Iowa may not deserve a #1 seed, but they are hot.

[Bjbod]

Naysayers may roll their eyes at the 61 points Iowa put up in the 1st half, but gotta credit their D holding the OSU to 24.

 

[SECbbfan24]

They are peaking at the right time, thats for sure.

Ohio St is known for making some comebacks but a 37 point halftime deficit? Seems rather impossible even for them

 

[nwhoopfan]

Ohio St. is supposed to be a good defensive team aren't they? Iowa is absolutely putting on a clinic.

 

[CTGirl15]

Ohio St. is supposed to be a good defensive team aren't they? Iowa is absolutely putting on a clinic.

Yep; Iowa is doing everything right and clicking at the perfect time. If they are a 2 seed, their 1 seed is not going to be happy to have to go through them to get to the FF.

 

[Bone Dog]

tOSU played swinging door defense in the first half. They’ve tightened it up a bit in the 3rd quarter. But they seem far from being able to mount a comeback.

 

[bballnut90]

I think they deserve it, or at the very least the 2 in Virginia Tech’s bracket.

 

[chuck.r]

Caitlin Clark with the rare triple-double: 30/10/17!!

 

[nwhoopfan]

Caitlin Clark with the rare triple-double: 30/10/17!!

The assists were what really impressed me. She just surgically took apart tOSU's defense all game long.

There are some other big scorers across the country, and some other players who can rack up assists, but I don't think anybody else can be as productive in both categories as she can.

 

[Dwilliams02]

Give them that 1 seed

 

[Urshurak]

Iowa just destroyed them today. Peaking absolutely perfectly. According to last Bracketology, I believe UConn is the 3 to their 2.

 

[bballnut90]

The assists were what really impressed me. She just surgically took apart tOSU's defense all game long.

There are some other big scorers across the country, and some other players who can rack up assists, but I don't think anybody else can be as productive in both categories as she can.

Those passes had to be perfectly placed too and she did it time and time again. 17 assists and just 2 TO. For a player with as gaudy stats as she has, she never forces it or chases numbers.

 

[undersized]

They are peaking at the right time, that's for sure.

I felt the same way about Iowa at the end of last season, and we all know how that ended.

 

[Bone Dog]

Those passes had to be perfectly placed too and she did it time and time again. 17 assists and just 2 TO. For a player with as gaudy stats as she has, she never forces it or chases numbers.

I’ll play the devilish advocate here. tOSU played a very short lineup today. For whatever reason Mikulasikova played limited minutes. From what I saw, tOSU played little defense for most of the game, especially weak in the first half, a little better in the second. Assists were not that hard to get if you ask me.

I don’t think Clark “chases numbers.” She’s an awesome offensive talent. Numbers chase her. But she often “forces it.” In her defense, I think Iowa needs her to do this.

Here’s an odd thought experiment: can you imagine her playing for UConn? Geno would require her to focus a little more on defense and she’d be great at it. She’d still score a lot, I have no doubt, but her game would be more integrated into a complex motion offense and switching defense. If she could have avoided injury — not so easy on UConn given how roughly our shooters tend to be handled — I wouldn’t be surprised if she’d already won two NCs. I bet she’d trade those gaudy numbers for that.

 

[bballnut90]

I felt the same way about Iowa at the end of last season, and we all know how that ended.

This 100%. Also felt great about Kentucky who lost in the first round, and there was concern about SC who cruised to a title.

 

[nwhoopfan]

That's what I was alluding to another thread. Success in conference tourneys is absolutely no guarantee of a deep run in the THE Tourney.

 

[undersized]

I’ll play the devilish advocate here. tOSU played a very short lineup today. For whatever reason Mikulasikova played limited minutes. From what I saw, tOSU played little defense for most of the game, especially weak in the first half, a little better in the second. Assists were not that hard to get if you ask me.

I don’t think Clark “chases numbers.” She’s an awesome offensive talent. Numbers chase her. But she often “forces it.” In her defense, I think Iowa needs her to do this.

Here’s an odd thought experiment: can you imagine her playing for UConn? Geno would require her to focus a little more on defense and she’d be great at it. She’d still score a lot, I have no doubt, but her game would be more integrated into a complex motion offense and switching defense. If she could have avoided injury — not so easy on UConn given how roughly our shooters tend to be handled — I wouldn’t be surprised if she’d already won two NCs. I bet she’d trade those gaudy numbers for that.

This post

The part that got me was "how roughly our shooters tend to be handled" -- Clark has drawn more fouls than any single UConn player this season.

 

[Bone Dog]

This post

The part that got me was "how roughly our shooters tend to be handled" -- Clark has drawn more fouls than any single UConn player this season.

She may well have. But it’s apples and oranges. The rough handling of our shooters tends not to be whistled.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

She may well have. But it’s apples and oranges. The rough handling of our shooters tends not to be whistled.

You have to fall down or toss yourself on the floor.... touched or not.

 

[SECbbfan24]

I felt the same way about Iowa at the end of last season, and we all know how that ended.

I mean thats the nature of march madness. One off night and its over no matter how well you did prior.

 

[bballnut90]

Worth noting--Gabbie Marshall has completely turned around her shooting which has been a huge weapon of late. In last month she's shot 27-44 from deep (61%), where prior to that she was shooting 23.8% from 3. Great time to get hot.

 

[The deacon]

I felt the same way about Iowa at the end of last season, and we all know how that ended.

Come on, undersized, doesn't winning back to back Big Ten titles count for something? Celebrate. It might be a while before the Hawkeyes see that again!

An NCAA run would be wonderful for Iowa, but the Hawks have achieved a ton over the past two seasons, regardless of what others who live and die with NCAA results might say!

 

[The deacon]

This post

The part that got me was "how roughly our shooters tend to be handled" -- Clark has drawn more fouls than any single UConn player this season.

And has been hit as hard, yes, even Lou, than any Huskies player.

 

[The deacon]

I’ll play the devilish advocate here. tOSU played a very short lineup today. For whatever reason Mikulasikova played limited minutes. From what I saw, tOSU played little defense for most of the game, especially weak in the first half, a little better in the second. Assists were not that hard to get if you ask me.

I don’t think Clark “chases numbers.” She’s an awesome offensive talent. Numbers chase her. But she often “forces it.” In her defense, I think Iowa needs her to do this.

Here’s an odd thought experiment: can you imagine her playing for UConn? Geno would require her to focus a little more on defense and she’d be great at it. She’d still score a lot, I have no doubt, but her game would be more integrated into a complex motion offense and switching defense. If she could have avoided injury — not so easy on UConn given how roughly our shooters tend to be handled — I wouldn’t be surprised if she’d already won two NCs. I bet she’d trade those gaudy numbers for that.

My goodness, Bone Dog, you are presenting yourself as a fair facsimile of the Devil's Advocate. No matter what Caitlin Clark and Iowa do, some BYers manage to find ways to discredit their accomplishments.

First about the assists: compare Caitlin's assists today to Nika's (for that matter, over the course of the season). It's not even close. Quality points for degree of difficulty go to Caitlin by a wide margin. If you disagree, you haven't been watching.

As for Caitlin playing for UConn, that would have been wonderful. I'd opine that Caitlin would not have needed to be forced by Geno to do anything that would benefit the Huskies. She'd be all in. She's also already become a good defensive player.

And I'd take that bet about trading the numbers for titles... she'd surely love two NCAA titles, but didn't she make that call when she decided to stay home to play for Iowa?

I just can't believe after everything Clark has done all season (and the last two), that there are still those who go out of their way to detract from her accomplishments. She's keyed the Hawkeyes to two straight Big Ten titles. That's pretty darned good, regardless of what those who believe college basketball is entirely about the NCAA tournament might want to think.

I'll be rooting for Iowa to make a run, at least unless they're pitted against UConn, but the world isn't all about the NCAA tournament (unless understandably you're a fan of UConn).

 

[Bone Dog]

And has been hit as hard, yes, even Lou, than any Huskies player.

I’d like to see the evidence for this claim. I know she gets a lot of fouls on drives when she ends up sliding on the floor behind the basket. This is an old trick, by the way, perfected by Déjà Kelly and others. But in the games I’ve watched I haven’t seen people rough her up when she moves without the ball. Many, if not most, of the fouls she draws are precisely that, fouls she draws. Lou is not “drawing fouls” when she tries to move around the court without the ball. This is not a subtle distinction.

And contrary to your repeated and unfounded accusations, I am not detracting from Clark’s greatness. I point to it every time I talk about her. What I won’t do is exaggerate it. And I also pay more attention to context than you seem to want to.

 

[sweetspot]

I think the narrative about her being a bad defender should be retired. She shoots passing lanes, positions herself well off ball and has active hands. There are far bigger problems for Iowa’s defense in that starting lineup than her.