Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Men's BB: Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Ohio State Buckeyes

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

GAME INFO: Wed., Jan 9, 2007 - 6:05 CST - Value City Arena; Columbus, OH
IOWA: 7-8 (0-2); RPI: 210 / Ohio State: 11-3 (2-0); RPI: 16

TV COVERAGE: Big Ten Network - DIRECTV (Ch. 220) / DISH Network (Ch. 439)
LISTEN ONLINE - http://www.kscj.com/
OFFICIAL GAME NOTES - View Here


Thad Matta vs. Todd Lickliter. Coach of the Year vs. Coach of the Year.

Iowa plays well in Columbus... they have won 8 out the last 11 in Columbus. Iowa is the only team to have 4 wins in Value City Arena.

What I would like to see tonight from Iowa:
- Get Kurt Looby the ball. WTF did you just write, Spank? Seriously? Yes, totally serious. Looby is hitting almost 70% of his shots. Granted, they have almost all be alley-oops or straight on dunks, but I still want him to see the ball inside.
- Seth Gorney needs to take more shots. Wow, I am on a roll here. Honestly, though, he needs to hit the 15-18 ft jumper after he sets the pick. If the pick and pop works tonight, it will really free up our shooters. This should still work against Ohio St's 2-3 zone.
- Hard nosed defense from everyone on the court. This one is a bit common sense, but I would like to see 40 minutes of great defense. Iowa's D has been terrific all year, however there are lapses in the game where some individuals can get lazy.
- Free Throws. 1) Get to the line. 2) Make the shots.
- Fewer Fouls from Jake Kelly. Jake has fouled out of 3 games so far and had 3 games with 4 fouls. Get this: those 6 games, Iowa is 0-6. Yet when Jake stays out of foul trouble (3 fouls or less), Iowa is 7-1. This doesn't include the 5 min. he played during the Indiana game. Could this all be coincidence? Absolutely, but I'm a stat junkie and this one passes the smell test.
- Limit 2nd Chance Opportunities. Iowa beats Wisconsin in the Kohl Center if they can just limit the 2nd chance points by the Badgers. They will need to limit them tonight, as well.

PREDICTION:
Going with the shocker on the road...
Iowa - 68
Ohio State - 64

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