The OP makes good points. On the surface, that's a very good accomplishment, and that's why I'm not one of the guys who wants to run Fran out of town. The program is competitive again.
What's frustrating is when you look at exactly how we got to those results the past few years - two of those three years, Iowa would have had far higher NCAA seed if not for major late-season collapses. It would almost be easier to stomach if Iowa had been a 20-10 type team all year, rather than feeling like a much better season simply got away from us in the final month.
Even 4 years ago - tons of blown games late, and it resulted in an NIT bid when the team honestly should have been dancing.
Just a LOT of missed opportunity to go along with the success. What could have been? 2-3 seed instead of 6-7 or lower? Would that have boosted recruiting?
It's hard to know how to feel about it, but I'm not fool enough to call for the head of a guy who's done a pretty good job of cleaning up the mess Lickliter left behind.
A well coached team gets better as the season progresses. A poorly coached team gets worse. Not rocket science as to why. I dropped a deuce this morning. How do you like them apples?
Meh. We all acknowledge that Iowa isn't a blue blood. Imo, that is the very reason why if you get off to a great start you have to take advantage of it. I know right now it is easy to clown Wisconsin, but man when everything aligns for them they take advantage....Iowa crumbles. Iowa has their version of Kamisky/Dekker and we are talking about losing 6 of 7 and being a 7 seed in Providence.
People always say on here that this is as high as Fran can take us. I would say the fact that we lost so many close games the last few years suggests that there is still room for improvement. Now if our loses were all blowouts and all our wins were close, it would be a lot harder to improve.
The OP makes good points. On the surface, that's a very good accomplishment, and that's why I'm not one of the guys who wants to run Fran out of town. The program is competitive again.
What's frustrating is when you look at exactly how we got to those results the past few years - two of those three years, Iowa would have had far higher NCAA seed if not for major late-season collapses. It would almost be easier to stomach if Iowa had been a 20-10 type team all year, rather than feeling like a much better season simply got away from us in the final month.
Even 4 years ago - tons of blown games late, and it resulted in an NIT bid when the team honestly should have been dancing.
Just a LOT of missed opportunity to go along with the success. What could have been? 2-3 seed instead of 6-7 or lower? Would that have boosted recruiting?
It's hard to know how to feel about it, but I'm not fool enough to call for the head of a guy who's done a pretty good job of cleaning up the mess Lickliter left behind.
We were down by double figures in over 6 games this year, by as many as 19 twice. 8 points was the largest margin of defeat and the average was about 4, with 3-4 games by one possession. Those things, to me, show a team with fight and/or good coaching.
Clutch they are not. Mistake prone in the last 2 minutes they are.
Yhsnk you captain obvious. I understand that if you outplay your opponent you will probably win. My point is that this team is very unlikely to outplay an opponent with their current mindsetMeh. Nobody was playing better than ISU last year coming out of the Big 12 tournament. They had lots of press and pub, and tons of people picking them for the final four. Heck JD had them in the NC game I think......they lost first round.
My point is this is the NCAA's, the rest of the year is pretty irrelevant. You can be the hottest team on the planet, you can still lose if you don't play well. You can also be the coldest team on the planet, and if you play well you can win. I don't know if Iowa will even win one game, but I can tell you I won't be surprised if they win two games and get to the sweet 16, it is the NCAA's anything can happen.
Ok, a day has past, so lets all let perspective sink in.
1) This is the 3rd year in a row Iowa has made the NCAA tournament. The last time they did that it was '90-'91, '91-'92, '92-'93
2) This will be the highest back to back seeding that Iowa will have received since the '86-'87 (2 seed), and '87-'88 (5 seed)
3) This is the most B1G games won in a 3 year span (33) since '86-'89 (36)
Nobody is happy with the way the season ended. At the same time nobody would have guess we finished tied for 3rd for the second year in a row and would be a 6 or 7 seed. It is a whole new season now, and what has happened for the last 4 months is irrelevant, what has happened the last 4 weeks is irrelevant. Win two more games and this is the most successful 3 year run in Iowa basketball since the mid to late '80's run.
Sweet 16 is a tall order to fill, especially for a bunch of players who finished the season with their tails between their legs.Make the Sweet 16 and this will be tha 6th straight season of improvement under Fran.
Sweet 16 is a tall order to fill, especially for a bunch of players who finished the season with their tails between their legs.
It's an observation not a prediction.
Another stat you conveniently overlook, Dean: Iowa was 4-0 (and quite handily at that) against the teams playing for the B1G championship. Let that sink in for a moment. What happened? This team seems to have suffered -- once again -- a complete collapse of leadership, from the coaches down through the seniors. That sticks in the craw of every Iowa fan. It ought to stoke the fire of desire in the players and coaches.
We'll see soon enough.
So if the team doesn't make the Sweet 16, did it improve under Fran McCaffery?
So if the team doesn't make the Sweet 16, did it improve under Fran McCaffery?