Well, this article didn’t exactly age well.
Following Iowa’s loss in Bloomington, Hawkeye hysteria was alive and well. Among my litany of complaints: Iowa’s defensive indifference, Fran’s rotations (see: the puzzling insertion of Tony Perkins and Ahron Ulis into the second half of taut Big Ten road games), and the Franitentary: The Big Ten’s Toughest Prison. It was my annual Airing of Grievances before Iowa’s dreary descent into BIG irrelevance. As I texted my IU buddy after that Bloomington suckerpunch, “I just ask for one BIG title every 40+ years...just a small ask from the bball Gods. But even with Garza, we are destined for a lifetime of 6th place finishes. I’ve accepted my Hawkeye fate in the universe lol.”
But then, in damn near a Festivus miracle, our Hawkeyes unleashed their most impressive basketball stretch of the season, avenging decades of futility in East Lansing, Madison, and Columbus. Color me shocked. Scuffling at 7-5 in the BIG conference, I thought the Hawkeyes would wheeze their way to a 10-10 Big Ten finish, an all too predictable coda to another (over)hyped Hawkeye hoops season. Even the most Jim Zabel of Hawkeye fans (which I am not) would have eyed Iowa’s backloaded BIG schedule warily. I mean, we don’t win in East Lansing or Madison or Columbus, like, ever. Breslin, in particular, has been a recurring Hawkeye hellscape; just about every year, we take our annual beating before Izzo condescendingly pats us on the head with a de facto, “Good job, good effort.”
But instead of our annual paddling in East Lansing, the Hawkeyes flipped that well-worn script (and, from my perspective, the season’s underachieving arc). In a dominating performance, the Hawkeyes cruise controlled to a 30-point victory that, quite frankly, wasn’t even that close. And, sure, this is an average MSU team (at least by Sparty standards) but when does Iowa out-rebound and out-defend an Izzo coached team in East Lansing? For the better part of two decades, Izzo’s boys have mugged and mauled the Hawkeyes into submission (all while Izzo harangues the refs like an unhinged Coach K). In this annual measuring stick game, our Hawkeyes, more often than not, come down with a severe case of impostor syndrome. But not this year in a therapeutic ass-whipping for long suffering Hawkeye fans. With us bullying the Big Ten’s resident bullies, Fran and company established that this year’s Iowa hoops team is, well, different. And after exorcising those MSU demons, Fran’s boys excised that prepacked “Iowa fade” narrative.
While Iowa’s decades long Big Ten title drought continues, Fran and the fellas should be proud of their collective resilience. Iowa’s defense, a perpetual question mark, showed real mettle during the course of the B1G season. Case in point: Once languishing at #135, Iowa’s KenPom defensive ranking soared into the 50s (right now, it's sitting at #62). A more anecdotal case in point: the home and home split against Ohio State. In Iowa City, OSU snipers (most notably Justin Ahrens) bombed away from distance with impunity. Despite OSU torching the nets NBA Jam-style, Iowa stubbornly played zone (it didn’t help that noted defensive pest, Joey T, only played seven minutes). In the return game, Iowa was more defensively engaged. The Hawkeyes challenged shooters, running them off the three point line (OSU only attempted 17 three pointers in Columbus, compared to 32 in Iowa City). Moreover, the Hawkeyes’ defensive rotations and close-outs were crisper; there were fewer defensive breakdowns (check out CJF hounding Hawkeye-killer Ahrens at the 15:00 mark). Even Bill Raftery, of Onions fame, noted Iowa’s defensive improvement (at the 15:56 mark). While Iowa’s line-up doesn’t exactly feature Tony Allen and Bruce Bowen, the past month has proven that Iowa, when engaged, can play lockdown defense.
And with Iowa’s tangible defensive improvement (we just need adequate here), I am legitimately enthused about Iowa’s Dance prospects. Assuming good health (stay far, far away from Brad Davison), the Hawkeyes have the characteristics—savvy guard play; a Peacock in full plumage; rotational versatility, and, yes, the defensive chops—to make a March run. Indeed, it is not Madness to think the Hawkeyes, with a favorable draw (no Zags, please and thank you), can end an arguably more important program drought: 40 years and counting since its last Final Four appearance.
