Defense travels

[Franisdaman]

You knew Washington was not going to shoot like that in the 2nd half.

After giving up 48 points in the 1st half, Iowa holds the Huskies to 26 in the 2nd half.

Iowa improves to 17-5, 7-4

This is bleeping glorious!!

GO HAWKS!!!

Iowa 84-74 Washington (Feb 4, 2026) Box Score - ESPN

Box score for the Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Washington Huskies NCAAM game from February 4, 2026 on ESPN. Includes all points, rebounds and steals stats.

www.espn.com

 

[Gus is dead]

Fran coached team definitely would have lost that one.

 

[Franisdaman]

Fean coached team definitely would have lost that one.

Fean sucked!

 

[HawksRule25]

 

[Bulldogs1974]

defense is also the reason you lose to a richmond.
I just feel like we will win any evenly matched game and we will compete with far better teams.
One can only hope that Ben can find some size.... then watch out..... Maybe he should hop on a plane with underwood to eastern europe for a scouting trip

 

[iahawkeyes17]

You knew Washington was not going to shoot like that in the 2nd half.

After giving up 48 points in the 1st half, Iowa holds the Huskies to 26 in the 2nd half.

Iowa improves to 17-5, 7-4

This is bleeping glorious!!

GO HAWKS!!!

Iowa 84-74 Washington (Feb 4, 2026) Box Score - ESPN

Box score for the Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Washington Huskies NCAAM game from February 4, 2026 on ESPN. Includes all points, rebounds and steals stats.

www.espn.com

That was a huge W considering all the circumstances. Looking at stats 2 things stick out. Iowa had 4 turnovers and one was the shot clock violation at end of the game. Other is Iowa converted 12 turnovers into 22 pts.

 

[iahawkeyes17]

Fran coached team definitely would have lost that one.

Yep. His teams would allow the 1st half continue in the 2nd half see our west coast trip last year). But McCollum gets it. Besides defense you need good guard play come March something Fran never understood.

 

[TampaHawkFan]

Yep. His teams would allow the 1st half continue in the 2nd half see our west coast trip last year). But McCollum gets it. Besides defense you need good guard play come March something Fran never understood.

Correct. Fran's teams would have allowed 90+ last night. No doubt in my mind.

That second half was a thing of beauty last night.

 

[Gus is dead]

That was a huge W considering all the circumstances. Looking at stats 2 things stick out. Iowa had 4 turnovers and one was the shot clock violation at end of the game. Other is Iowa converted 12 turnovers into 22 pts.

That was hilarious watching Tate and Folgueiras passing the hot potato back and forth at that point to avoid being the one that took the official 'credit' for the turnover Then the camera caught Folgueiras laughing.

 

[DukeSlater]

That was hilarious watching Tate and Folgueiras passing the hot potato back and forth at that point to avoid being the one that took the official 'credit' for the turnover Then the camera caught Folgueiras laughing.

When it's obviously intentional like that, it shouldn't count as a turnover. That's entirely misleading.

 

[Gus is dead]

When it's obviously intentional like that, it shouldn't count as a turnover. That's entirely misleading.

Yeah well, I don't think we need to bring any more calls into the 'open to interpretation/intent, any more than we always have. Travelling, for example, may as well not even be a rule anymore given how open it is to the whims of the referees.

 

[eyesofhawk]

Shhh....don't tell Iowa football fans about this "defense" thing

 

[Unclesammy]

Yeah well, I don't think we need to bring any more calls into the 'open to interpretation/intent, any more than we always have. Travelling, for example, may as well not even be a rule anymore given how open it is to the whims of the referees.

Definitely agree. Many of these players should be carrying suitcases.

 

[eyesofhawk]

Yep. His teams would allow the 1st half continue in the 2nd half see our west coast trip last year). But McCollum gets it. Besides defense you need good guard play come March something Fran never understood.

I wonder why Fran recruited guys like Tyler Ulis, without the understanding that good guard play is needed in March.

Iowa has had a handful of good PG's - EVER. I guess none of the coaches at Iowa have understood this thing about having good guards

 

[eyesofhawk]

defense is also the reason you lose to a richmond.
I just feel like we will win any evenly matched game and we will compete with far better teams.
One can only hope that Ben can find some size.... then watch out..... Maybe he should hop on a plane with underwood to eastern europe for a scouting trip

Not sticking up for Fran's defense, by any means. But Richmond scored 67 points.

Iowa was completely drained from winning the big ten tournament. And nobody ever mentions the fact that Keegan rolled his ankle early in the Richmond game, and was a shell of himself

 

[HawksRule25]

Not sticking up for Fran's defense, by any means. But Richmond scored 67 points.

Iowa was completely drained from winning the big ten tournament. And nobody ever mentions the fact that Keegan rolled his ankle early in the Richmond game, and was a shell of himself

Note - Richmond had the same amount of rest Iowa had after winning 4 games to win their conference tournament on Sunday (just like Iowa). Keegan did get dinged up, but still had 21 points (8-15 FG) and 9 rebounds in 38 minutes. Certainly not his best game, but not a shell. The rest of the team shot a combined 16-51 FGs (31 %).

 

[eyesofhawk]

Note - Richmond had the same amount of rest Iowa had after winning 4 games to win their conference tournament on Sunday (just like Iowa). Keegan did get dinged up, but still had 21 points (8-15 FG) and 9 rebounds in 38 minutes. Certainly not his best game, but not a shell. The rest of the team shot a combined 16-51 FGs (31 %).

Good point about Richmond winning their conference tourney, although perhaps a slightly less grueling path for them.

Maybe they handled the turnaround better than Iowa. That doesn't mean Fran gets a pass. But it's a difficult situation that obviously had an effect on a flat Iowa team in that Richmond game.

Keegan finally tried to take over in the last few minutes of the game and ended up with good numbers. But he deferred all game in spots that he had taken over all season. That was not the same player in the Richmond game.

My point is, so many fans act like the Richmond game was some sort of "last straw" for them with Fran.

It was one game. And it was a game that had some clear challenges that nobody ever talks about. Seems like the game was a poor example for what fans have tried to make it into.

Not to mention the fact that the things fans started freaking out about, after that Richmond game, had been present in the program for 12 years.

My post was just a commentary on fans, and how it comes to be that "defense" gets cited as the reason a team loses, when having given up 67 points

 

[HawksRule25]

Good point about Richmond winning their conference tourney, although perhaps a slightly less grueling path for them.

Maybe they handled the turnaround better than Iowa. That doesn't mean Fran gets a pass. But it's a difficult situation that obviously had an effect on a flat Iowa team in that Richmond game.

Keegan finally tried to take over in the last few minutes of the game and ended up with good numbers. But he deferred all game in spots that he had taken over all season. That was not the same player in the Richmond game.

My point is, so many fans act like the Richmond game was some sort of "last straw" for them with Fran.

It was one game. And it was a game that had some clear challenges that nobody ever talks about. Seems like the game was a poor example for what fans have tried to make it into.

Not to mention the fact that the things fans started freaking out about, after that Richmond game, had been present in the program for 12 years.

My post was just a commentary on fans, and how it comes to be that "defense" gets cited as the reason a team loses, when having given up 67 points

I agree for the most part. The Richmond game probably isn't the one to point to when referring to lack of defense from Fran's teams.

However, when a narrative is born and then lives for a while in a program, it is natural for fans to get to a point where a line has been passed. It's a results based game and culture. That Iowa team finally played to its' potential in the Big 10 Tourney and won it all. Fans were ready for a bit of a run ... and it was gone in one game.

The let down is natural, especially for the fans. You are ready to finally buy in ... and Lucy pulls the football again. I understand how and why some fans will point to this as the point of no return.

The point of 'defense travels' is that (similar to football), it seems like you are always within reach in a game if you feel like the team can get some stops. With many games during Fran's tenure, you could feel the team was one stop away from getting over the hump, but the stop never came.

The Richmond game was a great example (According to ESPN Play by Play) - Iowa is down 8 (54-46) with 6:13 to play, and they continue to battle. They cut the lead to 2 with 2:58 left, then give up a layup. They score 3 in a row to cut the lead to 1, then give up a layup again. Kris Murray misses a 3 with a minute to go to tie the game, and another layup for Richmond to go up 5. Iowa never really got a stop - Richmond missed a FT with 1:24 left for Iowa to get an opportunity to tie the game.

One stop in there, and an Iowa basket and everything may change.

Ben's team will be a change of pace and we will see if the defense is up to the challenge.

 

[iahawkeyes17]

I wonder why Fran recruited guys like Tyler Ulis, without the understanding that good guard play is needed in March.

Iowa has had a handful of good PG's - EVER. I guess none of the coaches at Iowa have understood this thing about having good guards

You throw out a guy he recruited. Wow great example…. Fran recruited a lot of top tier players and was always the bridesmaid making final 4-5 but never getting minus Tyler cook out of state.

He had 15 years at Iowa and his track record with guards was not great at all. I’ll give him his due with wings and bigs lot of talented guys got and developed. But every year come March the color guys and analyst always revert back to things that help you win in March. 2 constants are things Fran solely lacked guard play and defense. Always below avg to bad in. And if you need any examples take the Oregon loss Garza sr year as a 2 seed where our guards got outscored 60-0 and we gave up 90+

 

[DukeSlater]

Yeah well, I don't think we need to bring any more calls into the 'open to interpretation/intent, any more than we always have. Travelling, for example, may as well not even be a rule anymore given how open it is to the whims of the referees.

I'm not talking about refs. I'm talking statistics. When Iowa, or any other team, takes an intentional shot clock violation at the end of a game, why should it count as a turnover, the same as a bad pass when the game is still being played? They are two totally, completely, 100 percent different things. Iowa has had nine official "turnovers" the last two games combined, but TWO of them were intentional shot clock violations at the end. So Iowa actually had only SEVEN turnovers in those two games. That's the truth. It's in the same vein as reporting tickets sold as attendance. Statistics should reflect reality, that's what I'm saying.

 

[eyesofhawk]

You throw out a guy he recruited. Wow great example…. Fran recruited a lot of top tier players and was always the bridesmaid making final 4-5 but never getting minus Tyler cook out of state.

He had 15 years at Iowa and his track record with guards was not great at all. I’ll give him his due with wings and bigs lot of talented guys got and developed. But every year come March the color guys and analyst always revert back to things that help you win in March. 2 constants are things Fran solely lacked guard play and defense. Always below avg to bad in. And if you need any examples take the Oregon loss Garza sr year as a 2 seed where our guards got outscored 60-0 and we gave up 90+

Not being able to recruit good guards to Iowa has nothing to do with how well a coach "understands" the importance of guard play. Again, Fran understood the importance well enough to recruit guys like Ulis.

And again, over a span of several coaches, Iowa has only ever had a handful of great PG's. Perhaps it's hard for Iowa to land those guys.

I'm guessing it has very little to do with "understanding"

 

[DukeSlater]

Not sticking up for Fran's defense, by any means. But Richmond scored 67 points.

Iowa was completely drained from winning the big ten tournament. And nobody ever mentions the fact that Keegan rolled his ankle early in the Richmond game, and was a shell of himself

Good points, but what about the other fourteen years or so? And it was Richmond not Duke, not Kentucky, not UConn, not Gonzaga for gawd's sake.

 

[eyesofhawk]

I agree for the most part. The Richmond game probably isn't the one to point to when referring to lack of defense from Fran's teams.

However, when a narrative is born and then lives for a while in a program, it is natural for fans to get to a point where a line has been passed. It's a results based game and culture. That Iowa team finally played to its' potential in the Big 10 Tourney and won it all. Fans were ready for a bit of a run ... and it was gone in one game.

The let down is natural, especially for the fans. You are ready to finally buy in ... and Lucy pulls the football again. I understand how and why some fans will point to this as the point of no return.

The point of 'defense travels' is that (similar to football), it seems like you are always within reach in a game if you feel like the team can get some stops. With many games during Fran's tenure, you could feel the team was one stop away from getting over the hump, but the stop never came.

The Richmond game was a great example (According to ESPN Play by Play) - Iowa is down 8 (54-46) with 6:13 to play, and they continue to battle. They cut the lead to 2 with 2:58 left, then give up a layup. They score 3 in a row to cut the lead to 1, then give up a layup again. Kris Murray misses a 3 with a minute to go to tie the game, and another layup for Richmond to go up 5. Iowa never really got a stop - Richmond missed a FT with 1:24 left for Iowa to get an opportunity to tie the game.

One stop in there, and an Iowa basket and everything may change.

Ben's team will be a change of pace and we will see if the defense is up to the challenge.

What you say about defense is absolutely true. It was more than a "narrative". Iowa's defense was factually terrible, if not negligent. There's no defending it.

Again, I was just commenting on fans. How was is not obvious to them 12 years earlier that Iowa's defensive fundamentals were non-existent? Were those same deficiencies not evident in the '21-'22 team? Of course they were.

True fans are always "all-in". Iowa doesn't need the fair weather fans, and they don't need the bashers.

I just think fans can learn from their tendency to flock to the 7th grade girls' bathroom together. People are all of the sudden done with a guy after one game? But before the game they were convinced he would take Iowa to the final 4? And if instead having won a couple of games in the tournament, the narrative would have been completely different? That all seems to say more about fans than anything else. Again, was it not obvious what "Franball" was over a decade prior to the Richmond game?

More and more Iowa fans would join the gathering in the girls' bathroom until '24/'25, a season in which the fans never gave the team a chance. Fans assumed since the coach's family left town, that he was on his way out too. And they echoed this off the walls of the bathroom to the point of literally never showing up, or having a positive thing to say to fight for that '24/'25, FROM THE START. Sad.

Fans can do better

 

[eyesofhawk]

Good points, but what about the other fourteen years or so? And it was Richmond not Duke, not Kentucky, not UConn, not Gonzaga for gawd's sake.

As I said, I would not, by any means, stick up for Fran's defense

 

[Gus is dead]

I'm not talking about refs. I'm talking statistics. When Iowa, or any other team, takes an intentional shot clock violation at the end of a game, why should it count as a turnover, the same as a bad pass when the game is still being played? They are two totally, completely, 100 percent different things. Iowa has had nine official "turnovers" the last two games combined, but TWO of them were intentional shot clock violations at the end. So Iowa actually had only SEVEN turnovers in those two games. That's the truth. It's in the same vein as reporting tickets sold as attendance. Statistics should reflect reality, that's what I'm saying.

Agreed. But who decides what is intentional and what isnt? Official stats are more than just numbers in the days of sports books etc. I think leaving something like this out as a turnover, when in fact it was as Washington was given the ball after the clock expired, is necessary and the implications of what you suggest go beyond simply the fact it doesn't make sense since it was intentional. What, do we stop recording intentional fouls as official fouls also? I am not saying it doesn't count as a foul for free throws etc but if its intentional it doesn't count towards ones individual foul count too? Where does it stop?

 

[Franisdaman]