Virginia

[NikeHawk21]

I'm sick of those other threads so I thought I'd make a new one about our next opponent. They have held two of there 3 opponents under 40 points and the other scored only 51. They play Grambling tonight. Has anyone seen them play yet?

If Iowa can somehow get this game into the upper 60s-70s I actually think we have a great shot.

How can we get this game into the 70s?

1. Transition offense (a few easy baskets would go a long way, plus Virginia doesn't want to play a fast paced game. Teams like UVA are very good at slowing these games down and getting the games in their style, so I do expect this to be a half court game for the most part).

2. Take advantage of mismatches in the half court. I think this is a great opportunity to post Williams on there smaller guard London Perrantes (6'2) for some easy hoops. They do start a 6'11 Center and if he guards Cook I think we should spread them out and let Cook attack of the dribble. I would actually not throw the ball into the post a ton as Virginia in prior years has been very good at doubling the post, which usually leads to a turnover. Quite frankly, Jok and Cook are tough covers for most teams.

3. Get UVA in foul trouble. With the loss of Nichols, I can't imagine their front line has a ton of depth. Make FTs when we get there.

4. 3pt shooting, especially from the bench. If the Bohannon, Moss, Ellingson combination could hit a few threes it would be huge. Throw Uhl in there too, if he can knock down a couple it would go a long way.

Thoughts on UVA?

 

[SpiderRico]

I think we can score on them.....Jok is money with guys in his face.

The question that still remains from the SH game is whether we've figured out how to guard anyone.....

 

[WinOneThisCentury]

Virginia is athletic, tough, and they usually play defense as good as anyone in the country. That tells me our guards are going to be in trouble as I just haven't been impressed with how they handle pressure. Bohannon is going to be good, but right now, he's a liability as a playmaker and defensively against a good college guard. I wouldn't be surprised to see Uhl and Jok bringing the ball up the floor.

 

[NikeHawk21]

I think we can score on them.....Jok is money with guys in his face.

The question that still remains from the SH game is whether we've figured out how to guard anyone.....

Is Jok going to score 40?

I guess my point is, Virginia (currently 1st in adjusted Defense - KenPom) is one of the few teams we will play this year who can keep our offense under 60 points. If that happens, Iowa has little to no chance to win this one. If we can somehow get into the 60s or 70s our chances greatly improve.

I don't disagree with what you are saying about Iowa's defense still being a question mark. However I do think this is one of the rare games this year, where our offense is more important than our defense.

 

[HuckFinn]

Not surprising to see the stats on Virginia. Remember that their head coach is Dick Bennet's son. His teams at Wisconsin played just like Virginia does now.

 

[docholihawk]

Virginia will be a good early test for us. Like what was said before, our defense needs a lot of work. I think our guys are able but I don't expect it to really show until mid year at the earliest. Let's hope they mature quickly.

 

[NikeHawk21]

UVA up 49-9 at half over Grambling St. For reference, Grambling St lost 54-71 @ Providence.

Kyle Guy and Mariol Shayok both in double figures off of UVA bench for the second strait game. Guy was a former 4-star recruit.

 

[Tierney]

Looking forward to what Williams can do. I think this will be a good game to gauge Williams potential at the point.

 

[WinOneThisCentury]

It could be painful on Friday night. They pressure the ball like crazy men in the half court. It will be interesting to see if we can feed the post as you have to have someone inside making hay if you are going to get anyone an open look outside against these guys. If you can't score inside...it's a long night...they have to want to double someone. Do we have that player? Big test for Mr. Cook.

 

[BryceC]

VA is the team that bounced ISU from the tourney last year. They lost some players, but Bennett has his system in place... Honestly one of the best coached teams I've seen ISU play, reminded me of a KU style with and even greater emphasis on D. Would be a tough game for anybody.

 

[spliff45]

I'd be surprised if this game is competitive at the end.

 

[longtimer]

I'd be surprised if this gat the end.

This game is likely to be very ugly very soon. We are just not ready for this kind of competition. It will be interesting if by mid season we can play with the better teams.

 

[NikeHawk21]

For some reason when I first looked at UVA, I liked our chances, after last nights beat down, I do not. Hopefully my first instinct was right.

If Jok is going to be shooting contested jumpers all night, I hope he steps a foot back and makes them 3s. We are going to need to shoot very well from 3 to see 60 points.

 

[InGoodCo]

I expect them to play well early and match them- but in the end could get their doors blown off as the game progresses and it's clear Iowa isn't ready for this - Virginia is a legit top 10 squad

 

[loesshillshawk]

Key to this group is they simply DO NOT play defense. For that reason they will struggle against physical defensive teams...I do not see this changing with this team.

 

[Tierney]

It remains to be seen how the game will turn out, but Virginia is only a college team. I'm sure they are pretty good, but just because a team can beat another team by fifty points doesn't mean a lot. Iowa probably could of beaten a couple of the teams they have played this year by fifty points if they really wanted to. It sounds like this Virginia coach is a guy that just likes to pile it on.

 

[WinOneThisCentury]

Virginia is a game where we really get to find out what kind of heart this team has, and can they show some patience and discipline at the offensive end. Virginia is going to challenge everything and try to push you out away from the basket and it's a suffocating defense if you can't get penetration and move the ball around the perimeter. I was really impressed with Wisconsin the other night in the half court...they moved the ball and worked to get a shot within their offense and weren't quick shooting everything. I'm really curious to see how poised this Iowa team is to do exactly that...and not turn it over. You are going to need to be patient feeding the post with this much pressure on the guard play.

I'm just hoping they come out and compete on the glass, and compete defensively. We have athletes to compete with these guys.

 

[UVAbasketball]

It remains to be seen how the game will turn out, but Virginia is only a college team. I'm sure they are pretty good, but just because a team can beat another team by fifty points doesn't mean a lot. Iowa probably could of beaten a couple of the teams they have played this year by fifty points if they really wanted to. It sounds like this Virginia coach is a guy that just likes to pile it on.

I know you don't follow Virginia so let me fill you in about both the game against Grambling State and head coach Tony Bennett. None of our starters logged more than 17 minutes in the game. Three walk-ons (non-scholarship players) received double digit minutes each. The ninth player in our rotation logged the most minutes. So you see, Virginia did the OPPOSITE of piling it on. Virginia benched their starters for most of the game and instead played walk-ons who had never scored a basket before this game.

That says something about Bennett, who said after the game, with a pained look in his face, that he did not enjoy seeing an opponent down by that much, that he was on the wrong end of a similar score when he coached Washington State (against Oklahoma State). Bennett's first priority as a coach is to help raise young men realize their potential as people. He actually teaches players what he call his five pillars: humility, passion, unity, servanthood and thankfulness. It's one reason UVA players are so unselfish on offense and so hard-working on defense.

 

[SpecialKHawk]

I know you don't follow Virginia so let me fill you in about both the game against Grambling State and head coach Tony Bennett. None of our starters logged more than 17 minutes in the game. Three walk-ons (non-scholarship players) received double digit minutes each. The ninth player in our rotation logged the most minutes. So you see, Virginia did the OPPOSITE of piling it on. Virginia benched their starters for most of the game and instead played walk-ons who had never scored a basket before this game.

That says something about Bennett, who said after the game, with a pained look in his face, that he did not enjoy seeing an opponent down by that much, that he was on the wrong end of a similar score when he coached Washington State (against Oklahoma State). Bennett's first priority as a coach is to help raise young men realize their potential as people. He actually teaches players what he call his five pillars: humility, passion, unity, servanthood and thankfulness. It's one reason UVA players are so unselfish on offense and so hard-working on defense.

So why is he scheduling Grambling State in the first place if he cares so much? There are plenty of power 5 teams like us to beat up on by 20'ish.

By the way Bennett is a midwesterner who played at Wisconsin Green-Bay and his dad finished coaching at Wisconsin. We know who he is.

 

[UVAbasketball]

So why is he scheduling Grambling State in the first place if he cares so much? There are plenty of power 5 teams like us to beat up on by 20'ish.

By the way Bennett is a midwesterner who played at Wisconsin Green-Bay and his dad finished coaching at Wisconsin. We know who he is.

Anyone who accuses Bennett of piling on in a game knows nothing of him. And while Tony Bennett and Dick Bennett share a similar approach on the court, they are very different off the court. Dick was consumed by basketball to the point he had to get out for his own health; to this day, he has a hard time even watching UVA games on TV. While Tony is focused when he is on the court, he has a much more balanced approach to life.

As to UVA's out-of-conference schedule, it was widely ranked as one of the five toughest last year, with games against Villanova, Ohio State (road game), West Virginia (neutral site) and California, all of whom we beat.

Why does EVERY top team schedule some cupcakes as well as tougher games out of conference? So their coaches have a chance to go deeper into their bench and experiment with combinations. That's why Iowa State played the Citadel this week and scored 130 points. (The Citadel is ranked 322 by Kenpom; Grambling is ranked 342). Three of Iowa State's starters logged more than 20 minutes while two walk-ons got 3 minutes each. That's why Iowa scheduled UT Rio Grande Valley, which is ranked 345.

As for scheduling power 5 teams, we do: After our game against Iowa, we play either Providence of Memphis, than play Ohio State and West Virginia, with a game later in December at California - that's five good opponents in 26 days.