One of the more painful losses in recent memory.
It was really remarkable that the Hawks had a chance to win considering they don't score a field goal for 13 minutes and the bevy of missed free throws.
My venting thoughts:
* MSU had no inside game at all yet we stay in a soft zone practically the whole game and watch them heave up 29 3 pointers -making 10 treys overall - At least 12 of their 3 point attempts were wide open (no defender within 5 feet of the shooter) - it baffles me how many WIDE OPEN 3 attempts opposing teams get against our zone - put on your big boy pants and learn how to play some tight man to man defense and at least force some CONTESTED jump shots!!
Clutch free throw shooting is haunting this team - giving away free points in bunches especially late in games with our key guys that should be money (Gesell, Marble, Uthoff). In our 5 losses I am sure that we are shooting less than 50% on 1 and 1 FT attempts on Foul numbers 7, 8 and 9 - pathetic.
One of my biggest pet peeves is not boxing out and allowing an offensive rebound on a missed FT attempt and it happened again late tonight in a critical situation.
Aaron White is our star and he only get 4 shot attempts - he has to get more involved in the offense from the start of the game. He needs to start hitting some jump shots and a occasional 3 point attempt to open up the driving lane and get to the line where he is the only Hawk who can reasonably hit 2 consecutive FT's.
I totally agree that having McCabe in at the 3:00 minute mark was a huge mistake - the guy has been struggling for the past month and is turnover and foul prone - not what you need at the end of the game.
Ogelsby needs to shoot more - another game wher we make less than 5 three's overall. If Iowa is going to contend with the big boys Ogelsby needs to come out firing and keep firing - We can't keep only hitting 2 and 3 threes per game while allowing 8-12 three's from our opponents and expect to win.
Final 5 seconds - go for the win and have Gesell kick it out to either Marble or Ogelsby on the wing for an attempt at a 3 pointer and the win - driving in and expecting to get a foul call as time expires is a pipe dream the way the Big 10 is officiated - very frustrating way to end the game when we really lucked out to have a chance to win the game on a 3 point shot.
The Hawks are a very good team, but until they learn to how to close out close games they won't become a great team.
It was really remarkable that the Hawks had a chance to win considering they don't score a field goal for 13 minutes and the bevy of missed free throws.
My venting thoughts:
* MSU had no inside game at all yet we stay in a soft zone practically the whole game and watch them heave up 29 3 pointers -making 10 treys overall - At least 12 of their 3 point attempts were wide open (no defender within 5 feet of the shooter) - it baffles me how many WIDE OPEN 3 attempts opposing teams get against our zone - put on your big boy pants and learn how to play some tight man to man defense and at least force some CONTESTED jump shots!!
Clutch free throw shooting is haunting this team - giving away free points in bunches especially late in games with our key guys that should be money (Gesell, Marble, Uthoff). In our 5 losses I am sure that we are shooting less than 50% on 1 and 1 FT attempts on Foul numbers 7, 8 and 9 - pathetic.
One of my biggest pet peeves is not boxing out and allowing an offensive rebound on a missed FT attempt and it happened again late tonight in a critical situation.
Aaron White is our star and he only get 4 shot attempts - he has to get more involved in the offense from the start of the game. He needs to start hitting some jump shots and a occasional 3 point attempt to open up the driving lane and get to the line where he is the only Hawk who can reasonably hit 2 consecutive FT's.
I totally agree that having McCabe in at the 3:00 minute mark was a huge mistake - the guy has been struggling for the past month and is turnover and foul prone - not what you need at the end of the game.
Ogelsby needs to shoot more - another game wher we make less than 5 three's overall. If Iowa is going to contend with the big boys Ogelsby needs to come out firing and keep firing - We can't keep only hitting 2 and 3 threes per game while allowing 8-12 three's from our opponents and expect to win.
Final 5 seconds - go for the win and have Gesell kick it out to either Marble or Ogelsby on the wing for an attempt at a 3 pointer and the win - driving in and expecting to get a foul call as time expires is a pipe dream the way the Big 10 is officiated - very frustrating way to end the game when we really lucked out to have a chance to win the game on a 3 point shot.
The Hawks are a very good team, but until they learn to how to close out close games they won't become a great team.
