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We will see how the B1G plays out but this team is scary good. Giant Martin Scorsese is even better this year than last and the supporting cast is outstanding. Odds-on favorite to win the national title IMO.
 

I assume they'll drop several Big 10 games but they certainly look unbeatable at the moment.

I realize it's sacrilegious to not hate Iowa but I've always enjoys Fran's style of play and this is truly a fun team to watch from a basketball standpoint.
 

It was northern Illinois guys...they look good but I'd expect most top 5 teams to look good against northern Illinois
 


Odds on favorite? Have you not watched another game all year? Gonzaga is clearly better as is Baylor. Iowa is extremely good, but let's not call them the best team ever quite yet
 


leib0039 said:
Odds on favorite? Have you not watched another game all year? Gonzaga is clearly better as is Baylor. Iowa is extremely good, but let's not call them the best team ever quite yet
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Iowa plays Gonzaga Saturday. The winner will be #1.
 


LongLiveMilesTarver said:
I assume they'll drop several Big 10 games but they certainly look unbeatable at the moment.

I realize it's sacrilegious to not hate Iowa but I've always enjoys Fran's style of play and this is truly a fun team to watch from a basketball standpoint.
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College game is great, something for everyone. I can not stand how his teams play, such poor defense but to each their own. He has not been all that successful either.
 

Not at all sure Iowa is even the best team in its own conference. Their games against Illinois and MSU will be must see tv.
 



golf said:
Not at all sure Iowa is even the best team in its own conference. Their games against Illinois and MSU will be must see tv.
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The conference games will be a blast. I still see a very narrow margin of error even for the best teams.
 

F#@K IOWA! They are pretty good though.
 

Defense is IOWA's weakness. Teams with guards that can penetrate off the dribble can beat 'em.
 




builtbadgers said:
College game is great, something for everyone. I can not stand how his teams play, such poor defense but to each their own. He has not been all that successful either.
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I really do not enjoy watching them play either. Nothing really fun about them. Seem poorly coached. His kids bother me as well. No idea why they play.
 

Iowa's biggest weakness is playing Connor McCafferey so damn much. What does he do?
"He does a lot but its hard to explain"-Iowa friend who watches every game

If you can't tell me what he does in 20-30mpg, he doesn't do anything. At least we can pretend Gabe is an elite defender.
 

Fran has never won more than 12 games in the conference or been better than a 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Surprising but true! Maybe this is his year?
 

My gut is B1G teams will slow Iowa's roll and muck it up with them. Make them play half court ball and win ugly. Iowa is not good at these types of games and will struggle to beat the teams disciplined enough to execute goon defense and half court offense.

MSU, OSU, PSU, Rutgers, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana WILL NOT let Iowa play loose and fast. The Gophers better not either.

I just don't think we can execute in the half court well enough to beat them. But several of these other teams will.

Wisconsin is built to frustrate Iowa.
 

golf said:
Not at all sure Iowa is even the best team in its own conference. Their games against Illinois and MSU will be must see tv.
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They will get beat by Mich St., Wisconsin and Illinois at least once. They will also drop 1-2 more games to teams like Rutgers, Us, Michigan, Penn St., Ohio State etc.

They are good, but play defense tough against them and slow it down. Wisconsin will beat them.
 


I haven't watched Iowa play yet but I'm wondering how their opponents' big guys are? Garza seems to go like 8-10 from the field and then 2-3 from 3 every game. Is he being guarded at all? I know he's super good, but what is the explanation?
 

I'm not having a good time saying this, but Iowa has been the most impressive team in the country so far, based on eye-test. There are four teams that I've seen that are built to slow down Garza...

1) North Carolina - deepest frontcourt in the nation
2) West Virginia - best starting defensive frontcourt in Derek Culver and Oscar Tshiebwe
3) Texas - athletic, shot-blocking big men lead by Greg Brown and Jericho Sims
4) Illinois - Cockburn (but if he's in foul trouble, no one behind him to stop Garza)

I do think Gonzaga is the best team in the nation, but not by much. I think Baylor and Iowa right now are pretty close. Seth Greenberg, who I think is the last remaining good college basketball analyst left on ESPN, said it best a week ago. Iowa has always had a pretty good offense under Fran, but it's never been good enough to make up for the defense. This year, it's elite enough to make up for it on most nights.

The Big Ten is crazy this year. No one is getting through unscathed.
 
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gopherguy15 said:
I'm not having a good time saying this, but Iowa has been the most impressive team in the country so far, based on eye-test. There are four teams that I've seen that are built to slow down Garza...

1) North Carolina - deepest frontcourt in the nation
2) West Virginia - best starting defensive frontcourt in Derek Culver and Oscar Tshiebwe
3) Texas - athletic, shot-blocking big men lead by Greg Brown and Jericho Sims
4) Illinois - Cockburn (but if he's in foul trouble, no one behind him to stop Garza)

I do think Gonzaga is the best team in the nation, but not by much. I think Baylor and Iowa right now are pretty close. Seth Greenberg, who I think is the last remaining good college basketball analyst left on ESPN, said it best a week ago. Iowa has always had a pretty good offense under Fran, but it's never been good enough to make up for the defense. This year, it's elite enough to make up for it on most nights.

The Big Ten is crazy this year. No one is getting through unscathed.
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Gophers will sneak attack Iowa with the one two punch of Freeman laying some early lumber on Garza and Mutaf scoring 25 in 15 minutes of PT! :)
 

bga1 said:
Gophers will sneak attack Iowa with the one two punch of Freeman laying some early lumber on Garza and Mutaf scoring 25 in 15 minutes of PT! :)
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The first part isn't a terrible idea.
 

tmvander said:
I haven't watched Iowa play yet but I'm wondering how their opponents' big guys are? Garza seems to go like 8-10 from the field and then 2-3 from 3 every game. Is he being guarded at all? I know he's super good, but what is the explanation?
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His 3's are wide open (expected for a 5), and for his 2's, his moves are relatively quick but the main reason is he's much more physical then all the 5's he's played against. I have seen a lot of defenders who have a helpless look on their face, like they know they are just basically a small speed bump for him. He already has 23 offensive rebounds.
 

34 points in 17 minutes against ISU with six three pointers. I think he missed one or two shots. The ISU center was not a small guy; had no chance against Giant Scorsese.
 


UpAndUnder43 said:
Iowa's biggest weakness is playing Connor McCafferey so damn much. What does he do?
"He does a lot but its hard to explain"-Iowa friend who watches every game

If you can't tell me what he does in 20-30mpg, he doesn't do anything. At least we can pretend Gabe is an elite defender.
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McCafferey defends well (by Iowa standards) and guards 3-4 different positions on the floor depending on match up while being smart offensively without need to get shots. Good cutter and sets a "tone" for the team. He's their "glue guy". Iowa's biggest weakness is they don't defend well enough for the days they won't shoot it well (which will be few and far between I'm sure). They will also struggle when go up against a team that can run and score with them, but also defend (Michigan State) or a team who controls tempo and defends (Wisconsin), it'll be tough for them.
 

I'm telling you, muck up the game, slow it down and drag them down to a low pace game. Then hope you shoot better than them when it matters and make less mistakes.

Ugly basketball. Wisconsin basketball.
 

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