NorthKCHawk
Well-Known Member
I would posit that the lack of crowds and general wonkiness of this season is going to favor Iowa for two reasons:
1) We are a very veteran squad, and more experienced teams tend to deal with headwinds and adversity better than youngsters. Relatedly, the chemistry appears about as good as it gets. By all accounts, these kids all get along, we have strong leaders on the floor, they all seem to still like Fran, and they seem to have a selfless attitude built around winning. Those traits will aid in working through all of the issues teams will face this year.
2) The lack of crowds will all but eliminate home court advantage, thus, the best team will win most nights. Having sat through the last two games in Lincoln and watched woefully less talented Nebraska team beat Iowa on the backs of 16k screaming Bugeater fans, we all know that a home crowd can spur a lesser team to victory. That will not be much of a factor this year. Of course, the same is true of Iowa not having a home court advantage, but rarely will we be the lesser team this year. The team with the most talent that executes the best should win, and that favors Iowa.
1) We are a very veteran squad, and more experienced teams tend to deal with headwinds and adversity better than youngsters. Relatedly, the chemistry appears about as good as it gets. By all accounts, these kids all get along, we have strong leaders on the floor, they all seem to still like Fran, and they seem to have a selfless attitude built around winning. Those traits will aid in working through all of the issues teams will face this year.
2) The lack of crowds will all but eliminate home court advantage, thus, the best team will win most nights. Having sat through the last two games in Lincoln and watched woefully less talented Nebraska team beat Iowa on the backs of 16k screaming Bugeater fans, we all know that a home crowd can spur a lesser team to victory. That will not be much of a factor this year. Of course, the same is true of Iowa not having a home court advantage, but rarely will we be the lesser team this year. The team with the most talent that executes the best should win, and that favors Iowa.