Turning to Nebraska...

[Palmerhawk]

Third matchup in a month with Nebraska.

In our OT loss 2 weeks ago in Lincoln :

Tavion banks did not start,Howard did, but tavion did play 26 minutes and had a solid game with 12 pts,7 rbs.

Jacobsen , Nebraska sub, had a career game with 16 points while not missing a single shot all nite. He was the x factor as the rest of team was just so- so( sam hoiberg also had a good game with 15 on 5 of 7 shooting).

Alvaro was held to 6 points on 2 of 7 shooting.

Cooper had a very good game with 18 pts ,6 of 12 from arc.

Proposed matchups:

Koch vs mast
Cam vs Byunktiel
Kael vs Lawrence
Stirtz vs sandfort
Banks vs hoiberg?

Sage vs jacobsen
Alvaro vs garcia
Howard vs pryce

Lawrence has been struggling with his shooting in last month.

Chasing Pryce for 40 minutes has to sap Bennett so maybe hand him off to Howard when he is in the game?

Probably just come down to which team shoots better from arc but Iowa has managed to win games even when losing that stat lately which is not the norm.

I am confident that Dr Ben is in the lab coming up with some wrinkles but we have played darn good vs huskers this season .....maybe no tweaking needed?

 

[jswagger3]

Might need some tweaking, had 19 turnovers last game, and aside from a late run to force OT, Nebraska controlled the game from the last few minutes of the 1st half till the last two or so minutes of the 2nd.

 

[83Hawk]

The Hawks might not beat Nebraska, but it is nice to know they have a VERY winnable game to get to the Elite Eight!

 

[EvilMonkeyInTheCloset]

Have one of our assistants kick Jacobsen in the balls the moment he goes to sub in for the first time. Also, put in Jirak to lay down a clothesline from hell on Sam Hoiberg the very first time he tries to drive at us on offense. Send a message early that his try hard "coach's son" having as* isn't gonna be a factor in beating us on Thursday.

Deal?

Also if they make more than 3 threes in the game, hire the roided up Florida fan to come out of the stands and break the f***ing fingers of everyone of their 3 pt shooters.

We leave nothing to chance............

 

[kwik44]

I think we attack the paint again like Florida. Seem to be getting the whistles finally in the tournament.
Iowa has a great opportunity to advance.

 

[HawksRule73]

That's the crazy thing about beating a #1 to get to the Sweet 16.....there's literally not another game until potentially AZ in a championship game scenario that will be tougher than the game we just won. We've got a tremendous shot to continue to make some noise.

 

[QChawks]

The Hawks might not beat Nebraska, but it is nice to know they have a VERY winnable game to get to the Elite Eight!

 

[bottlecaps]

 

[HawkInDenver]

Third matchup in a month with Nebraska.

In our OT loss 2 weeks ago in Lincoln :

Tavion banks did not start,Howard did, but tavion did play 26 minutes and had a solid game with 12 pts,7 rbs.

Jacobsen , Nebraska sub, had a career game with 16 points while not missing a single shot all nite. He was the x factor as the rest of team was just so- so( sam hoiberg also had a good game with 15 on 5 of 7 shooting).

Alvaro was held to 6 points on 2 of 7 shooting.

Cooper had a very good game with 18 pts ,6 of 12 from arc.

Proposed matchups:

Koch vs mast
Cam vs Byunktiel
Kael vs Lawrence
Stirtz vs sandfort
Banks vs hoiberg?

Sage vs jacobsen
Alvaro vs garcia
Howard vs pryce

Lawrence has been struggling with his shooting in last month.

Chasing Pryce for 40 minutes has to sap Bennett so maybe hand him off to Howard when he is in the game?

Probably just come down to which team shoots better from arc but Iowa has managed to win games even when losing that stat lately which is not the norm.

I am confident that Dr Ben is in the lab coming up with some wrinkles but we have played darn good vs huskers this season .....maybe no tweaking needed?

Agree that chasing Pryce all game will take a lot out of Stirtz. Could try putting Banks and/or Combs on him at least some of the game??

Gotta win to advance, so if having Stirtz guard Pryce all game is what it takes to win the game then I assume that is what will happen. No point having a rested Stirtz if you end up losing.

 

[HawkInDenver]

Regarding outcome, I expect both teams to be ready with some minor tweaks and, of course, it will likely come down to the wire again.
Given previous results and Alvaro coming alive in the tourney, I like our chances to advance.

 

[bottlecaps]

Hopefully Nebby is looking forward to a fun game and Iowa is looking forward to a war.

 

[TrojanHawkeye]

 

[UIAlumFireFighter]

The Hawks might not beat Nebraska, but it is nice to know they have a VERY winnable game to get to the Elite Eight!

I’ll be very sad if we do not take advantage of this AWESOME opportunity (Nebraska as the opponent) to reach the elite 8.

Get’er done Ben. Get’er done.

 

[r_desihawk]

In this matchup the coaching advantage is unfortunately blunted coz hoiberg is probably just as good as ben.
are we at the point where playing several games over a short span favors the team that has a deeper bench? if so...

 

[2D]

After watching a few podcasts and shows, it seems like little red is the media darling that most outlets are rooting for. This is due mainly to their run being considered "a miracle" because they've never done this before.

Limit turnovers and defend the three, Little red lives and dies by it. We will need to absolutely lock down Pryce. We'll also need another tremendous rebounding performance like we did with Florida.

 

[LetsGoHawks83]

After watching a few podcasts and shows, it seems like little red is the media darling that most outlets are rooting for. This is due mainly to thier run is considered "a miracle" because they've never done this before.

Limit turnovers and defend the three, Little red lives and dies by it. We will need to absolutely lock down Pryce. We'll also need another tremendous rebounding performance like we did with Florida.

We did pretty well last game as the underdog in a hostile environment.

BRING IT

 

[MacMiney]

One advantage that we have is that this group of players and coach, for the last two years, has not been familiar with any away game environments. None. Except Coop.

Literally used to being unfamiliar with any hostile environment anywhere.

 

[SoonerBeAHawk]

I thought last game we might have a chance if Bennett could get untracked from three. Ok, so good, apparently he is waiting until we really, really, really need him to.

If he were to go off Thursday I would be quite confident in a Hawk W.

 

[EvilMonkeyInTheCloset]

That's the crazy thing about beating a #1 to get to the Sweet 16.....there's literally not another game until potentially AZ in a championship game scenario that will be tougher than the game we just won. We've got a tremendous shot to continue to make some noise.

If we win, we'll most likely play Houston in Houston........

 

[Roncuba65]

I thought last game we might have a chance if Bennett could get untracked from three. Ok, so good, apparently he is waiting until we really, really, really need him to.

If he were to go off Thursday I would be quite confident in a Hawk W.

This is exactly what I was thinking after beating Clemson lol. The fact that we beat Florida with Stirtz having one of his worst shooting games is amazing and should give us much confidence and scare the crap out of Nebraska.

 

[Roncuba65]

If we win, we'll most likely play Houston in Houston........

Bring it on!!! Survive and Advance...

 

[83Hawk]

In this matchup the coaching advantage is unfortunately blunted coz hoiberg is probably just as good as ben.
are we at the point where playing several games over a short span favors the team that has a deeper bench? if so...

I don’t agree that Hoiberg is “just as good” a coach as Ben. His coaching accomplishments pale in comparison to Ben’s.

 

[Rifler]

That's the crazy thing about beating a #1 to get to the Sweet 16.....there's literally not another game until potentially AZ in a championship game scenario that will be tougher than the game we just won. We've got a tremendous shot to continue to make some noise.

Not to be a downer,.. but that are a lot of losable games, easier than the one we just won.

 

[r_desihawk]

I don’t agree that Hoiberg is “just as good” a coach as Ben. His coaching accomplishments pale in comparison to Ben’s.

hoiberg has taken the only team (until a few days ago) to have never made the tourney to the sweet 16…many would argue that’s a greater feat than lower level championships.

 

[83Hawk]

hoiberg has taken the only team (until a few days ago) to have never made the tourney to the sweet 16…many would argue that’s a greater feat than lower level championships.

Hmmmm…..I don’t agree that one Sweet 16 is a greater feat than multiple lower level championships, not to mention taking a team to the Sweet 16 that hadn’t been there in 27 years that is composed mostly of mid major players (Drake, etc.). And Ben did it in his FIRST YEAR. This is Fred’s 7th year at Nebraska.

 

[TampaHawkFan]

That's the crazy thing about beating a #1 to get to the Sweet 16.....there's literally not another game until potentially AZ in a championship game scenario that will be tougher than the game we just won. We've got a tremendous shot to continue to make some noise.

Going by seed, perhaps, but potentially playing 2 seed Houston in their home city in the Elite 8 is a tall order. They are good enough to be a 1 seed IMO. But hey, I didn't think Iowa had much chance of beating FL, either, so... Let's do it!

 

[HawksRule73]

hoiberg has taken the only team (until a few days ago) to have never made the tourney to the sweet 16…many would argue that’s a greater feat than lower level championships.

He won 2 games against a #13 seed and a #5 seed vs Ben who has an over 80% winning % in ncaa tourney games over a nearly 50 game sample size. I'll take Ben every day of the week and twice on Sundays.

 

[HawksRule73]

Going by seed, perhaps, but potentially playing 2 seed Houston in their home city in the Elite 8 is a tall order. They are good enough to be a 1 seed IMO. But hey, I didn't think Iowa had much chance of beating FL, either, so... Let's do it!

It wasn't just seeding.....it was the fact they were the defending champs, plus playing 2 hours from their campus, plus us having this 27 year anvil hanging around our necks. Nah, Houston in Houston won't be near as tough if we're good enough to make it there. Plus, given how good Illinois is playing, it's not out of the realm for them to beat Houston.

 

[TampaHawkFan]

It wasn't just seeding.....it was the fact they were the defending champs, plus playing 2 hours from their campus, plus us having this 27 year anvil hanging around our necks. Nah, Houston in Houston won't be near as tough if we're good enough to make it there. Plus, given how good Illinois is playing, it's not out of the realm for them to beat Houston.

I think you're underestimating Houston a bit (they were an eyelash away from being defending champs this year) but those are fair points.

 

[2432Hawk]

hoiberg has taken the only team (until a few days ago) to have never made the tourney to the sweet 16…many would argue that’s a greater feat than lower level championships.

Nebraska has made the tournament before. They've just never won a game in it until this year.

 

[r_desihawk]

Nebraska has made the tournament before. They've just never won a game in it until this year.

thanks for the correction. my mistake...i screwed up

 

[Hawksfor3]

I think we attack the paint again like Florida. Seem to be getting the whistles finally in the tournament.
Iowa has a great opportunity to advance.

Interested to see how the game will be called. Nebby got 12 more FTs than we did last meeting.

 

[Hawksfor3]

Agree that chasing Pryce all game will take a lot out of Stirtz. Could try putting Banks and/or Combs on him at least some of the game??

Gotta win to advance, so if having Stirtz guard Pryce all game is what it takes to win the game then I assume that is what will happen. No point having a rested Stirtz if you end up losing.

As long as the others can control Hoiberg and Jacobsen. Those two combined for 30 points last time.

 

[2432Hawk]

As long as the others can control Hoiberg and Jacobsen. Those two combined for 30 points last time.

Having Banks the whole 40 will help.

Really we lost that game in Lincoln basically because we turned it over way too much, and Nebraska won a lot of the 50/50 balls.

Going to come down to who values the ball, and getting more possessions, be it turns / rebounds / hustle plays.

 

[RuggieC]

It wasn't just seeding.....it was the fact they were the defending champs, plus playing 2 hours from their campus, plus us having this 27 year anvil hanging around our necks. Nah, Houston in Houston won't be near as tough if we're good enough to make it there. Plus, given how good Illinois is playing, it's not out of the realm for them to beat Houston.

I think Illinois takes them.

 

[HawkBall23]

Everything from here on out is purely "playing with house money".

All Coach McCollum needed to do to make nearly everyone consider this a successful first season at the helm, was sneak his squad into a First4 game and no further.

Not only did he guide this team to a single-digit seed, but they knocked off a 1 to make the Sweet16.


This result is already beyond most highest hopes. Every win going forward - if any more - is just more delicious icing on an already tasty cake.

 

[Wobmam Rulez!]

In this matchup the coaching advantage is unfortunately blunted coz hoiberg is probably just as good as ben.
are we at the point where playing several games over a short span favors the team that has a deeper bench? if so...

In game coaching, from the year I've seen of Ben, I give him the edge. He understands when to use his time outs.

Hoiberg's biggest strength is recruiting the portal.

 

[Wobmam Rulez!]

If we win, we'll most likely play Houston in Houston........

So, they've already beat Florida in Florida.

 

[The Big Z]

Tavion needs to stay out of foul trouble and be able to give us a good 28-30 minutes. He was great in the Florida game and is by far our best and most versatile defender. I’m also not sure why Stirtz is settling for so many contested 3’s. We’ve won because the rest of our guys are stepping up but Is like to see Stirtz try to get in the paint a bit more and try to draw fouls.

 

[uihawk82]

Tavion needs to stay out of foul trouble and be able to give us a good 28-30 minutes. He was great in the Florida game and is by far our best and most versatile defender. I’m also not sure why Stirtz is settling for so many contested 3’s. We’ve won because the rest of our guys are stepping up but Is like to see Stirtz try to get in the paint a bit more and try to draw fouls.

I totally agree and hope Coach and the hawks decide to drive to the rim or drive and dish more than they have the last 7-8 games. The hawks took it to FL but in some of the late season games our offense was all along the perimeter.

Stirtz has a great first step or stride when he sees he can get his shoulders past his defender and very quick to the rim after that and he usually finishes it or makes a good pass

I did like the high ball screen action in the last two games were the pass back to the screener has led to the screener taking the ball into the lane if not to the rim. Alvaro and Banks at the top of the circle can drive it