Well, this DRAKE team made it to the second round of the NCAA tourney last year, upsetting much-higher seeded Missouri.
Let's see if that same core can do it again later this month.
*****Official B1G Tournament Thread*****
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Let's see if that same core can do it again later this month.
Whether they win Wednesday or not, the best thing the Selection Committee could do for Iowa would be putting them in a 'safe' 11-seed.
Slightly tougher opening opponent, but would face off against a 3 instead of a 2 on the weekend.
And odds increase for the chance of a 14 upsetting a 3 than there is of a 15 knocking off a 2 in the opening round.
Slightly tougher opening opponent, but would face off against a 3 instead of a 2 on the weekend.
And odds increase for the chance of a 14 upsetting a 3 than there is of a 15 knocking off a 2 in the opening round.
And what would that be?
Iowa dragging Nebraska out into a dark alley in front of their mother, and beating the sh** out of them........then taking their mother, who was forced into Nebraska fandom by marriage, out for a nice seafood dinner.
In order to make the Dance I personally think the Hawks must win 1 game and maybe 2
I think if Iowa loses on Wednesday, they'll be slotted into a play-in game in Dayton.
Winning Wednesday pushes them into one of the first two 11s or one of the 10-seeds.
So I'll be able to breathe slightly easier - about Iowa's NCAAT chances - if the Hawks beat the MD/ORE winner early Wednesday afternoon - if that is the only game they win.
Winning Wednesday pushes them into one of the first two 11s or one of the 10-seeds.
So I'll be able to breathe slightly easier - about Iowa's NCAAT chances - if the Hawks beat the MD/ORE winner early Wednesday afternoon - if that is the only game they win.
I’ll certainly give him credit for that, although it seems a forgone conclusion that they aren’t going very far.
Without Stirtz does he accomplish that feat?
There won’t be a Stirtz on the roster next year.
And that achieves your desired results you ranted about in the previous post...how?
Well thats embarrassing. Revealing the spoiler just exposed a URL for a gif, but not the actual gif.
I bet it was great though.
Semantics.
But the 'first 4' really are play-in games, no matter what the institution labels them as. And my mind won't be changed on that.
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We're almost there God dammit. I believe in you!
I know it is. At that point it's out of my hands and on you. If you can't get to it then it's a personal problem.
I hope I’m wrong but I don’t see Iowa winning another game this season. They look cooked.
for whatever reason, Iowa struggles at Penn State, no matter the coach
Yeah well then Penn State needs to fix that f***ing problem....
No, they are not. How can you be seeded for a tournament you are supposedly not in? Do you not understand that some of those teams won their conference tournament and are automatic qualifiers for the ncaa tournament? Since they have already qualified, how is it that they still have to play their way in?
You are certainly free to think the first four are play in games. You are wrong, but still free to think that.
I said there are no play in games. I was wrong. There are. They are called conference tournaments.
I 100% agree and have been telling people this after the Hawks weak finish. We have more bad losses than good wins and we have to beat presumingly Maryland because 2 losses would kill their tournament chances IMO.
Not gonna argue about it, but it will always be "play in" games to me because (imo) you are just playing for the chance to advance in those First 4 games, by getting to play in the Round of 64 if you win the First4 game.
You don't actually advance in the tournament until the Round of 64 play starts and winning that matchup.
Again, jmo.
Michigan won at PSU by two points. So the Wolverines struggled there too. The difference is they managed to survive and get the W while Iowa didn't. The line between winning and losing is often so much thinner than the mere results. But the facts support what you say: Happy Valley has been Sad City for Iowa men's basketball for a while, and that's pretty weird.
And you don’t advance in the tournament until you win the round of 64 matchup. So those teams are playing for the chance to get into the round of 32. Back when there were 48 teams, there were 16 teams that didn’t play until Saturday/Sunday….so technically the other 32 teams were in play in games by your reasoning.
You can’t be seeded in a tournament you are not in. You can’t be an automatic qualifier for the ncaa tournament and still have to “play in”. A team is either in or they’re out.
But I’m not going to continue beating this dead horse. If people want to incorrectly call the first 4 games play in games…more power to them. In the meantime, I think I’ll root for the Baltimore Colts and Minneapolis Lakers. And watch the wildcard “play in games” for the NFL playoffs!
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I fully realize that playing the IF game is almost pointless, but here's a simple reality: Iowa is THIS close to being 25-6 (15-5). Beat the also rans Minnesota, PSU, and Maryland, and beat Michigan (3-point loss) and @ Nebraska (loss in OT). What a season this would be then.
Or just beat PSU and Maryland and you're 22-9 (12-8) and in great shape for the NCAA tourney. I mean this Iowa team was SO close to having a spectacular season with a new coach and a mid-major roster.
But now it comes down to this: Win at least one in the BIG tourney, and then win at least one in the NCAA. Less than that, and we'll be left with a sour feeling while, once again, wondering what might have been. C'mon, Hawkeyes, save the season. Finish strong. Find a way to get 'er done. Please.
Or just beat PSU and Maryland and you're 22-9 (12-8) and in great shape for the NCAA tourney. I mean this Iowa team was SO close to having a spectacular season with a new coach and a mid-major roster.
But now it comes down to this: Win at least one in the BIG tourney, and then win at least one in the NCAA. Less than that, and we'll be left with a sour feeling while, once again, wondering what might have been. C'mon, Hawkeyes, save the season. Finish strong. Find a way to get 'er done. Please.
I mean this could go both ways..what happens if they got beat in all their close wins????
What if the NW and Rutgers games were both losses? Or Neb at home too? Wow, any combo of those games as L's and we'd need a super strong conf. tournament to be in the field.
Metrics still very favorable and all the prediction machines have us in the 90th percentile or higher to get into the tournament as of today. Even a loss to Oregon or Maryland (not that we all want that of course) still isn't a dagger, but it's dang close.
It's not like we played the blind sisters of St. Mary's our last 8 games...sure, winnable games in there but Nebraska twice, Purdue, Michigan, etc - B10 SOS and NET doing us favors there. I think we are a 10 seed as it sits today..just stay there, I want zero part of an 8/9 game (I have PTSD from the 90s with a #1 seed waiting in Round 2). Just a fraction of the energy vs. Michigan and we win the PSU and Maryland games -- bball is a great sport but incredibily frustration for a lot of teams given the night to night inconsistencies.
Winning the first BTT game would make Iowa a tourney lock. Keeping another bad loss off the resume and not ending the season on a 4 game skid will keep the committee from changing its perception of the team. Anything more only changes how we feel about the team. Losing pushes them out, or into a play in game if you're an optimist.
Just for fun, I'll throw this in the kettle. Oregon is 0-4 and Maryland is 2-2 in Neutral Site games. We're 3-0. Just sayin'.
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Love the optimism, but those games were played in November/December vs now (March).
And that 0-4 record for Oregon, guessing they were without Biddle (& the star PG) then too.
I like this team much better with home games and neutral site games. The road environments, outside of the west coast swing, have left much to be desired, probably part of the growing pains of a new staff and team that is having their first go round in the BIG. Get two wins in the BTT and a round 1 victory with a competitive 2nd round game in the NCAAs will help tremendously with off season momentum.
I got the wrong year. I was thinking Brodie was on their roster last as a grad but it was the previous year.
Oregon/Maryland won't get over until after 6 pm CT.
Less than 17 hours later, the winner plays Iowa.
Maryland vs. Oregon (Mar 10, 2026) Live Score - ESPN
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