Tuesday, January 01, 2008

Men's BB: Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Indiana Hoosiers

http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/7/7c/Iowa_Hawkeyes_Logo.svg.png VS.

GAME INFO: Wed., Jan 2, 2007 - 8:05 CST - Carver Hawkeye Arena; Iowa City, IA
IOWA (7-6); RPI: 233 / #11 Indiana (11-1); RPI: 44

Good news:
Iowa is at home.
The players seem to be more comfortable in the system.
Jeff Peterson is healthier.
Tony Freeman is healthier.
Cyrus Tate and JR Angle are coming off good games.
Iowa is #2 in scoring defense in the Big Ten.

Bad news:
Iowa's attendance has been pretty poor all season long.
Eric Gordon.
Jarryd Cole is out for the season.
DJ White.
Indiana is off to their best start in almost a decade.
DeAndre Thomas.
Iowa has 9 active players on the team (Bohall back would make it 10).
Jordan Crawford.
Indiana is getting better each time out.
Jamarcus Ellis.
Indiana is leading the Big Ten in scoring.
Armon Bassett.
Iowa is last in the Big Ten in scoring.
Indiana is beating teams by an average of 22 points per game. Iowa is +2.4 PPG.
Indiana is the top rebounding team in the Big Ten, and gives up the fewest rebounds as well.

I was in attendance last year when Iowa beat Indiana in Carver. It was a pretty intense game. Iowa was able to get White in foul trouble early and he was a non-factor. The Hawks destroyed the Hoosiers on the board outrebounding them something like 4 to 1, and shot a ton of FTs to win the game.

The ONLY way that I see Iowa winning this game is if they can get Indy's bigs in foul trouble. Both White and Thomas need to be on the bench for Iowa to have a shot. Thomas might not be too difficult to get done, as he does have a knack for fouling. On top of getting Indy's bigs out of the game, Iowa will need to knock down the treys often and early. You are going to need to see at least 15-20 treys made by Iowa to have a shot in this one. Justin Johnson has played 464 minutes this year so far, tops in the Big Ten (I hope he isn't worn out). He will need to get off a lot of triples, and hit them. Also, make no mistake, Lickliter and his former Butler assistants despise Indiana - they will be prepared for this game. They want this one badly. It might take everything Coach Lickliter has to keep Cornette from suiting up.

PREDICTION:
Iowa - 46
Indiana - 71

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