Saturday.
Our mental toughness has been proven this season, but this may be the first time all year that we didn't respond to a bad loss. This coming week will be a good test of how tough mentally we can truly be. The negative off the court emotion of the week should have had nothing to do with the performance on the court. It should have had the opposite effect. That disappointing.
They tried, but looked tense from the first possession, when Wiescamp threw a pass to where he thought a teammate was going to be. A bad omen for the rest of the day.
As for the observation that the off the court issues caught up to them, those issues are precisely where I would want attention if I was a player. Bobby Knight was one of the best ever at drawing attention to himself to take focus off his players. Bill Parcells could do it too. Even Hayden Fry to an extent. If anything, I would have seen all the distractions this week as the perfect opportunity be as incognito as possible. And come out like silent assassin's on Saturday.
Our mental toughness has been proven this season, but this may be the first time all year that we didn't respond to a bad loss. This coming week will be a good test of how tough mentally we can truly be. The negative off the court emotion of the week should have had nothing to do with the performance on the court. It should have had the opposite effect. That disappointing.
BigD
Well-Known Member
Well written article Rob and you didn’t pull any punches.
RobHowe
Administrator
Thanks. Outside of Baer, not much was good yesterday. And I, too, was surprised when Francis didn’t see any issues with the defense. Two of the worst offenses statistically in the B1G averaged 88 points against Iowa this week.
Northside Hawk
Well-Known Member
The three pointers haven't been falling. That's almost always a recipe for disaster for the defense. Always will be.
NikeHawk21
Well-Known Member
Win at wisky? We might lose by 20 the way it’s going. Wisconsin is a tough minded team and it’s Happ’s senior night.
RobHowe
Administrator
Pikiell is a good coach. He had that game scouted very well.
Thaim is an OK player who'd made 10 threes all B1G season before yesterday. Pikiell knew he could make corner threes, though, and set him up in that left corner in the first half. Kid knocked down four wide open threes after Rutgers shifted the Hawkeye zone. No adjustment from the Hawkeyes. And the Knights sliced up Iowa's press.
Northside Hawk
Well-Known Member
It actually looked like we were in man most of the first half. I could be wrong, but the fear of the offensive rebound made us reluctant to go zone. By the time we did Harper had done the damage.
You're absolutely correct about Pikiell. He had them ready to go.
#1DieHardHawk
Well-Known Member
I'm trying hard to keep it in perspective, but, it's not easy.
There have been numerous upsets in the B1G this season, so we're certainly not alone. I'm not convinced the conference's best teams are Final Four caliber, but, I do believe that there is amazing depth in this league. You better show up for every game on the schedule.
That said, the primary two issues with this team are the same issues as last season. The only difference is that those issues are not rearing their "ugly heads" quite as often.
1. Terrible on-ball defense. We simply don't have anyone on the perimeter with the athleticism to prevent dribble-penetration, and it's killing us. Players can drive at will, and either take it to the rim, or kick it out for wide open threes. Fran just can't seem to recruit upper tier athletes, and,
2. A complete lack of on-court leadership. The better teams have players that galvanize their teammates in rough situations. Our players simply get the classic "deer in headlight" look or stand there chewing on the mouthpiece. No leadership leads to lack of resolve and mental toughness. It's maddening.
The BTN panelists seem to think we will be a tough out in the NCAA tourney. I doubt we make it past the second round.
There have been numerous upsets in the B1G this season, so we're certainly not alone. I'm not convinced the conference's best teams are Final Four caliber, but, I do believe that there is amazing depth in this league. You better show up for every game on the schedule.
That said, the primary two issues with this team are the same issues as last season. The only difference is that those issues are not rearing their "ugly heads" quite as often.
1. Terrible on-ball defense. We simply don't have anyone on the perimeter with the athleticism to prevent dribble-penetration, and it's killing us. Players can drive at will, and either take it to the rim, or kick it out for wide open threes. Fran just can't seem to recruit upper tier athletes, and,
2. A complete lack of on-court leadership. The better teams have players that galvanize their teammates in rough situations. Our players simply get the classic "deer in headlight" look or stand there chewing on the mouthpiece. No leadership leads to lack of resolve and mental toughness. It's maddening.
The BTN panelists seem to think we will be a tough out in the NCAA tourney. I doubt we make it past the second round.
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RobHowe
Administrator
True. It was more man than I think Iowa should play, but there was zone as well. Neither looked good. Lack of energy, poor closeouts.
Cause & Effect............this game was about Rutgers good D on this day. Iowa has their off days with shooting like any team but more often than not you usually see an Iowa opponent that has a very capable D that dictates the outcome of this team's shooting.
Iowa's record vs. the top 5 defensive teams in the conference......1-3
Iowa's record vs. the bottom 5 defensive teams in the conference...4-2
The top 5 defensive teams (scoring defense) in the BIG are also the same 5 that are currently in the top 5 positions in the BIG standings.
Iowa's record vs. the top 5 defensive teams in the conference......1-3
Iowa's record vs. the bottom 5 defensive teams in the conference...4-2
The top 5 defensive teams (scoring defense) in the BIG are also the same 5 that are currently in the top 5 positions in the BIG standings.
I often wonder if the AD on down to the lowest of Iowa's coaches are trained to paint a happy picture and if that fails to blame others ( luck,shots not falling, refs, etc) when the team offers hideous performances.
It kind of reminds me of Tiger Woods. "How would you assess your round today Tiger?" "Well, overall I hit a lot of good shots, the irons were crisp, really like the tempo. Making improvement. Happy where my game is." You shot a 78 bro.
Two other observations:
Athletic teams, no matter what their records, can roll Iowa.
At times Fran's teams seem to be disinterested and don't realize they need maximum effort and fundamental basketball (including defense) to beat any team on their schedule. Iowa is not good enough to coast by anyone.
Northside Hawk
Well-Known Member
Your point #2 is the concerning one. Yesterday we got the defecit down to twelve and then Rutgers promptly ripped off back to back breakaway dunks. In one of the dunks Connor can clearly be seen glancing at the bench with a confused look on his face, if not quite a shoulder shrug, when he should have been busting it back on defense. That's not the first time I've seen him with that "not me" look on his face. He was caught looking at his dad/coach with that same look during a timeout in the Maryland game. Then of course the technical at OSU.
We need Connor, and others, to have that "next play" look that they had earlier in he season. The focused look they had in January, or during the Iowa State game. The body language we've shown the last three or four games would have gotten us rolled by fifteen against the Clones. And we would have lost most of the road games we've won.
