B1G 25-26

[Bjbod]

So... just crickets today? Okay.

I'll chime in. The Bruins completely obliterated Iowa; they crushed their spirit like no one else. The young Hawkeyes will learn something from this beating. I hope the Big Ten Championship Game isn't the highlight of UCLA's season.

 

[BruinGold]

I'll chime in. The Bruins completely obliterated Iowa; they crushed their spirit like no one else. The young Hawkeyes will learn something from this beating. I hope the Big Ten Championship Game isn't the highlight of UCLA's season.

I think that Iowa's status as a premier B1G team is pretty secure. Jan Jensen has done everything right in order to show that she should be trusted at the helm. Hopefully, whatever the NIL landscape looks like moving forward, she is able to navigate those waters.

But, no shame in losing to an aberrational UCLA team... and I also hope that wasn't the highlight of the season for the Bruins.

 

[BigTenGuy]

I think that Iowa's status as a premier B1G team is pretty secure. Jan Jensen has done everything right in order to show that she should be trusted at the helm. Hopefully, whatever the NIL landscape looks like moving forward, she is able to navigate those waters.

But, no shame in losing to an aberrational UCLA team... and I also hope that wasn't the highlight of the season for the Bruins.

Jan Jensen/Iowa have a lot riding on the NCAA Tournament. Except for the Caitlin Clark era, Iowa under Bluder was a consistent NCAA Tournament underperformer (1 Elite 8 and 1 other Sweet 16 in 14 NCAA Tourney Appearances before Clark). Jensen needs to make it to at least the Sweet 16 this year.

 

[jake0414]

I'll chime in. The Bruins completely obliterated Iowa; they crushed their spirit like no one else. The young Hawkeyes will learn something from this beating. I hope the Big Ten Championship Game isn't the highlight of UCLA's season.

I anticipate the Hawkeyes will apply those lessons and take revenge in a big way when UCLA plays at Carver-Hawkeye Arena next season.

Ditto re the game not being the highlight of the Bruins’ season.

 

[nwhoopfan]

I anticipate the Hawkeyes will apply those lessons and take revenge in a big way when UCLA plays at Carver-Hawkeye Arena next season.

Well the Bruins are probably losing about 90% of their scoring with graduation losses, so it will be an ENTIRELY different UCLA squad.

 

[JellyBean]

Jan Jensen/Iowa have a lot riding on the NCAA Tournament. Except for the Caitlin Clark era, Iowa under Bluder was a consistent NCAA Tournament underperformer (1 Elite 8 and 1 other Sweet 16 in 14 NCAA Tourney Appearances before Clark). Jensen needs to make it to at least the Sweet 16 this year.

How so and why?

 

[BigTenGuy]

How so and why?

Jan Jensen needs to advance to at least the Sweet 16 to demonstrate that she is going to capitalize on the Caitlin Clark era, rather than revert to pre-Clark Iowa performance levels. Iowa and the Big Ten have generally under performed in the NCAA tourney, with an uptick in recent years. Iowa is 8th in all-time NCAA Tournament appearances, but 27th in Sweet 16s, a stark demonstration of consistent NCAA under performance, IMO. No other team in Iowa’s neighborhood as far as NCAA Tournament appearances has so few Sweet 16s.

On the heels of the Caitlin Clark era at Iowa, Jensen inherited a program with numerous advantages, including the following:

• Robust NIL support.
• The largest game-day fan base in the Big Ten (by a considerable margin).
• The largest viewing audience in the Big Ten (also by a considerable margin), which contributes to Iowa being a featured TV team on national and Big-Ten networks.

Jensen needs to capitalize on these advantages and demonstrate that Iowa is a different and better program post-Clark than it was pre-Clark. Success in the NCAA Tournament is how you do that. That is why, IMO, Jensen really needs to get to her first Sweet 16 soon. Jensen did a great job this season. But second place in the BIG and a Tournament 2-seed without at least a Sweet 16 appearance would be a missed opportunity to continue to elevate Iowa as a WBB program.

 

[Bjbod]

Get to her 1st Sweet 16 soon? This is her 2nd year. No one picked Iowa in their top 7 of the Big 10 in the preseason. All Iowa fans are hoping for a 2nd weekend performance this year, but we won't look at it as a failure if we get knocked off before that.

 

[BigTenGuy]

. . . No one picked Iowa in their top 7 of the Big 10 in the preseason.

FWIW, many people picked Iowa preseason in the top 5 among BIG teams.

Iowa was # 21 in the AP preseason poll, with only 4 BIG teams ranked above them (UCLA # 3, MD # 10, MI # 13, USC # 18). Rebecca Lobo ranked Iowa preseason # 12 in the country on her AP ballot, and 3rd in the BIG behind UCLA and Michigan.

Iowa was # 23 in the Coaches preseason poll, with 4 BIG teams ranked above them. Iowa was # 14 in the Athletic’s preseason ranking, with only 3 BIG teams ranked above them.

The conference poll of BIG Coaches and BIG media did not have Iowa in their top 5. But the conference polls include only 5 teams, so curious why you believe that no one picked Iowa preseason in the top 7 of the BIG.

As far as making the Sweet 16 this year, it would be a missed opportunity and a blemish if Iowa fails to do. In the last 5 years, 85% of 2-seeds have made the Sweet 16. Over time the success rate is more like 83%. On the heels of the Creighton heartbreak in 2022, it would be a major set back not to make the Sweet 16. I’m hopeful that Iowa will make the Sweet 16 this year (and that Jensen can avoid replicating Bluder’s early career NCAA struggles).