Keys To Beating The Hawks

I hope BDJ has at least 1 good posterization of an Iowa player (preferably Dingleberry). Something badass enough to make Sportscenter Top 10.
 
Keys to beating the Hawks are the same as last year, attack the rim. They couldn't guard us last year, Ejim lived at the FT line the first half which is what kept us in the game. Iowa's entire defense is built to make teams take bad 3pt shots. Iowa had games last year with tOSU, Wisconsin and Michigan St at home and Tennessee in the "tourney" in which teams did the exact same thing. Bottom line, Iowa isn't an awful defensive team but their lack of athleticism makes them vulnerable off the dribble.

They have played a tough schedule to this point but Texas, UNC and Syracuse are teams that shoot poorly from 3 and were actually really good matchups for how Iowa wants to defend. Those teams arguably have more talent than us but (fortunately) we are much more equipped offensively than any of those to attack Iowas defense.
 
ISU needs to learn how to win on the road. The Cyclones are 10-17 in big 12 road games over the last 3 years, 3-6 last year. I don't know why anyone would expect an easy win over a competitive Iowa team on their home court.

The Cyclones can win, but they need to perform better than past teams.
 
My "concern" is Hogue. He has trouble going against length and frankly he's been struggling all season. If he can play a little better I'll be relieved of my concerns over the size advantage Iowa has. We clearly have a backcourt advantage so if we can somehow play even up inside we win.
 
My "concern" is Hogue. He has trouble going against length and frankly he's been struggling all season. If he can play a little better I'll be relieved of my concerns over the size advantage Iowa has. We clearly have a backcourt advantage so if we can somehow play even up inside we win.

This. Hogue just needs to settle down. I love his energy but he just seems to freak out when he gets the ball. He needs to slow down, be decisive, and take the ball strong to the basket when he gets his opportunities down low.

What might be the most important thing for Hogue in the game Friday is to quit trying to avoid contact when he takes the ball to the rim. If you want to get any of Iowa's bigs in foul trouble then he is going to have to allow the contact and be strong going to the rim.
 
Who guards who in this game for both sides?

-I see BDJ on White, even though he plays the 4
-Who on earth guards Niang? Picturing Woody trying to guard him when he brings the ball up the floor makes me LOL
-Morris on MG? I'll take Monte any day
-Houge on Uthoff?

So many options. It is safe to say, though, that no matter who guards who, each ISU player will have to be wary of their man's ugliness. Its definitely a distraction...
 
I'd say make uthoff and white try to out score us. There guards are pretty much non factors.
 
Iowa doesn't have a guard who can hope to match up against ISU's starting shooting guard. I'd say that's a pretty big matchup issue in the back court. Morris also has anybody outmatched, he is a monster defensively compared to where he was the last time these teams played.

Not saying it's all one sided, ISU struggled with White last year and will again likely.

Naz is what I consider the starting shooting guard, at least until december.
 
I think the difference between Gesell and Morris is quite a bit smaller than a lot of you act like it is, but that's understandable because you're extremely biased. Gesell more than held his own against Marcus Paige, and even though after Iowa won that game I noticed a lot of people over here trying to discredit Paige, anyone outside of Cyclone Nation will admit he is one of the best guards in the country.

Gesell will hold his own against Morris. I'm more concerned about the BDJ match up. He's played very well lately.
 
Nobody on their team defensively has an answer for defending BDJ. He should be able to score at will and once they start double teaming him, he's a smart passer and will find the wide open shooter from outside.
 
I think the difference between Gesell and Morris is quite a bit smaller than a lot of you act like it is, but that's understandable because you're extremely biased. Gesell more than held his own against Marcus Paige, and even though after Iowa won that game I noticed a lot of people over here trying to discredit Paige, anyone outside of Cyclone Nation will admit he is one of the best guards in the country.

Gesell will hold his own against Morris. I'm more concerned about the BDJ match up. He's played very well lately.

Morris is producing 50% more in every stat while turning the ball over half as much as his supposed equal. Iowa fans are the only people who would consider them in the same ballpark. It's only one game but monte vs whover Iowa is calling a pg these days = significant edge for ISU over the course of a season.

You guys are hilarious dismissing a 10 ppg point gaurd with a 7:1 assist to turnover ratio.
 
I think the difference between Gesell and Morris is quite a bit smaller than a lot of you act like it is, but that's understandable because you're extremely biased. Gesell more than held his own against Marcus Paige, and even though after Iowa won that game I noticed a lot of people over here trying to discredit Paige, anyone outside of Cyclone Nation will admit he is one of the best guards in the country.

Gesell will hold his own against Morris. I'm more concerned about the BDJ match up. He's played very well lately.

Whoever is in charge of the Bob Cousy Award must be a Cyclone fan
 
So what are the starting match ups?

Seems like:

Monte - Gesell
Naz - Clemmons
BDJ - Uthof
Hogue - White
Georges - Woody

Looks like biggest mismatch for us is going to be Georges v Woody and Uthof maybe being out of his comfort zone guarding a quicker wing. I honestly don't know how well Uthof has done against a BDJ type of player.

On their side the Hogue - White match up is intriguing and I wonder if that is who we'll stick with guarding him. Seems like Nader could be helpful as a body to play rough against White at times.
 
I'd say make uthoff and white try to out score us. There guards are pretty much non factors.

For that reason we should let everyone else but those 2 beat us. IMO they are the only 2 guys on the Iowa's team capable of putting up 20-25 points. If they don't get 40+ from White and Uthoff, they have no shot against a team who can score like we do.
 
I think the difference between Gesell and Morris is quite a bit smaller than a lot of you act like it is, but that's understandable because you're extremely biased. Gesell more than held his own against Marcus Paige, and even though after Iowa won that game I noticed a lot of people over here trying to discredit Paige, anyone outside of Cyclone Nation will admit he is one of the best guards in the country.

Gesell will hold his own against Morris. I'm more concerned about the BDJ match up. He's played very well lately.

I would say people were discrediting UNC more then Paige. The problem with Paige is that he is the only guy on the UNC roster that can create his own shot. When a guy is trying to do it all on his own it makes a team very easy to defend. So far this season Paige has attempted 43% of UNC's three point shots, nearly 20% of the total FG attempts, nearly 20% of the teams FT attempts, and he has scored nearly 20% of their points.

Against Iowa Paige took nearly 25% of UNC's shots, over 50% of their three point attempts, he had 0 assists, and he turned it over 3 times.

The difference between Morris and Paige is fairly easy to put your finger on. Morris is looking to distribute the ball not be "the man". Morris hasn't had more then 10 FG attempts in a game yet this season(he has 2 games in his career with more then 10 FG attempts), he has had more games with 9 assists or more then 0 assists in his career, he hasn't had a 0 assist game since January 18th of last season, he has never attempted more then 4 three point FG's in a game in his career, he has turned the ball over more then 2 times in a game only once in his career, he has 21 games played with 0 turnovers, Iowa State is 15-4 in games when Morris has scored 5 points or less, and Morris has never fouled out of a game in his career.

Morris is a floor general. He distributes the ball rather then always looking to score himself and he does the little things like playing solid defense and rebounding that impact the game.

Morris has 27 boards, 41 assists, 6 turnovers, 13 steals, and 6 blocks this year.

Paige has 12 boards, 27 assists, 13 turnovers, 8 steals, and 1 block this year.

MG is going to have problems containing Morris because Morris can do it all. He isn't just going to toss up 20 shots like Paige will and Morris will not fall in love with the 3 like Paige does consistently. Morris is going to run MG all over the court on Friday night not just sit out on the perimeter and chuck 3's. MG better have his track shoes on.
 

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