So that was pretty fun...

As a lifelong Iowa Hawkeyes fan, there are a few moments that are forever seared into my memory. Rob Houghtlin putting one through the uprights against Michigan, Drew Tate to Warren Holloway, the tragic passing of Chris Street, Kevin Gamble burying a deep three against Oklahoma to make the Elite 8, and Steve Waite converting an “and 1” to send Iowa past Georgetown in 1980 to get Lute’s squad into the Final Four. I remember the 1993 Iowa women’s team that made the only other Final Four in our history, but I was a very casual women’s basketball fan at the time, and I more remember that Coach Vivian Stringer’s husband passed away earlier that season. And then Coach Lisa Bluder, Caitlin Clark, and our Iowa Hawkeyes went and did a thing. And what a thing it was.

The Iowa Hawkeyes (30-6) punched their ticket (this is a cliche and I should avoid it, but how often can you say that about your favorite team?) to the Final Four in Dallas, Texas. After falling down 8-0, the Hawks relied on their experienced roster and one of the best basketball players on the planet to beat a very good Louisville (26-12) team 97-83. Louisville has a terrific coach, team, and a player very similar to Caitlin Clark. Hailey Van Lith did not disappoint. She can score at will it seems; she totaled 27 points. And there is the entire National Player of the Year conversation wrapped up in a bow, because despite how great Van Lith is (and she is), she is not the player Clark is. Hint, there is no one like her. The Hawkeyes faced an 8 point deficit right out of the gate and you could see Clark say, “Nah.”

For the Hawkeyes everyone on the court, bench, and crowd contributed to the sweet, sweet victory. Assistant Coach Jan Jensen’s father passed away earlier in the day. The team was not going to lose that game. They won it for him, the coaches, themselves, and yes, even us. The love between this team and its fans has been a palpable thing. It continues to grow, and why not? We’re Iowa. We grow things. It’s what we do.

Caitlin Clark has gotten to a point where she keeps one-upping herself. The country is literally tuning in to see what she does next. All Clark did was record a 40 point triple-double. 41 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists. She makes shots, she handles the ball, she makes passes that would make Magic Johnson proud. Her focus and desire to destroy basketball souls is Kobe-like. [My apologies that I don’t often reference famous women’s basketball players, but admittedly, prior to Caitlin Clark and writing for BHGP, I didn’t follow the women’s game very closely.] This also is a reason why I love Clark so much. Seeing all of these young girls with their families at the games and seeing posted videos of them shooting in their driveways emulating Clark... that is seriously priceless. It’s not hyperbole to say that Caitlin Clark is growing the game of basketball, not just for girls and women, but for all basketball fans.

As stated earlier, everyone contributed to this game. McKenna Warnock stepped up big-time. She had 17 points and 5 rebounds.

The strength on the pass by Clark is incredible and McKenna splashed it. Gabbie Marshall had 14 points but more importantly brought great intensity on the defensive end. Monika Czinano ended up with 9 and 5, but a few of those baskets and rebounds came in key points of the game. Hannah Stuelke bounced back quite well from her ankle injury; she played 20 minutes and her intensity, speed, and athleticism were a shot in the arm. She finished with 6 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal. Kate Martin played a solid game; Martin is best-known for doing things that don’t always show up in the box score, and this makes her invaluable. Winning basketball requires many, many things that don’t often get noticed. She and Connor McCaffery are very similar players, and because of this they are my two favorite Hawkeyes on the hardcourt. One thing to look for from a fan’s perspective? In tight situations, who does the coach have inbounding the basketball? More often than not, it’s these two players. It comes down to trust. I trust that Kate will make the right play.

For the game the Hawkeyes did a solid job on the glass. Rebounding was going to be a key to this game. Iowa outrebounded the Cardinals 33-32. I felt pretty good about the game, if (big if), the Hawks could limit second chance opportunities for the Cardinals. Iowa gave up way too many offensive rebounds to Georgia (13) and Colorado (21). I was thinking less than 10 would be a winning number, and we gave up 9. You know that was written on the Hawks’ whiteboard in the locker room.

Both the Hawkeyes and Cardinals shot the basketball well. The difference was that the Hawks shot 45.7% (16-35) from deep, while the Cardinals shot 36.4% (8-22) from beyond the arc.

Now we wait. My guess (everyone’s guess) is that South Carolina beats Maryland. At this point I honestly don’t feel like there is a lot of pressure on Coach Bluder’s team. Iowa proved to the world that they can play basketball with anyone. This season will forever be one of my favorite Hawkeye memories. I may or may not have had some dust in my eyes at the conclusion of that game. And as the saying goes...

As always, and especially now, it’s great to be a Hawkeye. Go Hawks!

The Hawkeyes are one win away from a second Final Four in program history.

You can watch every women’s March Madness game with Sling TV.

Caitlin Clark, Monika Czinano and the rest of the Iowa Hawkeyes women’s basketball team are on the verge of history. After taking down 6-seed Colorado on Friday night, Iowa punched their ticket to the Elite Eight for the fifth time in program history. It marked the second time in the last four seasons after the Hawkeyes made a similar run in 2019 on the back of the legendary Megan Gustafson.

That run came to a screeching halt when Iowa slammed into a buzzsaw in the Baylor Bears. Now the Hawkeyes look to avoid a similar fate as they take on 5th-seeded Louisville on Sunday night in Seattle.

The Cardinals are fresh off a Sweet Sixteen victory over Ole Miss and find themselves in a familiar spot. Louisville has been to the last five Elite Eights - the longest active streak in women’s college basketball. A win tonight would send head coach Jeff Walz and the Cardinals to a second straight Final Four.

Led by junior guard Hailey Van Lith, who averaged 19.5 ppg on the season, Louisville has been able to bounce back from a rough start to the season to enter the night at 26-11 overall. The Cardinals went 3-6 in games against ranked opponents this season, including a 19-point loss to Ohio State early in the season, but boast top-10 wins over Notre Dame and Texas and enter the night having won 11 of their last 14 games with the only losses coming to 1-seed Virginia Tech and the aforementioned Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

While not as defense-dependent as Iowa’s last opponent, Louisville comes in with some similar trends. The Cardinals went 5-5 on the season when their opponents topped the 70-point mark while going 21-6 when holding opponents under that threshold. Interestingly, however, the stronger correlation comes not from holding opponents under 70, but putting the biscuit in the basket themselves as Louisville went 21-2 in games where they scored 68 or more points while finishing 5-9 in games where they were held to 67 or fewer.

The Hawkeyes are, of course, not built on defense and would prefer an up-tempo game in the 80s. Iowa has the firepower to out-gun the Cardinals, but Louisville won’t shy away from a track meet. The Hawkeyes will need to find a way to slow down Clark’s former USA Basketball teammate Van Lith if they want to make history tonight and get Iowa to just their second Final Four in program history and the first in 30 years.

Here are the details for tonight’s matchup.

How to Watch

Date: Sunday, March 26th
Time: 8:00pm CT
Opponent: #5 Louisville Cardinals (26-11, 12-6)
Location: Climate Pledge Arena - Seattle, WA
Gambling (by DraftKings): Iowa -5 | Iowa -240/Louisville +200 | O/U 154.5
TV: ESPN
Radio: Hawkeye Sports Network
Streaming: Watch ESPN

Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.

The winner of tonight’s matchup will advance to take on the winner of #1 South Carolina and #2 Maryland in the Final Four. That game is set for 6pm CT on ESPN Monday night.

Here’s a look at the full women’s NCAA Tournament bracket.

Go Hawks!

Hawks beat Buffaloes - Next up is Louisville

I wasn’t nervous at all. Never a doubt in my mind. Just kidding, we were all standing or on the edge of our seats for much of that game, and certainly the last few minutes. In the end our favorite squad topped a very good Colorado team 87-77. The Hawkeyes jumped out to an early ten point lead, only to have the Buffs storm back. Colorado held a one point halftime lead. The Hawkeyes led for all but five minutes of the game, but it was close almost the entire way. Going in I was extremely impressed with Colorado’s post Quay Miller and point guard Jaylyn Sherrod. We also knew that Frida Formann could shoot from distance. The Hawkeyes held Miller to a quiet 12 points; she did collect 14 rebounds. Jaylyn Sherrod was in foul trouble for much of the game, but she still managed 11 points and 9 assists. Frida Formann kept the Buffs in the game with her shooting; she was scorching hot in the first half and ended with 21 points.

The name of the game was Iowa’s experience. The Hawkeyes had four players score in double figures. Caitlin “Dime Dropper” Clark poured in 31 points, had 8 assists, and collected 2 steals.

I love how the announcer says, “Clark. Can she answer? [splash] Of course.” I had a feeling that Kate Martin was going to show up in a big way and she did not disappoint. Martin finished with 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists. Monika Czinano found herself in foul trouble, but she ended with 15 and 7. Addison O’Grady came in to provide almost 11 important minutes against a big Colorado lineup. Hannah Stuelke gave it a go, but she’s not 100% physically at this time. The game is challenging enough, but when a player isn’t right physically, they then tend to make more mistakes mentally. Instead of Coach Bluder leaving Stuelke on the court to potentially struggle or get re-injured, she pushed the right button and got quality minutes from O’Grady. That’s winning basketball. McKenna Warnock finished with 12 points and 4 rebounds. Here was an athletic play by Warnock after a nice cut.

She also played a role in slowing down Colorado’s posts. Gabbie Marshall added 7 points. Marshall isn’t the biggest player out there, but you won’t find a ton of players who are tougher. It seems like she gets clobbered every game. It’s also nice when your “shooter” doesn’t hit a ton of shots and you win by double digits.

Going in to the game we knew it was going to be a tough battle, especially on the boards. The Hawkeyes got outrebounded 40-32. That is terrifying to me. Giving Division 1 shooters second chances (21 offensive rebounds) normally sends you home this time of year. That can’t continue in Sunday’s game against Louisville.

Next Up: Louisville Cardinals

The second-seeded Hawkeyes tip off against 5 seed Louisville, Sunday, March 26 at 8pm. The Cardinals beat Drake 83-81, Texas 73-51, and Ole Miss 72-62 to get to this matchup. The Hawkeyes have taken care of SE Louisiana, Georgia, and Colorado. Sunday will pit two teams who are obviously playing well in a matchup to determine who makes it to the Final Four.

Louisville is led by dynamic guard Hailey Van Lith. Van Lith is averaging 19.5 ppg and 4.6 rebounds. She is an excellent free throw shooter and more-than-capable from distance (29%). She is a scorer, plain and simple. She has excellent footwork and a motor to work to get her shots. She rarely comes off the court. This matchup will be fun to watch two of the premier guards in the country going head-to-head in Van Lith and Clark.

Van Lith is not bashful. It will be a highly entertaining game, that’s for sure. Van Lith is also very dangerous getting others involved (where have we seen that before?). She has very good handles and can get by her defender almost at will. She drives and kicks for a wide open three. Van Lith is fun to watch. She is very comparable to Caitlin Clark in how she impacts the game in so many different ways.

Louisville’s best post is 6’3” Olivia Cochran. She is averaging 8.1 ppg/6.3 rpg. She has nice size and is skilled from the free throw line and in. She can put the ball on the floor and score. Louisville’s second leading scorer is their best shooter. 5’5” guard Chrislyn Carr is averaging 11.2 points and shooting 90% from the free throw line and a sizzling 43% from three. It will be important for the Hawks to always know where she is and close out quickly with high hands. Giving shooters open looks pretty much means just run down the other way and play offense because the shot is going in. Carr’s shorter stature could be a factor, especially if the Hawkeyes put a taller defender on her.

Areas of Focus for the Hawks:

In my opinion the biggest thing the Hawkeyes have to do is really play great position team defense. Playing out of control or a step or two away out of position leads to open looks and fouls. Both Caitlin Clark and Monika Czinano sat Saturday due to foul trouble. Coach Bluder needs these two on the court as much as possible against a very talented Louisville team. Second, rebound, rebound, rebound. A defensive possession does not end until we secure the rebound. Second chance baskets will almost always lead to a loss, especially this time of year. Van Lith and Carr will both drill those kicked out offensive rebounds. Finally, the Hawkeyes need to take care of the basketball. Fewer than ten turnovers will give our offense an extra couple of possessions; our offense is tremendous but we need to get shots off. Turnovers also lead to fast break opportunities for your opponent. Iowa’s defense has been playing well-ish. Our offense is still our bread and butter.

If the Hawks can avoid foul trouble, rebound, and take care of the basketball, I like our chances. It’s a cliche, but the team that plays the best tomorrow will win. These two teams are evenly matched. If we play our game, we could cut down some nets. Everyone with me, IIIIIIIIII-OOOOOOOO-WWWWWW-AAAAAAA! Let’s go, Hawks!

2 Iowa (29-6) vs 5 Louisville (26-11)

Sunday, March 26th. 8pm.

ESPN

Hawkeye Radio Network

Can the Hawkeyes advance to the Elite 8 for just the 5th time in program history?

You can watch every women’s March Madness game with Sling TV.

The Iowa Hawkeyes women’s basketball team has picked up the torch as the only team left standing from the state of Iowa in this spring’s set of championships. Despite a trio of state schools making both the men’s and women’s tournaments, only the Hawkeye women remain in March Madness.

But the Hawks have their sites set much higher than the current Sweet Sixteen run. On the line tonight is a return to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2019 and just the fifth time in program history. After an early exit a season ago, this group is motivated to atone for past grievances and break through that barrier.

Standing in their way is a very talented Colorado squad that fought ferociously in an overtime thriller to defeat 3-seed Duke on Monday evening. They come into the night at 25-8 overall and now boasting a trio of wins over top-15 teams on the season (Duke ends their season at #13 in the AP while the Buffaloes already had wins over #8 Utah and #8 UCLA - both at home). They are a physical bunch that emphasizes defense, giving up fewer than 59 points per game on the season.

Colorado is 17-0 when allowing 60 or fewer points this season. They’re 8-8 when opponents top 61 points. The Hawkeyes have not scored fewer than 68 points in a game this season.

So, which style will win out? Will it be Caitlin Clark and the high-flying Hawkeyes that outscore the Buffaloes? Or will Colorado be able to slow things down and turn defense into a trip to the Elite Eight? We’re about to find tout.

Here are the details for tonight’s matchup.

How to Watch

Date: Friday, March 24th
Time: 6:30pm CT
Opponent: #6 Colorado (25-8, 13-5)
Location: Climate Pledge Arena - Seattle, WA
Gambling (by DraftKings): Iowa -6.5 | Iowa -260/Colorado +220 | O/U 147
TV: ESPN
Radio: Hawkeye Sports Network
Streaming: Watch ESPN

Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.

The winner of today’s matchup will advance to the Elite Eight to take on the winner of 8-seed Ole Miss (who took down #1 Stanford in the Round of 32) and 5-seed Louisville on Sunday. That game will follow Iowa’s matchup with Colorado on ESPN at approximately 9pm CT.

Here’s a look at the full women’s NCAA Tournament bracket.

Go Hawks!

Don’t Mess with Gabbie Marshall. AKA Ms. March.

It’s been a week for the Hawkeye women’s basketball team. Coach Bluder’s squad is coming off an instant classic last Sunday that sent the Hawkeyes to their first Sweet 16 since 2020. I can’t imagine what it’s like to wait longer than 2 years to experience your school in a Sweet 16...

An interesting “tactic” has sprung up within the last week by opposing coaches trying to slow down the Hawkeyes potent attack. SE Louisiana Head Coach Ayla Guzzardo’s comments on making Caitlin Clark’s life “miserable” in game one are already well documented on this blog. I’ll read you the spark notes version, “It did not end well for SE LA.”

After that locker room material debacle, and an Iowa alum in Georgia coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson prepping her 10th seeded Georgia Bulldogs for a Sunday matchup in Iowa City with a birth in the Sweet 16 on the line, you’d be correct to assume Saturdays presser would be pretty quiet. The first year head coach would have undoubtably learned from coach Guzzardo’s mistake and not poke jabs at Caitlin Clark. Well, Abraham-Henderson put her hands to the fire and took a shot at the hottest player in mens and women’s college basketball and was thoroughly burned. No not caitlin Clark, she took aim at shooting guard Gabbie Marshall, and right now, that’s probably even worse.

When referring to the scalding Iowa sharp shooter, Abraham-Henderson called Marshall “the cute little one with the cute eyes, pretty eyes.” ...

Going into Sundays matchup, the senior from Cincinnati was a scintillating 14-28 from beyond the arch in the month of March. I’m not a math whiz, or even a novice for that matter, but I know that 14-28 is equal to an outrageous 50% clip! Those hot hands helped the Hawkeyes capture their second straight Big Ten Tournament Title as well as set an tournament record for made 3-pointers by a single player with 13. Again, probably not the player you want to gift extra motivation to.

And they shouldn’t have.

In the same way Clark responded to the SE LA comments by starting 4-4 from the floor, Marshall’s start was even “prettier”. Those “cute” eyes helped Marshal start 4-4 from deep to open the game, and would prove to be the difference in a tightly contested game that would end in a 74-66 Iowa win.

After the game, Marshall had mixed emotions regarding Abraham-Hendersons comments and said initially, she wasn’t sure how to take it.

“I don’t know how to take that, I kind of had mixed emotions.”

Eventually, Marshall claimed to have moved on from the matter and was more more eager to praise her teammates togetherness for her performance.

“I’m like, ‘Forget it, who cares. She called me pretty eyes.”

“We’ve been playing together so long that we know where each other is. Just how to get each other open, and I feel like they knew I was hot, and they got me the ball.”

After Sundays 5 for 9 output from three, Gabbie has improved her 50% clip in the month of March to 19/33, good enough for 58.5%. That’s a far cry from how the year began for Marshall when she started the year hitting only 19-80 from deep. A pessimist might say that eventually, Ms. March is bound to cool down from her stupendous spring shooting, but she’s operated at these levels before.

In her junior year of high school at Mount Notre Dame in Cincinnati, OH, Marshall converted on 53.2% of her three point attempts in route to her second consecutive All-State selection. Add in the fact that in her previous three years dawning the black and gold she converted at a 41.5% clip and currently sits at 37%, I’d say she’s just getting started.

So doubt the 5’9 senior leader all you want, tell her she has cute eyes, soft eyes, pretty eyes, or sad eyes. It’s all irrelevant. At the end of the day, #24 has a shooters eyes. And now that it’s March, Gabbie Marshall only cares about her “Hawk”eyes.

The Buffaloes are a very formidable opponent

I have to admit something, Hawk fans. In watching the Duke/Colorado game I was hoping for Colorado to win. Statistically (and I’m no math person) at first glance you would rather play a six seed than a three. After watching some video and delving a little deeper into Colorado’s team, I’m a bit more nervous than I was just a few days ago. They are a nice-looking squad with some excellent pieces. The Buffaloes are 25-8 on the year and coming off an overtime win at Cameron Indoor Stadium. What first stands out to me is Colorado has two excellent posts. Both #11 Quay Miller and #21 Aaronnette Vonleh are 6’3” transfer players who take up space and can move. That’s a nice combination. Miller, in my opinion, is a phenomenal player. Skill-wise I like her better than Indiana’s Mackenzie Holmes (who I also think is fantastic) because Miller is able to extend her game to the three point line.

Miller is also sneaky-quick off the bounce.

Colorado runs what could already be considered an old-school approach with a 3 out (guards/perimeter), 2 in (posts/centers) motion offense. The two work very well together as they will look high-low to each other, Miller can put the ball on the floor and drive, and they run a nice pick and roll from the high post with their ultra-fast point guard (more on her later). Here is an example of a nice high-low pass from Miller to Vonleh.

Colorado has two other players who impress me, but Miller and Vonleh are their two leading scorers and rebounders. As they go, the Buffs go. The biggest and best way for the Hawks to defend this combination is to make sure we have a great deal of ball pressure on the perimeter (unobstructed passes into the post are defense killers) and our post defenders must play defense with their feet before the pass. Playing defense in the post after the catch will lead to fouls and significant trouble. Iowa can’t afford for Monika Czinano to pick up cheap fouls.

The next player that jumps off the screen is point guard Jaylyn Sherrod (#00). Caitlin Clark is one of the fastest players I’ve seen with the ball, but Sherrod may be faster. She can be a nightmare in transition. Here Duke was trying to apply full-court pressure. Nope.

One pass, a diagonal cut, and Sherrod is moving at cartoon-like speed. Iowa is not a pressing team, but it will be paramount to get back on defense and stop the ball. Sherrod is a stat-sheet stuffer averaging 11.3 ppg, 3.2 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 2.3 steals per game. She is fun to watch if you are a casual fan. As a non-casual fan she definitely is a threat to our Hawkeye happiness.

Colorado’s best shooter is 5’11” junior guard Frida Formann (#3). Formann is from Denmark and can shoot the basketball. She connects on 39% of her three point shots and she’s a 91% free throw shooter. The Buffaloes run a nice high pick and roll action where Sherrod will get a high ball screen and looks to turn the corner, hit the roller, or kick out to a wide open Formann. The Hawks will need to get a hand in her face and box out; Miller and Vonleh get a few rebounds a game just based on the space they take up in the lane.

On the season Colorado is shooting 35% from three and allowing 30% shooting from distance. In Colorado’s eight losses, the Buffs are shooting 21% (27-128) from beyond the arc and allowing 37% (52-142). I like those odds, although as a lifelong Hawkeye fan, how many times have we seen a career shooting night from someone who ordinarily can’t hit the water throwing the ball out of a boat? Thankfully this is more common on the men’s side, but I knocked on wood anyway (I really did).

Colorado seems susceptible in the post if you attack with a player who can spin, put the ball on the floor and get around her defender. That is more Hannah Stuelke’s game than Monika Czinano’s, but Iowa’s spacing is typically fantastic and the Hawks do an excellent job of swinging the basketball and getting quality post entries where Monika doesn’t need to dribble anyway. Caitlin Clark gets praise for her shooting and scoring, but she would take a 10 point, 25 assist win in a heartbeat.

Hawk stuff:

For the Hawkeyes it is a given that we need good to excellent games out of both Clark and Czinano. Gabbie Marshall’s shooting will be important (very, very important), and I think McKenna Warnock will be tasked with defending Quay Miller. Iowa will need great rebounding from Czinano, Stuelke, and Warnock. My favorite player, Kate Martin, is going to have a good game. She is a player who does so many little things well. When she is aggressive with the ball and making plays, her game is even better. I think that Kate is going to show up. Hannah Stuelke’s health will be the biggest X factor in this ballgame. The Hawks will need her to rebound and spell Czinano.

This season has been so much fun. I attended my first-ever Iowa women’s game in person at the Big Ten Championship. I’m not ready for this season to end. There would be no shame in losing to this Colorado team; they are talented, but let’s not stop here, Coach Bluder and company. Like always, it’s great to be a Hawkeye! Let’s go, Hawks! Let’s go, Hawks! Let’s go, Hawks!

Big Jelly and Iowa’s Starting Point Guard Hit the Portal

Transfer SZN is BACK, and the Iowa Men’s Basketball program lost two players in rapid succession Wednesday afternoon.

First, center Josh Ogundele announced his departure from the Iowa program.

As you’ll recall, Ogundele entered the portal last year, only to reverse course and remain at Iowa. He provided some back-up depth this year and last and was serviceable against the biggest of big men in the league, such as Kofi Cockburn and Zach Edey, but conditioning was always a factor and he played in just 11 games this season, averaging 1.9 points and 1.7 rebounds a game. For his 3-year career with Iowa, Ogundele played in 38 games, averaging 1.5 points and 1.3 rebounds a game in only 4.9 minutes a contest.

Shortly after the Ogundele news, Iowa then lost starting point guard Ahron Ulis to the portal.

Ulis, the brother of former Iowa target and eventual Kentucky guard Tyler Ulis, played in 32 games for the Hawks this year, averaging 6.1 points per game to go with 1.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. His shining moment was a three-game run in the middle of the season when he scored 12, 17, and 16 points against Ohio State, Michigan State, and Rutgers, respectively. The 17 in the Breslin Center was a career-high and kept Iowa in the game, a game they lost by 2.

Unfortunately, Ulis hit double-figures just once more the remainder of the season, another 12-point outing in Iowa’s 92-75 win over Ohio State on February 16 in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Despite the occasional burst in production, shooting woes were never far from Ulis, as his career splits were just 37/31/79 (that’s field goals, 3-point, free throws for the uninitiated; the free throw number dipped from 90 percent his freshman year to 70.7 percent this year on just .1 more attempts a game). For his career, Ulis made 84 appearances and 27 starts, all this year, and averaged 4.0 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game.

The departures leave Iowa’s roster with only Patrick McCaffery, Kris Murray, Tony Perkins, Riley Mulvey, Payton Sandfort, Dasonte Bowen, and Josh Dix currently on scholarship, with Ladji Dembele, Owen Freeman, Brock Harding, and Pryce Sandfort joining the program this summer. With the portal open, expect more movement in the coming weeks.

We wish both Big Jelly and Ulis - did he have a nickname? - the best of luck!

Hawks back to the Sweet 16. Head west.

After last year’s NCAA home loss to Creighton, the Iowa Hawkeyes carried an extra burden into yesterday’s game against the Georgia Bulldogs. Unfortunately in today’s world, teams, players, and coaches are only remembered for what they do in March. One needs to look no further than Spencer Lee, the Purdue men’s team, and the Stanford women’s team. Also, Fran McCaffery is a very good basketball coach, but his “fault” (other than not emphasizing defense enough) is his lack of a Sweet 16 banner. Spectacular seasons and careers come crashing to the ground this time of year.

The Hawk women tossed that monkey off their backs in beating a very good Georgia squad 74-66. I feel that the Hawkeyes can now play a little more loose than they did against the Bulldogs. You could see a little bit of nervousness from our players, and you know that last year was on their minds. Monika Czinano missed a number of shots she normally makes, Caitlin Clark threw a pass right to a Bulldog at a key moment late, and other Hawks were passing up wide-open shots. Not that there is anyway, but there is no shame losing a game to make it to the Elite 8. Everything after this point is gravy, if you will. That’s a pretty gross saying when you think about it, and turkey gravy is phenomenal. Let’s carve up (get it?) that game.

First of all, that Georgia team was a pretty nice squad. They finished 22-12. At first glance one would wonder how they would have lost 12 games. Five of those losses were to South Carolina (2), LSU (2), and our Hawkeyes (1). Former Hawkeye and current Georgia head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson is a very good basketball coach. She made sure to never be hired by Iowa post-Bluder when two of her players went all “hurt-people” the last few seconds of the game. Also, her post-game comment about Diamond Battles (she’s excellent) being the best player on the floor...

The Bulldogs have excellent length and athleticism. Length, even more than height in my opinion, is one of the best attributes in a basketball player. Iowa struggled at times passing the ball against Georgia’s zone. It’s very hard to emulate length in practice. There were a handful of Hawk turnovers where it appeared we were throwing the ball to them. Maybe some nerves, but much of that comes down to going against a quicker/lengthier/taller player than you are used to competing against.

Caitlin (NPOY) Clark played all 40 minutes. With Hannah Stuelke out and Molly Davis getting banged up, Lisa Bluder went with a tighter rotation. Clark did not disappoint. On an “off” shooting night, she still shot 40% from 3 (4-10), scored 22 points, dished out 12 assists, and had three steals.

Monika Czinano and McKenna Warnock ended their Carver careers with a win and excellent games. Czinano had 20 points and nine rebounds. The Clark to Czinano connection is worth the price of admission. Clark set the single-season B1G record for assists in a season (291). Not bad for a selfish player who doesn’t pass the ball. Sigh.

Warnock ended up with 14 points and eight rebounds. McKenna came up with a winning rebound late. These two will be greatly missed next season.

It was a very evenly matched game. Both teams shot about the same percentage from the field and free throw line with the Hawkeyes having the advantage from deep (Iowa 12-28 42.9% / GA 6-16 37.5%). This was a beautiful pull-up shot by Clark that was as big as they come.

The Bulldogs won the rebounding battle by a wide margin (42-29); that’s what allowed them to stick around. It’s not going out on a limb to say that if the Hawkeyes are minus 13 in rebounding margin going forward, they are coming home before cutting down any nets. This will be a major emphasis over the next few days. Without a doubt the Hawks missed Hannah Stuelke. Hopefully her injury heals as her athleticism, size, and determination are needed if the Hawks are to make a run.

Up Next:

The Hawkeyes travel out west to Seattle. Iowa will face the winner of tonight’s Duke/Colorado game. Duke (26-6) is the 3 seed and Colorado (24-8) is the 6. From a seeding standpoint we are all Colorado fans. It is a home game for the Dukies. The game is at 8pm and can be seen on ESPNU. Every team at this point is talented. It feels great to be sitting at home, resting, recuperating, and watching our next opponent. As always, especially now, it’s great to be a Hawkeye! This women’s team has provided me with so much joy this year. We aren’t ready for this season to be over, Hawks. Go get it!

Iowa took care of business in the first round, now it’s on to a new challenge in round two.

It’s been a rough weekend for Iowa Hawkeyes athletics. Spencer Lee’s bid for 4 straight national championships came to a shocking end just after the Hawkeye men’s hoops team fell once again in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. But the Iowa women now hold the torch and a 2-seed hosting their final home game of the year as they take on 10-seed Georgia in the second round of the women’s NCAA Tournament.

The Bulldogs come into the day at 22-11 and fresh off an upset win over 7-seed Florida State. Head coach and former Hawkeye (and Cedar Rapids native) Katie Abrahamson-Henderson commented on the challenge ahead for Georgia, but also expects the Bulldogs to present some challenges of their own for the Hawkeyes with a slew of different defenses and aggressive pressure.

For Iowa, the focus is on taking care of business as they did in the opening round against SE Louisiana. A win today means a return to the Sweet Sixteen for the third time if five years and an opportunity for the program’s first Elite Eight run since Megan Gustafson graduated.

Here are the details for todays’ matchup.

How to Watch

Date: Sunday, March 19th
Time: 2:00pm CT
Opponent: #10 Georgia (22-11, 13-3)
Location: Carver-Hawkeye Arena - Iowa City, IA
Gambling (by DraftKings): Iowa -14 | Iowa -1250/Georgia +800 | O/U 147
TV: ABC
Radio: Hawkeye Sports Network
Streaming: Watch ESPN

Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.

The winner of today’s matchup will advance to the Sweet Sixteen to take on the winner of 3-seed Duke and 6-seed Colorado next weekend. Here’s a look at the full women’s NCAA Tournament bracket.

Go Hawks!

Real Woods goes for gold. 5 others battling back for bronze. Iowa 2nd in the team race.

Yesterday gave us one of the biggest gut punches in program history when Spencer Lee found him self on the wrong end of a pin. He was up late, but decided to challenge Matt Ramos and went for a ride and unfortunately it’s a ride he’ll spend the rest of his life dissecting.

Over the next several days, months, and years we can play that fateful match back in our heads and dream about the what-if, but now is not that time.

We still have 6 Hawks, including Lee, battling their way back eyeing a 3rd place medal with Real Woods our lone finalist. And man, what a semifinal performance did he put on! After literally lucking out in the quarters he absolutely blew Nebraska’s Brock Hardy out of the arena and stormed into the National Finals.

Lee’s loss could’ve broken this team, so it was incredible to see us go 6-0 with our heads on the chopping block in the cons. Max Murin, Nelson Brands and Jacob Warner all went 2-0 to stay alive. Not only did they secure All-American status, they went above beyond and are still battling back for 3rd.

Session III was devastating with half our team bowing out, in fact it was perhaps one of the worst I have seen, but the Blood Round in Session IV was one of the best. Polarizing to say the least, but our survivors rose to the occasion and are doing what they can to lock up a 2nd place team trophy.

Everyone wants to talk about Lee, naturally we should. So all I’ll say is tomorrow we’ll find out who he truly is. He’ll ultimately be remembered for his accomplishments, but he’ll be defined by his resolve. Right now I’m going to take the positive approach and say this loss could be his greatest motivator. The single greatest event that reshaped his drive and focus and pushed him to knew heights.

Tomorrow, during his lowest moment, we’ll see what he’s made of.

Dan Gable 2.0 sounds pretty damn good right about now.

But last night was all about Max Murin, Nelson Brands, and Jacob Warner. I am SO DAMN HAPPY for those three. Murin for finally punching his way through 4 previous trips to the blood round and finally making it. Nelson for wrestling the best he has ever wrestled. He’s on a mission and looks like a guy that is finally “clicking” and Jacob Warner.

Warner.

All the shit he’s been through. Everyone saying he looks done and that he doesn’t have the drive anymore (I admit I’ve been there). Watching him battle back and the raw emotions he’s shown, well, we can take our opinions and shove them. He’s now a 5x AA and always shows up in the post-season. Mr. Clutch, no, more like Mr. March.

So our 5 in the cons will all have early matches before wrestling their medal rounds. Woods won’t take the mat until later this evening.

FINALS:

#1 Real Woods vs #2 Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado)

CONS SEMIS:

#1 Spencer Lee vs #10 Brandon Courtney (Arizona State)

#8 Max Murin vs #3 Kyle Parco (Arizona State)

#11 Nelson Brands vs #4 Chris Foca (Cornell)

#14 Jacob Warner vs #3 Rocky Elam (Missouri)

#4 Tony Cassioppi vs #10 Zach Elam (Missouri)

TEAM SCORES:

1 PSU 116.5

2 IOWA 77

3 CORNELL 64

4 OSU 62

5 MIZZOU 55

8 ISU 44

15 UNI 29

Broadcast Info

Session times:

Session V (Medal Rounds) - 10AM God’s Time (Central) // Saturday, March 18th, 2023

Session VI (FINALS) - 6PM God’s Time (Central) // Saturday, March 18th, 2023

TV: Session III is available on ESPNU, Session IV will be on ESPN

Streaming: Individual mats for all sessions are available on ESPN+

Radio: iHeartRadio (AM800 KXIC)

Location: BOK Center // Tulsa, OK

Mat Tracking: Trackwrestling

Clark and the Hawkeyes make life “miserable” for the Lions

SE Louisiana head coach Ayla Guzzardo had some interesting comments early in the week on facing the Hawkeyes and their mega star Caitlin Clark. When told in an interview “you guys don’t have Caitlin Clark” the SELA coach understandably backed her team by pointing out that, while they don’t have a Caitlin Clark, they have other players who are more than capable. That’s fine, it’s just normal coach speak. Then things got a little interesting. Guzzardo brought up SELA PG Jalencia Pierre, who would be guarding Clark, and said “she’s going to make her life miserable.”

Let’s allow ESPN the Ocho’s own Pepper Brooks to respond...

Indeed.

Clark must have thought the same. The Hawkeye phenom started the game by hitting her first four shots from the floor and paced the Hawkeyes early with 12 quick points. Gosh if that is miserable I can’t even imagine what Clark looks like at her best. On the other hand, maybe I’ve gone the first 29 years of my life completely misunderstanding the meaning of the word? I’m going to go with that assumption. But back to the game. The continuation of the shooting exploits of Gabbie Marshall that Iowa fans were privileged to in Minneapolis, along with 6 points from Monika Czinano vaulted the Hawks to a 28-17 1st quarter lead and the rout was on from there.

The second quarter started with a Clark and-1 right off the bat and Carver was rocking. For the next 3:30 though, the Hawkeyes showed the chink in their armor other than their defense. The stretch included 3 turnovers for Iowa, all of which were unforced. While Iowa is in their element playing a fast paced style of run and gun offense, things were a little bit out of control at times. After the under four media timeout however, Iowa came back out with the controlled speed that earned them a 2 seed in this years tournament and a second straight BIG Tournament championship. The Hawks would end the half on a 17-5 run effectively putting the game out of the reach for the Lions. Clark led all scorers with 19 points at the half. Again, what a miserable performance.

The second half script was similar to the opening period as the combo of Czinano and Clark were responsible for the opening 7 points and from there, role players Hannah Stuelke and Addison O’Grady showed that the future is indeed bright in Iowa City. Both players gained valuable tournament experience which will be crucial if the Hawks are to reach the heights they believe that they can. The duo would end the game a perfect 8-8 from the floor and 10 rebounds combined. Clark would end the game leading all scorers with 26 points while adding a cool 12 assists and 7 rebounds. Czinano to her credit finished with 22 points on 10-12 shooting and 8 boards.

Moving forward, Iowa will need to find more production from players like Mckenna Warnock (6pts), Kate Martin (5pts), and Gabbie Marshall whose only points were a game opening three. It wasn’t needed today, but against the Hawkeyes next opponent, the defensive minded Georgia Bulldogs, these three Hawkeye greats will need to have more of an impact.

At the end of the day though, Hawkeye fans were treated to an exceptional performance and tournament victory from arguably both the best and healthiest sports program the University of Iowa has to offer. And hey, things could always be worse. We could all be on the 13 hour bus ride out of Iowa City. And that would be “miserable.”

Can the Hawkeye men follow in the footsteps of the women and repeat as Big Ten Tournament champions?

While the Hawkeye men saw their regular season (and now entire season) come to a screeching halt, the Iowa women saw the complete opposite. Caitlin Clark drilled a dagger through the heart of then-#2 Indiana on senior day and used that momentum to run through the Big Ten gauntlet en route to their second straight Big Ten Tournament Championship.

Now Clark, Czinano and the rest of the Hawkeyes look to continue with that head of steam and blow through the first two rounds of the NCAA Women’s Tournament in Iowa City. On the other side of those first two matchups is a third trip to the Sweet Sixteen in five years and an opportunity for the program’s first Elite Eight run since superstar Megan Gustafson departed the program. Beyond that, it’s all gravy as Iowa sets its eyes on just the second Final Four run in program history and the first in 30 years.

Before they can get there, however, the Hawkeyes need to take care of business inside the friendly confines of Carver-Hawkeye Arena and avoid the early exit gate that has plagued the men each of the last two years. They open things up today with a matchup against a scrappy SE Louisiana team that is fresh off its own conference tournament championship.

Here are the details for todays’ matchup.

How to Watch

Date: Friday, March 17th
Time: 3:00pm CT
Opponent: #15 SE Louisiana (21-9, 14-4)
Location: Carver-Hawkeye Arena - Iowa City, IA
Gambling (by DraftKings): Iowa -29.5 | O/U 140.5
TV: ESPN
Radio: Hawkeye Sports Network
Streaming: Watch ESPN

Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.

The winner of today’s matchup will advance to take on the winner of 7-seed Florida State and 10-seed Georgia on Sunday. Here’s a look at the full women’s NCAA Tournament bracket.

Go Hawks!

Moving Day is here.

Day one wasn’t what we wanted, but it’s what we got. Despite it being one of the most pedestrian opening days I can remember we’re still sitting in 2nd place.

We stormed out going 8-2 in the opening round, but shuffled a smidge in the 2nd going 5-3. Thankfully though, all 10 wrestlers still have a pulse with 5 sitting in the quarterfinals. But make no mistake, there isn’t a safe match to be had for a shot at the semis.

And “stormed” out is questionable, now that I think about it. We lost at 133 and 157, but those were both very winnable matches. Cobe Siebrecht (157) would’ve run into the #3 seed in the second round so that’s likely when he would’ve dropped anyways, but man, Brody Teske (133) had a real good draw to the quarterfinals.

Day one was more about missed opportunities and leaving points off the board. Today will be all about survival.

Spencer Lee, Real Woods, Max Murin, Tony Cassioppi, and believe it or not, Nelson Brands are still alive on the front end.

Meanwhile, Teske, Siebrecht, Patrick Kennedy, Abe Assad and Jacob Warner have their work cut out for them.

Quarterfinal Matches:

125: #1 Spencer Lee vs #8 Anthony Noto (LH)

141: #1 Real Woods vs #8 Allan Hart (MIZZ)

149: #8 Max Murin vs #1 Yianni Diakomihalis (COR)

174: #11 Nelson Brands vs #3 Mekhi Lewis (VT)

285: #4 Tony Cassioppi vs #5 Cohlton Schultz (ASU)

Consolation Matches:

133: #23 Brody Teske vs #9 Micky Phillippi (PITT)

157: #14 Cobe Siebrecht vs #13 Trevor Chumbley (NW)

165: #6 Patrick Kennedy vs #28 Andrew Sparks (MINN)

184: #12 Abe Assad vs #11 Gavin Cane (UNC)

197: #14 Jacob Warner vs #20 Evan Bockman (UVU)

Murin has the toughest task here as he squares off with the other aspiring 4x champ in this tournament, Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell). Should Max fall here he’ll likely face Austin Gomez (WISC) in the blood round. Brutal.

If Teske bushes through to the blood round he’ll also face a former AA. Likewise, if Kennedy survives one more match he’ll go against the loser of the #1 David Carr (ISU)/ #4 Shane Griffith (STAN) match. So however we slice and dice it he’ll have to beat a former champ to even reach the podium.

And there’s a similar situation with both Assad and Warner. Should they win they’ll each face returning AA’s in the blood round - that’s why it’s so so so damn important to reach the semis and secure a spot on the podium.

As for our front-siders, Lee is the only one I’m truly comfortable with at the moment. Real Woods dominated in R1, but was literally bailed out by the clock in R2. He faded hard and fast in the 3rd period with the match being decided by his riding point. Had that been ruled a TD and gone to OT he 100% would have lost that match... and probably should have. I don’t know what the deal was, but he better rebound and refocus or he’ll drop to the back as well.

Cass has a winnable match, because he’s beaten Shultz before, but Schultz also bounced us from the tourney last year and went on to be a finalist. This is very much a toss up.

Nelson has an intriguing matchup against former champ and 2x finalist, Mekhi Lewis. Despite an 20-1 record and a #3 seed he’s looked unsteady at times this season and very much did in the opening rounds of Day 1, with a 2-1 and 5-4 win. If Nelson brings the pace and keeps that pace high for ALL 7 MINUTES he’ll have a shot. But what he can’t afford to do is take the 1st two period off and rely on a late TD and if he does, he better have been pushing it hard for the 1st six minutes.

I don’t have a good feeling on this team right now, I really don’t. Not as I’m down on them, more that I simply cannot read them. I can see 4 in the semis and I can 1. I can see 5 in the blood round or I can see none.

Anyways, here’s the team scores.

TEAM SCORES:

1. PSU 26

2 IOWA 21.5

3. MIZZOU 17.5

4. MINN 16.5

4. NC STATE 16.5

6. CORNELL 15.5

6. NEB 15.5

8. MICH 14.5

8. OHST 14.5

10. ASU 13

13. ISU 12

15. UNI 11

Broadcast Info

Session times:

Session III (QF’s Cons 2nd & 3rd Rounds) - 11AM God’s Time (Central) // Friday, March 17th, 2023

Session IV (Semifinals / Blood Round) - 7PM God’s Time (Central) // Friday, March 17th, 2023

TV: Session III is available on ESPNU, Session IV will be on ESPN

Streaming: Individual mats for all sessions are available on ESPN+

Radio: iHeartRadio (AM800 KXIC)

Location: BOK Center // Tulsa, OK

Mat Tracking: Trackwrestling

Auburn’s early second half 3-point barrage proved too much to overcome for the Hawkeyes

The 8-seeded Iowa Hawkeyes (19-14) once again found themselves at the base of a mountain which proved too high to climb in an 83-75 loss to the 9-seeded Auburn Tigers (21-12). The shooting took too long to arrive, as Iowa missed all nine of their first half attempts and when they did come, Auburn found theirs, as well.

Payton Sandfort led the game with 21 points, 17 of which came in the second half, while Johni Broome put up 19, 12 rebounds, and 5 blocks. Despite Broome’s presence inside, Iowa finished with 36 points in the paint and were 14/20 on layups/dunks. In a story as old as this season, poor three point shooting foiled the Hawks, as they hit just 26% from deep on 27 attempts.

Despite just 26 points, it started well enough for Iowa as they started out ahead 6-4 behind after notched his fourth point just 2:17 into the game. Unfortunately, he didn’t make a basket for 23 more game minutes as he missed seven straight shots in the timespan. He finished with 15 points on 5/18 shooting.

While Iowa struggled offensively, Auburn was never able to pull away as they had similar woes from deep, going 1/9. The first half lead crested on that three by Wendell Green, Jr, at 21-12 with 8:00 remaining.

Iowa was able to get some momentum with the insertion of Dasonte Bowen - his first minute during the flow of the game since Iowa faced Illinois on February 4th - as Iowa was able to get three straight baskets by Sandfort, Patrick McCaffery, and Tony Perkins. Bowen added a layup of his own to bring it to 23-20.

Auburn kept the Hawks at bay ahead of half by taking advantage of the rare Hawkeye turnovers, as they had 7 points of 5.

The lids came off the basket for both teams almost immediately in the second half as Jaylin Williams hit a three to open the stanza and Connor McCaffery answered with one of his own as the shot clock winded down.

Broome continued his impressive play by stretching his game to the three-point line and kicked off a run of six Tiger threes in 5 game minutes. As the lead built to 17, it was clear just how pro-Auburn the fan contingent was, and many Tigers reveled in delighting them.

As we’ve seen before, Iowa didn’t roll over, though. Sandfort was especially good in Iowa’s comeback attempt and cut the lead with 10 after a couple free throws after getting fouled on a three-point attempt. Murray also got it going from range as he hit a pair and then brought Iowa to within 4 on a fastbreak dunk.

Down 66-62 at the under-4:00, it was a chance to come away with the win but the game quickly turned into an assembly line at the charity stripe for Wendell Green who’s currently building a school-record free throw streak. His back-breaking layup with 2:15 felt like the dagger when he put Auburn up 74-64.

Sandfort once again answered with a jumper after Filip Rebrača hit a pair of free throws to cut it to six, and then again after the lead was stretch to 10 with a three-pointer.

Unfortunately, the comeback attempt ended there as Iowa couldn’t string any more “score-stops” together.

The game was more or less punctuated with Connor fouling out and making the tear-filled walk to Iowa’s bench. The Hawks will miss his presence on the court.

As for the season writ large, I’m sure I’ll have more thoughts in the coming days but this was a team who had an incredibly tantalizing ceiling but was able to only reach it once or twice. They provided some genuinely enjoyable moments in a season following the massive losses of Iowa’s first first rounder in 20+ years and Iowa’s record-breaking sharpshooter. But the floor fell out on them plenty of times as well.

So if I were to encapsulate this team, it’s probably the one we saw today. They possess plenty of skill to close the talent gap which existed today but too often were holding the bag when the shots didn’t drop.

It never felt like they quit despite plenty of opportunities to do so today and throughout this season. That might be what I remember most about them.

Can the Hawkeye men follow in the footsteps of the women and repeat as Big Ten Tournament champions?

March Madness means one thing: loads of college basketball on TV. With games spread across several networks all day long, it can be easy to miss out. But you can catch all of the action (including the women’s tournament and all your wresting coverage!) on Sling TV. Best of all, they’re offering their base plans for half off. Sign up here to watch all that March has to offer.

For the ups and downs of a college basketball season, it all comes down to what you do in March. Finally, the madness is upon us.

After a roller coaster ride of a season that came to an abrupt halt with the Hawkeyes falling flat on senior day before rolling over and playing dead in their first Big Ten Tournament matchup against Ohio State, Iowa is now set to face a fork in the road in the NCAA Tournament. Today’s opening round matchup with Auburn presents an opportunity for the Hawkeyes to move past the disappointing end to the regular season and BTT and push ahead with a chance at the program’s first Sweet Sixteen appearance in more than two decades.

But the matchup also comes with the chance of another disappointing performance and early departure from the Tournament. The Tigers are, of course, coached by former Iowa assistant Bruce Pearl. They play high-intensity defense that seems content grinding the game to a near halt with offense optional. But they also feature a slew of talented wings and an aggressive, confident PG who can make things happen on his own.

For Hawkeye fans with PTSD from Iowa’s early exit against Richmond a season ago, those are scary words. Can the Hawkeyes bounce back and find a way to generate offense when shots aren’t falling? Can they get clean looks against a good defensive opponent away from Carver? And can they themselves play good enough defense to stop a mediocre shooting team from getting hot?

If Iowa wants to finally make a run, they’ll need to do all those things and more as they take on the Auburn Tigers in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Here’s a look at the details for today’s matchup.

How to Watch

Date: Thursday, March 16th
Time: 5:50p CT
Opponent: #9 Auburn Tigers (20-12, 10-8)
Location: Legacy Arena at BJCC - Birmingham, AL
Gambling (by DraftKings): Auburn -1.5 | Iowa +105/Auburn -125 | O/U 151.5
TV: TNT
Streaming: Paramount+ ($)

Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.

The winner of today’s matchup will advance to take on the winner of #1 Houston and #16 Northern Kentucky on Saturday.

Here’s the full tournament bracket for your convenience.

Go Hawks!

Spencer Lee’s quest for #4 begins here.

This morning we officially kick of the 2023 NCAA wrestling tournament and what a dozy it’ll be! We’re sending all 10 wrestlers to the tournament including two top seeds: Spencer Lee (125) and Real Woods (141).

Our Hawkeyes are going to be in a dogfight from the onset. We’re going to be pushed early and if we can survive day one we’re going to set ourselves up nicely for some quarterfinal action on Friday.

Penn State is the betting favorite to win it, but no one is counting Iowa out just yet. However, we will need some help from other teams as well as winning these early round matches to give ourselves a shot. As it stands with the projected points we’re sitting firmly in 2nd place with Nebraska and Missouri nipping at heels.

If you’re looking for the official brackets you can found those HERE.

Likewise if you want to follow along with mat assignments, scores, and other general tournament information that is located HERE.

First Round Matches:

125: #1 Spencer Lee vs #33 Tucker Owens (Air Force) or #32 Tanner Jordan (SDSU)

133: #23 Brody Teske vs #10 Lucas Byrd (Illinois)

141: #1 Real Woods vs #33 Josh Mason (Bloomington) or #32 Kal Miller (MD)

149: #8 Max Murin vs #25 Caleb Tyus (Southern Illinois-Edwardsville)

157: #14 Cobe Siebrecht vs #19 Garrett Model (Wisconsin)

165: #6 Patrick Kennedy vs #27 Will Formato (Appalachian St).

174: #11 Nelson Brands vs #22 Alex Falson (North Carolina State)

184: #12 Abe Assad vs #21 Giuseppe Hoose (Buffalo)

197: #14 Jacob Warner vs #19 Cameron Caffey (Michigan State)

285: #4 Tony Cassioppi vs #29 Jaron Smith (Maryland)

Broadcast Info

Session times:

Session I - 11AM God’s Time (Central) // Thursday, March 16th, 2023

Session II - 6PM God’s Time (Central) // Thursday, March 16th, 2023

TV: Session I is available on ESPNU, Session II will be on ESPN

Streaming: Individual mats for all sessions are available on ESPN3

Radio: iHeartRadio (AM800 KXIC)

Location: BOK Center // Tulsa, OK

Mat Tracking: Trackwrestling

We have a restoration crew coming to the house tomorrow so I’ll do my best to keep everyone updated. If you see me falling behind then anyone, everyone, whoever, please jump in! This is NCAA tournament time, no toe is safe.

GO IOWA!!!

Can the Hawkeyes weather the Tigers’ defense?

Both the Iowa Hawkeyes (19-13, 11-9) and Auburn Tigers (20-12, 10-8) are looking to put a different spin on their season with an NCAA Tournament run. Iowa entered the final week with a chance at a second place finish & double-bye in the conference tournament but lost their final two games after torching Indiana. The Tigers 16-3 start contrasts with their 4-9 close.

Considering the additional blogs we’ve gotten up this week, we’ll get straight to it, but only after plugging them:

• Matt Reisener on the men’s & women’s path to a potential second weekend and his deep dive on Iowa struggling when games get ugly
• Auburn stats & dispelling the distance from home in first round games & thoughts after watching some condensed games

What Hawkeye output shows up from behind the arc?

It’s been a tale of two teams for Iowa. When their shot is dropping from deep at a modest 30% clip, they’re 18-2. Five of those games came away from home. When they’re under that threshold, they’re an ugly 1-11 with 10 of those games at road or neutral environments. Adding concern is how good Auburn is at defending the three, with opponents hitting just 28.5% of attempts alongside limiting them to threes as 34.2% of opponent field goals.

Two parts...lets dispell Auburn’s three-point defense a little bit. While Iowa isn’t lighting the world on fire at 34.1% from deep, they rank 11th of Auburn’s 26 opponents. 11 times, they played games against teams who were 300th or worse from behind the arc. So while I think it’s good, I’m not sure it’s that good.

The four times teams who shot better than Iowa on the season who came away with wins against Auburn did so by not settling for 3. They took a small number of high quality looks - West Virginia had the most with 20 3PA - and shot a collective 43.8% from deep.

But for Iowa, the key is to get those quality looks. Kris Murray and Payton Sandfort are Iowa’s best shooters and should be taking the bulk of the three-point attempts. Sandfort, especially, strikes me as a guy who can take advantage of the size mismatch he’s likely to have to shoot over the top of Auburn’s shorter guards. I wouldn’t go so far as to start him but a good game from him probably means a good game for Iowa writ large.

What happens when those shots don’t fall?

The worst thing which can happen is if Iowa allows missed shots to snowball into quick shots to climb themselves out of a hole they may find themselves in. They’ll also have to keep their heads on, as the Tigers do a really nice job forcing turnovers - 11.6% steal percentage ranks 38th in the country (8.0/game) - and turning them into points. That will allow the Birmingham crowd to gain even more steam behind them.

The two most obvious areas where Iowa can impact the game without their jumpers falling are free throws and offensive rebounds. Despite (or perhaps due to?) the Tigers blocking 13.8% of opponent shots (5.1/game), they allow opponents to get to the free throw line almost at will, ranking in the bottom 40 of the country. They’ve got 12 foul outs on the season, with post Johni Broome leading the way with four.

The biggest advantage might be Iowa’s offensive rebounding. The Hawks have really come on in that area, ranking 2nd in conference games by rebounding 31.2% of their misses. Sandfort has been good here, as has Tony Perkins. One KenPom stat which sticks wayyy out is that Auburn shooting guards (by his classification) have corralled just 11.6% of their defensive rebounds, 345th highest proportion in the country. Iowa’s shooting guards have snagged 14.0% percent of Iowa’s offensive rebounds (96th highest proportion).

Can Iowa do enough on defense?

Auburn has had a couple stinkers offensively but are overall pretty capable. 20 of their 32 games have been at/above 70 points which is a tad shy of Iowa’s 24 of 32. There’s a top end Iowa can achieve (9 games at/over 90) which might be more difficult for Auburn to achieve (have done it twice) but it’s March and I’m hesitant to believe we’ll see a game settle into a game where both teams approach 90 in regulation. (and there’s a case that even that is not necessarily to benefit: see 2021 against Oregon where they set their season-high against Iowa)

That means we’re going to see a slower tempo game and Iowa will have to VALUE every possession in ways they have not shown in the past. The good news is that Auburn is willing to throw away some possessions with contested jumpers (31.4% from deep as a team) but it will be imperative for Iowa to finish those possessions by way of defensive rebounding. Iowa’s been just okay there on the season. It will need to be a team effort with the size and athleticism Auburn’s frontcourt possesses.

One last bit is that while Auburn is generally okay at taking care of the ball, where they do struggle is in those live ball situations, where opponents have a 10.4% steal percentage which ranks 310th.

While Houston is a tough hill to climb for either team, a win for the Hawks or Tigers can offer a different trendline than what both teams are currently experience. Here’s hoping Iowa can do enough to notch a 20-win season for their 6th straight season and keep their tournament hopes alive.

The Iowa women appear to have the easier path, but both teams face potential matchups full of both pitfalls and opportunities.

Both the Iowa men’s and women’s basketball teams enter this week with identical goals: win two consecutive basketball games to earn a berth to the Sweet Sixteen. Earning a spot in the tournament’s second weekend would mean something slightly different to each team. For the men, it would end a drought that extends back to 1999 and would be Fran McCaffery’s first ever Sweet Sixteen bid as a head coach. For the women, it would help erase the memory of last season’s upset loss to #10-seeded Creighton in the Round of 32, which was a bitter end to an otherwise excellent season. Fundamentally, however, earning a bid to the Sweet Sixteen would mean the same thing for both programs: being only four victories away from a national championship.

Of the two Iowa squads, the men face a tougher path to the Sweet Sixteen by virtue of their #8 seed. The Hawkeyes’ first step involves defeating #9-seeded Auburn on Thursday evening, a team coached by former Iowa assistant Bruce Pearl that is one year removed from a 28-win campaign and four years removed from a trip to the Final Four. One might say that the Tigers have been inconsistent this season, but that is actually misleading, as Auburn has actually been consistently bad since late January after playing like one of the country’s elite teams for the first three months of play. While Auburn got off to a scintillating 16-3 start to the year, they proceeded to lose nine of their last thirteen games and saw cracks exposed in what had been one of the top defenses in college basketball from November-most of January.

Auburn poses an intriguing matchup for the Hawkeyes. Auburn is somehow even worse on the road than Iowa is (the Tigers have not won away from Neville Arena since January 21), yet they will have the luxury of playing only a two-hour drive from their home campus and should have a clear majority of fans in the stands. The Tigers also boast several skilled wing and post defenders they can throw at Iowa’s leading scorers Kris Murray and Filip Rebraca to slow them down, and have held opponents to only 46.8% shooting from two this season thanks in large part to their stout interior defense. Second-team All-SEC guard Wendell Green Jr. is also the kind of quick, shifty point guard who has often given Iowa trouble over the years, and there is a real chance he will be able to frustrate Iowa’s guards off the dribble for much of the game. However, Auburn is a bad outside shooting team (31.4% from three on the year) that is not equipped to punish Iowa for its often lax perimeter defense, and has often struggled with allowing offense rebounds (they rank 331^st in the country in most offensive rebounds gathered by their opponents). Iowa’s guards should also have a size and strength advantage over Auburn’s backcourt, so don’t be surprised if Tony Perkins is able to get to the rim or if Payton Sandfort manages to get shots off against players like Green (5’11”), K.D. Johnson (6’1”), and Zed Jasper (6’1”).

If the Hawks manage to beat Auburn, they will have to knock off the #1 seed Houston Cougars to reach the Sweet Sixteen (assuming Northern Kentucky doesn’t pull an historic upset in the Round of 64). Houston plays arguably the most suffocating defense in college basketball. The Cougars have the best defensive rating in the country (87.2), allow the second fewest points per game (56.5), and are ranked fourth in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency metric (89.6). Point guard Jamal Shead is one of the best lockdown defenders in the sport, and his tenacious perimeter defense is one of the key reasons Houston has held its opponents to the second lowest three-point shooting percentage in basketball (27.8%). When the Cougars have the ball, they play at one of the slowest paces in the country (343^rd in the nation in adjusted tempo according to KenPom), but also rank 11^th in adjusted offensive efficiency, proving that their low offensive output is often a feature rather than a bug.

Houston should have a clear advantage over an Iowa team that has been inconsistent on the road and played poorly to end the season, but there is reason to believe the Cougars may not be at full strength. First-team All-American guard Marcus Sasser sat out Houston’s AAC Championship game against Memphis last Sunday after suffering a groin injury the day prior, resulting in a Houston loss to a team that now shares the same NCAA Tournament seeding as Iowa. Sasser is the engine that drives the Houston offense and a key cog to their defense, and the Hawkeyes would have more than a fighting chance to pull the upset if he misses the game or plays at less than full strength. If Sasser is back in action, however, the Hawkeyes will need to play their most complete game of the year and shoot better from three than the 28.2% of shots they have made away from Carver-Hawkeye Arena so far this season to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.

The Iowa women have an easier path to advance to the second weekend of the tournament, but not one that is without potential pitfalls. The #2-seeded Hawkeyes’ first round matchup comes against the Southeastern Louisiana Lady Lions, a team that won 21 games en route to a Southland Conference tournament championship. This matchup will be an interesting battle of strength on strength, as Iowa’s nation-leading scoring offense (87.5 points per game) takes on one of the country’s top defenses which holds opponent to only 54.5 points per game. Earlier this year, Southeastern Louisiana limited LSU (the nation’s third-highest scoring offense) to more than 20 points fewer than their season average while allowing only 41% shooting from the field. Yet the Hawkeyes should have a clear size and athleticism advantage over their opponents. The Lady Lions have only one player in their rotation who stands 6’0” or above, and Iowa’s guards should be able to exploit this on both sides of the ball.

Should Iowa avoid the upset in the Round of 64, they will play the winner of the game between #7 Florida State and #10 Georgia. If the Seminoles advance, fans will be treated to a matchup between two high-scoring offenses (FSU averages 80.1 points per game, good for 10^th in the nation) and two elite guards in Iowa’s Caitlin Clark and Florida State’s Ta’Niya Latson. The ACC Rookie of the Year is averaging 21.3 points per game in her first year playing college basketball and has more than lived up to her five-star pedigree. Between Latson and defensive stalwart Makayla Timpson, the Seminoles have enough weapons to give the Hawkeyes a run for their money. One key matchup to watch would be whether low post weapon Monika Czinano and the Hawkeyes, who lead the nation in two-point field goal percentage (59.5%), will be able to control the paint against an FSU team that is eighth in college basketball in both rebounds (43.2) and blocks per game (5.5) and is holding opponents to only 38.9% shooting from two this season.

Georgia, meanwhile, is led by a talented duo of UCF transfers in Diamond Battles and Brittney Smith. Battles is one of the toughest perimeter defenders in college basketball and could provide a fun but challenging matchup for the dynamic Caitlin Clark, while Smith is an efficient low-post scorer who led her conference in both player efficiency rating (26.5) and win shares-per 40 minutes (.246) last season. Florida State may be the more talented of Iowa’s two potential opponents, but Georgia would provide the biggest contrast in styles. Caitlin Clark alone makes as many three-pointers per game as Georgia does as a team (3.4), and Iowa would have to either successfully dictate its style to the Bulldogs or adapt the aggressive, defensive, interior-based brand of basketball its opponent wants to play.

Both the Iowa men and women have had strong seasons, and a Sweet Sixteen berth would help validate their successful campaigns. While the Iowa women seem to have more legitimate championship aspirations than the men, both teams have proven capable of beating elite competition when they are on their game, as evidenced by their respective late-season victories over highly-regarded Indiana squads. The first weekend of the NCAA Tournament will give them a chance to add to their already impressive resumes by notching two more wins against top-tier opponents.

Oh no, the Hawkeyes will have to defend another diminutive point guard who isn’t afraid of any shot

If you are anything like me, you have watched very little Auburn Tigers basketball this season ahead of their matchup with the Iowa Hawkeyes. There are certainly some things to discern from the various statistical websites - sports-ref, KenPom ($), Bart Torvik, Evan Miya, to name a few - but there’s something to be said for just watching a team.

I’ve watched three Matthew Loves Ball cut-ups of the Tigers: their November win against the only common opponent in Northwestern, their best win over Tennessee, and their SEC tournament loss to Arkansas. Those videos can be found here:

here:

and here:

The full disclaimer on these is that they are largely a compilation of the game’s made baskets. It can be tough to discern a full scout on them, plus I am not necessarily adept at that type of analysis. However, I hope the broad generalities I provide paint a better picture of the team Iowa will face tomorrow.

Tigers on offense:

• The first thing which sticks out is the length/athleticism Auburn can play with. Though their lead guards are small, they’re incredibly quick and Bruce Pearl will use isolation opportunities when opponent bigs switch onto them, especially 5’11” Wendell Green with some 5-out sets. It is a little deja vu all over again with Jacob Gilyard last year. Hopefully he doesn’t similarly burn Iowa. Worth noting it’s a decent gap between Gilyard’s shooting at 36% and Green (30%).
• They run incredibly hot and cold, though, but don’t necessarily ride the hot hand until it cools off as there’s a bit of a “my turn, your turn” feel to their offense. Among the games I watched, nobody made more than three 3s (Jaylin Williams against Auburn). KD Johnson kept them afloat in their eventual loss to Arkansas, though, with 20 points off the bench on 7/10 shooting and 5/6 from the free throw line.
• Johni Broome is an interesting figure for them as their starting center. He’s had some MONSTER games this season - 17 points on 6/11 shooting including a couple threes vs. Tennessee was his best stat-line of the three I watched. For him, it’s just going to come down to foul trouble one way or the other. He has been called for 4.6 fouls/40 minutes and draws 4.3 per 40. Despite that statistic, he hasn’t shot all that many free throws and isn’t particularly good at shooting them (58.3% on the season).
• They didn’t seem to run a ton of action, often relying on those one-v-one mismatches. Maybe it gets lost in the shuffle of these cut-ups but it seems like they took at TON of contested shots. That’s borne out a bit with a 49.6% eFG%, including just 31.4% behind the arc. Seems like most of the shots they take are pretty well-contested. This is an area I believe Iowa needs to be MUCH better at as Fran McCaffery is often comfortable allowing opponents to take low percentage shots. The Hawks must contest those jumpers, though, because if you give them too many open looks, the contested ones even start to look like they’re shooting into the ocean. Green drew fouls on two 3PA in games I watched.
• One area they did run sets was to get open looks inside, especially against Tennessee. As alluded above, they’ll run their offense through Broome and he’s a capable passer with multiple games at four assists or above.
• They can get you in transition and turned Razorback turnovers into points in their comeback attempt against Arkansas. 11 second half turnovers allowed them to turn a 15-point deficit into a lead down the stretch. The crowd in Nashville definitely turned towards Auburn as their fans ramped up their engagement throughout the comeback. That is perhaps the biggest concern about playing in Birmingham is what it may feel like if Auburn builds momentum.’
• Flipside is that they can get really sloppy with the ball. They had 14 turnovers against Northwestern (22.9%) but just 16 combined in the other two games. Thing is...those turns don’t necessarily mean they’ll lose: they had 10 games over 20% turnover rate and lost just twice - at Alabama & at Southern Cal. The games they won, they won big, though so the turnovers may have been a result of being sloppier with the lead.
• Northwestern had 8 blocks and 4 in the first 8 minutes. Might just be that Chase Audige is that good but it stuck out in the watch, though I’m not sure Iowa has anyone who can replicate that. I do think Ahron Ulis will factor in heavily to keep Green from getting going. The offense can run really cold, as they had just 8 points in the final 9 minutes of that game.
• This play looks familiar:

Tigers on defense

General note here: because of the bias of seeing made shots, I saw more or less where Auburn struggled and not necessarily where they were effective on this end of the court.

• My first quest was: “who’s gonna guard Kris Murray?” and the answer is obvious in Jaylin Williams. The 6’8” wing has the size and athleticism to stick with him. He’s also left handed so I would be surprised if he got lost in the sauce on trying to keep Murray from getting to his left. Ugh.
• In contrast to the more ground-bound Broome, backup center Dylan Cardwell is particularly adept at defending on the perimeter when he’s got the switch and as a rim protector. I do think he’s prone to leaving his feet early and is called at a sky high 6.0 fouls/40 minutes. Fouling, overall, is an issue for Auburn with a sky high 39.1 FTA:FGA ratio for opponents (331st according to KenPom). Northwestern took particular advantage as they got in the bonus early in the first half and continued playing aggressive. Not sure if it was the Tigers or the refs who overcorrected at half. Fouls didn’t seem to be an issue in either of the other two I watched, though.
• They can get lazy rebounding. Northwestern did a good job generating offense that way but Arkansas especially was great at eating glass by rebounding 50% of their makes. The season-long numbers put them at 317th in the country in opponent ORB%. Iowa’s guards, in particular can take advantage of their size mismatch here. If they go zone, this is an area Iowa can find success.
• Jimmy Dykes called it out on the broadcast but Tennessee did a really nice job freeing up their shooters with physical screens. It’s a fine line, since those could get called the other way but Iowa is likely to generate some open looks. They’ll have to can them. Additionally, the Volunteers did a really nice job cutting to get shots at the rim for their guards in particular. Really really feels like a Tony Perkins Game if Iowa is going to win.
• They went zone against Arkansas EARLY, as the Hogs have struggled with the three for a lot of the season. They did a nice job countering it with interior passing and didn’t settle for jumpers as 39 of their 50 FGA were 2s and they shot 64% on them.

That’s all I got... anything stick out to you in your watching of any Auburn games this year?

The Hawkeyes are 1-7 in games in which they fail to score 70 points. Can Iowa find success in the NCAA Tournament if its shots stop falling the way they often have on the road this year?

Fran McCaffery has earned his share of both devoted fans and ardent critics during his 13 seasons as the head coach of the Iowa Hawkeyes men’s basketball program, but supporters and detractors alike can agree that McCaffery’s teams play an incredibly fun brand of basketball to watch. Iowa’s basketball program has adopted an identify in direct contrast to its football team—all offense, all the time. Iowa under Fran regularly plays at one of the fastest paces in Big Ten and is typically at or near the top of the list of the conference’s highest scoring offenses. McCaffery has done an incredible job finding players that fit his offensive system and are capable of pushing the pace and scoring in transition and hitting open shots from outside the arc. If Iowa can make shots and coax its opponents into playing at its pace, the Hawkeyes can beat virtually anyone in college basketball.

Iowa’s problem comes when the team isn’t scoring at its preferred rate. When the Hawkeyes are not hitting their shots, the team tends to struggle. This may seem like the coldest of hot takes (“Breaking News: Basketball Teams Need to Score Points to Win Games!”), but this statement is truer for Iowa than it is for most schools. There are many successful college basketball programs that prefer to play slower, low-scoring games, some of which tend to be incredibly successful; Iowa need look no further than its conference rival Wisconsin, a team that has ridden that style of play to three Big Ten championships and an NCAA title game appearance of the past decade. There have even been seasons in which the Hawkeyes themselves preferred to play a slower, more defensive-oriented style of play. The 2005-06 Iowa team that won the Big Ten Tournament had the best defense in the country and was content to play at a snail’s pace, believing that players like Jeff Horner and Adam Haluska could generate enough offense when they needed to that the team could lean on its defense (anchored Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year winner Erek Hansen) to win games. Even earlier Fran McCaffery teams were capable of winning low-scoring defensive battles against quality opponents, particularly those which boasted excellent interior defenders like Adam Woodbury, Jarrod Uthoff, and Gabriel Olaseni.

However, from the 2016-17 season to present, Fran McCaffery’s teams have largely lacked the ability to win ugly. Much of this can be attributed to Fran’s coaching and teambuilding philosophies. McCaffery has done a tremendous job assembling teams full of versatile wings who can score at multiple levels, sharpshooting guards who can rain fire on their opponents from three, and offensive-minded big men. Whether by design or by happenstance, McCaffery has not done a great job recruiting players who excel on the defensive end. This could very well be a self-fulfilling prophecy; because Fran has developed a reputation for producing star offensive-oriented players of a certain mold, Iowa tends to attract prospects who fit that archetype and struggle to recruit impactful defenders. While this has helped Iowa establish a perennially elite offense, it also means the Hawkeyes cannot fall back on a competent defense to help them win games when their shots are not falling. Too often it appears that Iowa has no Plan B for what to do if its three-pointers aren’t falling or the referees allow their opponents to get away with clutching and grabbing Hawkeye players to slow down Iowa’s motion offense. The Hawkeyes do not play well unless they are able to play their way.

Unfortunately, this lack of a contingency plan has led to several frustrating losses in low-scoring games this season. The Hawkeyes have a 1-7 record in games in which they have scored fewer than 70 points, with their sole win coming against an abysmal Minnesota team that won only nine games this year (for reference, the aforementioned 05-06 Hawkeye team went 13-9 in such games, which not only speaks to that team’s ability to win ugly, but also how much more frequently it got drug into rock fights than most of McCaffery’s teams). Notably, each of Iowa’s low-scoring games took place outside of Carver-Hawkeye arena; Iowa has made only 48.3% of its two-point attempts and an abysmal 28.2% of its threes when playing away from its home court this season. Given that Iowa will play all of its remaining games away from Carver, the team’s ability to make a run in the NCAA Tournament will seemingly be decided by whether it can get and stay hot from the field. If Iowa fails to do so, there is little evidence to support the idea that they can beat a quality opponent, particularly on a neutral court.

Looking beyond this year’s team, Fran McCaffery and the coaching staff must seriously consider how they can better prepare themselves to win games in which they are not able to score at their preferred rate or dictate the style and pace of the contest. This may involve placing a greater emphasis on mastering half court defensive sets during practice, introducing more physicality to scrimmages to prepare players for teams that will clutch and grab and play at a snail’s pace, or bringing in a defensive-minded assistant coach who can rethink the program’s approach and mentality on the defensive end. Iowa has done an incredible job developing the offensive talent of players in its program, but has rarely seen players take huge defensive strides during their tenure in the black and gold, a trend which may be caused by the diminished emphasis the coaching staff puts on defense relative to offense. This year’s squad is excellent at executing its press after made baskets, and the Hawkeyes actually produce the third-most steals per game in the Big Ten (6.7) largely on the strength of these sets. As disciplined as the Hawkeyes are at preventing their opponents from crossing the timeline, one cannot help but wonder whether the Hawkeyes’ half-court defense could improve if the coaches were similarly committed to drilling it the way they obviously have with the press.

Finally, Iowa must find a way recruit impactful defenders to the program. The transfer portal may be a good place to start, as Iowa has narrowly missed out on a few rim protectors and solid wing defenders of the past few years. Landing one or two legitimate two-way players would better position Iowa to win games when its shots are not falling and could help change the program’s culture surrounding the importance of playing defense.

Fran McCaffery’s coaching philosophy and offensive strategy have made Iowa one of the most exciting programs in college basketball and a perennial NCAA Tournament team. However, for Iowa to take the next step as a program and evolve from an NCAA Tournament participant to a potential title contender, the team must develop a counter-punch that it can deploy when its shots are not falling. Even the best offensive teams will occasionally have an off-night from the field, and the Hawkeyes cannot allow themselves to be so dependent on scoring 75-80 points and shooting a high percentage from three that they fall apart whenever they fail to do so. The Hawkeyes play a beautiful brand offensive basketball that most fans wouldn’t see them change for the world, but they will continue to bump against the Sweet Sixteen glass ceiling until they also learn how to win ugly.