Back in November, I predicted the Big Ten standings. Let's revisit my predictions and compare them to the actual standings. Parenthesis after teams indicate +/- their actual finish in the Big Ten.
STORMINSPANK'S 2006-07 BIG TEN PREDICTIONS
1. Wisconsin (-1)
2. Ohio State (+1)
3. Indiana (-)
4. Illinois (-2)
5. Iowa (+1)
6. Michigan (-2)
7. Michigan State (-)
8. Purdue (+3)
9. Penn State (-2)
10. Minnesota (+1)
11. NW (+1)
Overall, I really didn't miss badly on the entire conference. Purdue was my biggest miss, though (then again I did admit that I would be underestimating them in my prediction when I said, "I am clearly underestimating Purdue").
My Tiers, however, were dead on (not that it took a whiz to figure those out).
TOP TIER:
Wisconsin
Ohio State
MIDDLE TIER:
Indiana
Illinois
Iowa
Michigan
Michigan State
Purdue
BOTTOM TIER:
Penn State
Minnesota
Northwestern
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Updated Look at 2007 Bubble Teams
Updated Look at Bubble Teams for 2007
Last two years' predictions -
2006: 63/65 teams
2005: 65/65 teams
TEAMS THAT I THINK ARE LOCKS/AUTOBIDS (parenthesis contain total number of bids for the conference; the first number is the locks and the second number is the total bids the conference will get as of right now)
Am East(1/1) - Vermont
ACC(6/7) - UNC, VaTech, Virginia, BC, Duke, Maryland
A. Sun(1/1) - BELMONT
A-10(1/1) - Xavier
Big East(6/7) - Georgetown, Pitt, Louisville, Notre Dame, Marquette, Syracuse
Big Sky(1/1) - Weber State
Big South(1/1) - WINTHROP
Big Ten(4/6) - tOSU, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan State
Big 12(3/4) - Texas, Kansas, Texas A&M
Big West(1/1) - Long Beach State
CAA(1/2) - Virginia Commonwealth
CUSA(1/1) - Memphis
Horizon(1/1) - Butler
Ivy(1/1) - PENN
MAAC(1/1) - Marist
MAC(1/1) - Toledo
MCC(1/1) - ORU
MEAC(1/1) - Delaware State
MVC(1/3) - S. Illinois
MWC(1/3) - BYU
NEC(1/1) - Monmouth
OVC(1/1) - Central Conn
Patriot(1/1) - Holy Cross
Pac-10(5/6) - UCLA, Washington St., Arizona, USC, Oregon
SEC(4/5) - Florida, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Tennessee
Southern(1/1) - Appalachian State
Southland(1/1) - Sam Houston State
SWAC(1/1) - Jackson State
Sun Belt(1/1) - Western Kentucky
WCC(1/1) - Gonzaga
WAC(1/1) - Nevada
BOLD TEAMS WON THEIR CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
TEAMS THAT I THINK ARE ON THE BUBBLE
So here's who I have on the Bubble... 12 spots are up for grabs
Those teams IN are noted with an asterisk (*).
Georgia Tech *
Florida State
Clemson
UMass
Rhode Island
Villanova *
W. Virginia
DePaul
Illinois *
Purdue *
Michigan
Kansas State
Texas Tech *
Oklahoma State
Old Dominion
Drexel *
Bradley
Creighton *
Missouri State *
UNLV *
Air Force *
San Diego St
Stanford *
Georgia
Alabama *
Arkansas
Ole Miss
Mississippi State
Davidson
NOTES:
- If Memphis loses in the CUSA Tourney, that league will get two bids.
- If Nevada loses in the WAC TOurney, that league will get two bids.
- If Butler loses in the Horizon Tourney, that league will get two bids.
- If Xavier loses in the A-10 Tourney, the league will probably get two bids.
- It looks as if the Colonial might get 2 bids, it would help Iowa if they only got one.
- If the locks in mid-majors take care of business in their conference tournaments, there might be room for Iowa looking at the current bubble teams.
This will be updated periodically, esp. when the conference tournaments are played.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Storminspank's Look at the Bubble Teams for '07
My Look at the Bubble Teams for '07
Last two years' predictions -
2006: 63/65 teams
2005: 65/65 teams
TEAMS THAT I THINK ARE LOCKS/AUTOBIDS (parenthesis contain total number of bids for the conference; the first number is the locks and the second number is the total bids the conference will get as of right now)
Am East(1/1) - Vermont
ACC(6/6) - UNC, VaTech, Virginia, BC, Duke, Maryland
A. Sun(1/1) - Belmont
A-10(1/1) - Xavier
Big East(5/7) - Georgetown, Pitt, Louisville, Notre Dame, Marquette
Big Sky(1/1) - Weber State
Big South(1/1) - Winthrop
Big Ten(4/5) - tOSU, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan State
Big 12(3/5) - Texas, Kansas, Texas A&M
Big West(1/1) - Long Beach State
CAA(1/2) - Virginia Commonwealth
CUSA(1/1) - Memphis
Horizon(1/1) - Butler
Ivy(1/1) - Penn
MAAC(1/1) - Marist
MAC(1/1) - Toledo
MCC(1/1) - ORU
MEAC(1/1) - Delaware State
MVC(1/3) - S. Illinois
MWC(1/3) - BYU
NEC(1/1) - Monmouth
OVC(1/1) - Central Conn
Patriot(1/1) - Holy Cross
Pac-10(5/6) - UCLA, Washington St., Arizona, USC, Oregon
SEC(4/5) - Florida, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Tennessee
Southern(1/1) - Appalachian State
Southland(1/1) - Sam Houston State
SWAC(1/1) - Jackson State
Sun Belt(1/1) - Western Kentucky
WCC(1/1) - Gonzaga
WAC(1/1) - Nevada
TEAMS THAT I THINK ARE ON THE BUBBLE
So here's who I have on the Bubble... 13 spots are up for grabs
Those teams IN are noted with an asterisk (*).
Georgia Tech
Florida State
Clemson
UMass
Rhode Island
Villanova *
Syracuse *
W. Virginia
DePaul
Illinois *
Purdue *
Michigan
Kansas State *
Texas Tech *
Oklahoma State
Old Dominion
Drexel *
Bradley
Creighton *
Missouri State *
UNLV *
Air Force *
San Diego St
Stanford *
Georgia
Alabama *
Arkansas
Ole Miss
Mississippi State
Davidson
NOTES:
- If Memphis loses in the CUSA Tourney, that league will get two bids.
- If Nevada loses in the WAC TOurney, that league will get two bids.
- If Butler loses in the Horizon Tourney, that league will get two bids.
- If Xavier loses in the A-10 Tourney, the league will probably get two bids.
- It looks as if the Colonial might get 2 bids, it would help Iowa if they only got one.
- If the locks in mid-majors take care of business in their conference tournaments, there might be room for Iowa looking at the current bubble teams.
This will be updated periodically, esp. when the conference tournaments are played.
EDIT 1 - Syracuse beats Georgetown. That's enough to get them in. They take the bid from fellow Big East squad, West Virginia. (02/26/07)
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Ice Storm of 2007
This is the ice I took off of my Jeep. We had a nice little February storm kick up this weekend. Rain, sleet, ice, snow = power outages and a lot of fun. We couldn't go anywhere, so my wife and I got blitzed last night. It was fun. Sometimes staying in is better. Oscars are tonight, big deal in my house. I have Babel winning best picture over The Departed. Fun stuff. 
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Iowa's Ranking (RPI/Sagarin/etc) - Season Long Recap Through 2/7/07
SEASON LONG LOOK AT THE FLUCTUATIONS OF THE HAWKEYES' RANKINGS, POST SEASON POSSIBILITIES....
(11/15/06 9:06:29 am)
VERY EARLY RANKINGS
SAGARIN RANKINGS - 61st
RPI - 133rd
(11/16/06 1:46:24 pm)
Bad news, Hawk fans. Due to the actions/results of the past few days by the Iowa program**, the Hawkeye have dropped in RPI and in the Sagarin.
Sagarin: 64
RPI: 167
Woe be us.
And with their win over Rider, NJ Inst of Technology fell to 27th.
** - Note: Iowa didn't play any games.
(11/20/06 11:07:31 am)
RPI: 146
Sagarin: 52
Texas Arlington bolts to the Top 10 RPI with a win over the always tough North Texas team and a loss to TCU.
Robert Morris holding strong in the Top 10 RPI with wins over Marshall and Florida International.
(11/30/06 7:09:50 pm)
RPI: 209
SAGARIN: 106
POMEROY: 132
Iowa has the lowest RPI of any Big Ten team.
Texas-Arlington still clinging to the 11 spot.
Look at the BT RPIs:
Overall Conf Overall Non-Conf
W-L W-L RPI SOS RPI SOS
Indiana 3-2 0-0 17 5 17 5
Ohio St. 6-1 0-0 28 64 28 64
Purdue 5-1 0-0 32 54 32 54
Michigan 7-1 0-0 65 172 65 176
Illinois 7-1 0-0 68 145 68 147
Michigan St. 6-2 0-0 77 117 77 119
Penn St. 4-2 0-0 123 105 123 107
Wisconsin 6-1 0-0 124 238 124 238
Minnesota 2-5 0-0 201 68 202 68
Northwestern 4-2 0-0 205 253 206 253
Iowa 2-4 0-0 209 157 209 160
Wisky at 124?
The Big Ten is 52-22 against D-1 opponents, 5th Conf. RPI. Not too impressive. Looks like the BT is down like most thought it would be, but it's still very early.
(12/10/06 11:12:08 am)
RPI: 169
Kenpom: 87
Sagarin: 123
Moved up in the Pomeroy and RPI, but slipped in the Sagarin.
(12/19/06 1:27:57 pm)
New Big Ten Pomeroy Standings:
- Big Ten #2 Conference in the Nation
- Iowa is 9th
Overall Conf
W-L W-L Pomeroy/Rnk SOS/Rnk NCSOS/Rnk
Ohio St. 9-1 0-0 .9846/3 .5611/139 .5611/146
Illinois 10-2 0-0 .9808/8 .5950/124 .5950/131
Michigan St. 10-2 0-0 .9726/14 .5494/148 .5494/158
Indiana 6-3 0-0 .9701/15 .7000/54 .7000/66
Purdue 8-2 0-0 .9650/17 .7263/43 .7263/55
Wisconsin 11-1 0-0 .9552/26 .4771/188 .4771/197
Michigan 11-1 0-0 .9242/44 .2689/306 .2689/305
Northwestern 6-2 0-0 .7164/107 .3705/253 .3705/255
Iowa 5-6 0-0 .6982/110 .5996/121 .5996/128
Penn St. 7-4 0-0 .5942/132 .3111/286 .3111/290
Minnesota 5-7 0-0 .5414/138 .4258/222 .4258/222
kenpom.com/conf.php?y=2007&c=B10&t=p
Big Ten RPI Standings
- Big Ten is 5th
- Iowa is 10th
Through games of Monday, December 18
Overall Conf Overall Non-Conf
W-L W-L RPI SOS RPI SOS
Wisconsin 11-1 0-0 11 55 11 66
Purdue 8-2 0-0 12 11 12 16
Ohio St. 9-1 0-0 21 102 23 114
Indiana 6-3 0-0 41 27 38 34
Illinois 10-2 0-0 43 82 40 95
Michigan St. 10-2 0-0 47 134 46 149
Michigan 11-1 0-0 81 290 83 291
Northwestern 5-2 0-0 147 204 154 213
Penn St. 7-4 0-0 159 166 166 182
Iowa 5-6 0-0 179 118 185 133
Minnesota 5-7 0-0 201 77 206 89
Sagarin Big Ten Standings
CONFERENCE CENTRAL MEAN SIMPLE AVERAGE TEAMS
1 ATLANTIC COAST = 84.63 84.48 ( 1) 12
2 SOUTHEASTERN = 83.42 82.82 ( 2) 12
3 BIG TEN = 81.93 81.21 ( 4) 11
4 PACIFIC-10 = 81.60 81.55 ( 3) 10
5 BIG EAST = 80.81 80.77 ( 6) 16
6 MISSOURI VALLEY = 80.36 81.19 ( 5) 10
7 BIG 12 = 80.28 79.77 ( 7) 12
8 MOUNTAIN WEST = 77.91 78.27 ( 8) 9
9 CONFERENCE USA = 75.61 75.67 ( 9) 12
10 WESTERN ATHLETIC = 74.97 74.16 ( 11) 9
RPI: 179
Kenpom: 110
Sagarin: 131
Fell in all three rankings.
(1/1/07 7:03:09 pm)
RPI: 156 (up ~ 25 spots)
Pomeroy: 85 (up ~30 spots)
Sagarin: 123 (up ~ 10 spots)
Big Ten dropped from 3rd to 5th in Sagarin Conf. rankings
Big Ten stayed at 2nd in Pomeroy Conf. rankings
Big Ten stayed at 5th in RPI Conf. rankings
Iowa moved up one spot in the Big Ten RPI, stayed 9th in the Pomeroy in the BT.
(1/7/07 12:46:26 am)
RPI: 113 (up 40 spots)
Pomeroy: 73 (up 12 spots)
Sagarin: 106 (up 17 spots)
(1/8/07 9:46:21 am)
Since the weekend games:
RPI: 108 (moved up an additional 5 spots)
Pomeroy: 70 (moved up 3 more spots)
Sagarin: 100 (up another 6 spots)
Greenfield: 104
Massey: 98
Composite link from 26 ratings: 114 (one week behind)
(1/14/07 9:41:51 pm)
RPI: 109 (moved down 1 spot)
Pomeroy: 68 (moved up 2 more spots)
Sagarin: 94 (up 6 spots)
Greenfield: 102 (up 2 spots)
Massey: 99 (down 1 spot)
Composite link from 26 ratings: 92 (up 22 spots)
Iowa's Highest Ranking - 57 (Lynch)
Iowa's Lowest Ranking - 124 (SAP)
(1/26/07 10:42 am)
RPI: 111 (moved down 2 spots)
Pomeroy: 66 (moved up 2 spots)
Sagarin: 85 (moved up 9 spots)
Greenfield: 91 (moved up 11 spots)
Massey: 95 (moved up 4 spots)
Massey Composite link from 26 ratings: 93 (down 1 spot)
Iowa's Highest Ranking - 66 (Moore)
Iowa's Lowest Ranking - 136 (SAP)
(2/05/07 6:17 pm)
RPI: 86 (moved up 25 spots)
Pomeroy: 62 (moved up 4 spots)
Sagarin: 78 (moved up 7 spots)
Greenfield: 72 (moved up 19 spots)
Massey: 76 (moved up 19 spots)
Massey Composite link from 26 ratings: 80 (moved up 13 spots)
Iowa's Highest Ranking - 49 (Pigskin)
Iowa's Lowest Ranking - 118 (Rennie)
BIG TEN OUTLOOK:
TOP TEN RPI CONFERENCES:
(11/15/06 9:06:29 am)
VERY EARLY RANKINGS
SAGARIN RANKINGS - 61st
RPI - 133rd
(11/16/06 1:46:24 pm)
Bad news, Hawk fans. Due to the actions/results of the past few days by the Iowa program**, the Hawkeye have dropped in RPI and in the Sagarin.
Sagarin: 64
RPI: 167
Woe be us.
And with their win over Rider, NJ Inst of Technology fell to 27th.
** - Note: Iowa didn't play any games.
(11/20/06 11:07:31 am)
RPI: 146
Sagarin: 52
Texas Arlington bolts to the Top 10 RPI with a win over the always tough North Texas team and a loss to TCU.
Robert Morris holding strong in the Top 10 RPI with wins over Marshall and Florida International.
(11/30/06 7:09:50 pm)
RPI: 209
SAGARIN: 106
POMEROY: 132
Iowa has the lowest RPI of any Big Ten team.
Texas-Arlington still clinging to the 11 spot.
Look at the BT RPIs:
Overall Conf Overall Non-Conf
W-L W-L RPI SOS RPI SOS
Indiana 3-2 0-0 17 5 17 5
Ohio St. 6-1 0-0 28 64 28 64
Purdue 5-1 0-0 32 54 32 54
Michigan 7-1 0-0 65 172 65 176
Illinois 7-1 0-0 68 145 68 147
Michigan St. 6-2 0-0 77 117 77 119
Penn St. 4-2 0-0 123 105 123 107
Wisconsin 6-1 0-0 124 238 124 238
Minnesota 2-5 0-0 201 68 202 68
Northwestern 4-2 0-0 205 253 206 253
Iowa 2-4 0-0 209 157 209 160
Wisky at 124?
The Big Ten is 52-22 against D-1 opponents, 5th Conf. RPI. Not too impressive. Looks like the BT is down like most thought it would be, but it's still very early.
(12/10/06 11:12:08 am)
RPI: 169
Kenpom: 87
Sagarin: 123
Moved up in the Pomeroy and RPI, but slipped in the Sagarin.
(12/19/06 1:27:57 pm)
New Big Ten Pomeroy Standings:
- Big Ten #2 Conference in the Nation
- Iowa is 9th
Overall Conf
W-L W-L Pomeroy/Rnk SOS/Rnk NCSOS/Rnk
Ohio St. 9-1 0-0 .9846/3 .5611/139 .5611/146
Illinois 10-2 0-0 .9808/8 .5950/124 .5950/131
Michigan St. 10-2 0-0 .9726/14 .5494/148 .5494/158
Indiana 6-3 0-0 .9701/15 .7000/54 .7000/66
Purdue 8-2 0-0 .9650/17 .7263/43 .7263/55
Wisconsin 11-1 0-0 .9552/26 .4771/188 .4771/197
Michigan 11-1 0-0 .9242/44 .2689/306 .2689/305
Northwestern 6-2 0-0 .7164/107 .3705/253 .3705/255
Iowa 5-6 0-0 .6982/110 .5996/121 .5996/128
Penn St. 7-4 0-0 .5942/132 .3111/286 .3111/290
Minnesota 5-7 0-0 .5414/138 .4258/222 .4258/222
kenpom.com/conf.php?y=2007&c=B10&t=p
Big Ten RPI Standings
- Big Ten is 5th
- Iowa is 10th
Through games of Monday, December 18
Overall Conf Overall Non-Conf
W-L W-L RPI SOS RPI SOS
Wisconsin 11-1 0-0 11 55 11 66
Purdue 8-2 0-0 12 11 12 16
Ohio St. 9-1 0-0 21 102 23 114
Indiana 6-3 0-0 41 27 38 34
Illinois 10-2 0-0 43 82 40 95
Michigan St. 10-2 0-0 47 134 46 149
Michigan 11-1 0-0 81 290 83 291
Northwestern 5-2 0-0 147 204 154 213
Penn St. 7-4 0-0 159 166 166 182
Iowa 5-6 0-0 179 118 185 133
Minnesota 5-7 0-0 201 77 206 89
Sagarin Big Ten Standings
CONFERENCE CENTRAL MEAN SIMPLE AVERAGE TEAMS
1 ATLANTIC COAST = 84.63 84.48 ( 1) 12
2 SOUTHEASTERN = 83.42 82.82 ( 2) 12
3 BIG TEN = 81.93 81.21 ( 4) 11
4 PACIFIC-10 = 81.60 81.55 ( 3) 10
5 BIG EAST = 80.81 80.77 ( 6) 16
6 MISSOURI VALLEY = 80.36 81.19 ( 5) 10
7 BIG 12 = 80.28 79.77 ( 7) 12
8 MOUNTAIN WEST = 77.91 78.27 ( 8) 9
9 CONFERENCE USA = 75.61 75.67 ( 9) 12
10 WESTERN ATHLETIC = 74.97 74.16 ( 11) 9
RPI: 179
Kenpom: 110
Sagarin: 131
Fell in all three rankings.
(1/1/07 7:03:09 pm)
RPI: 156 (up ~ 25 spots)
Pomeroy: 85 (up ~30 spots)
Sagarin: 123 (up ~ 10 spots)
Big Ten dropped from 3rd to 5th in Sagarin Conf. rankings
Big Ten stayed at 2nd in Pomeroy Conf. rankings
Big Ten stayed at 5th in RPI Conf. rankings
Iowa moved up one spot in the Big Ten RPI, stayed 9th in the Pomeroy in the BT.
(1/7/07 12:46:26 am)
RPI: 113 (up 40 spots)
Pomeroy: 73 (up 12 spots)
Sagarin: 106 (up 17 spots)
(1/8/07 9:46:21 am)
Since the weekend games:
RPI: 108 (moved up an additional 5 spots)
Pomeroy: 70 (moved up 3 more spots)
Sagarin: 100 (up another 6 spots)
Greenfield: 104
Massey: 98
Composite link from 26 ratings: 114 (one week behind)
(1/14/07 9:41:51 pm)
RPI: 109 (moved down 1 spot)
Pomeroy: 68 (moved up 2 more spots)
Sagarin: 94 (up 6 spots)
Greenfield: 102 (up 2 spots)
Massey: 99 (down 1 spot)
Composite link from 26 ratings: 92 (up 22 spots)
Iowa's Highest Ranking - 57 (Lynch)
Iowa's Lowest Ranking - 124 (SAP)
(1/26/07 10:42 am)
RPI: 111 (moved down 2 spots)
Pomeroy: 66 (moved up 2 spots)
Sagarin: 85 (moved up 9 spots)
Greenfield: 91 (moved up 11 spots)
Massey: 95 (moved up 4 spots)
Massey Composite link from 26 ratings: 93 (down 1 spot)
Iowa's Highest Ranking - 66 (Moore)
Iowa's Lowest Ranking - 136 (SAP)
(2/05/07 6:17 pm)
RPI: 86 (moved up 25 spots)
Pomeroy: 62 (moved up 4 spots)
Sagarin: 78 (moved up 7 spots)
Greenfield: 72 (moved up 19 spots)
Massey: 76 (moved up 19 spots)
Massey Composite link from 26 ratings: 80 (moved up 13 spots)
Iowa's Highest Ranking - 49 (Pigskin)
Iowa's Lowest Ranking - 118 (Rennie)
BIG TEN OUTLOOK:
Overall Conf W-L W-L Pomeroy/Rnk SOS/Rnk NCSOS/Rnk
Ohio St. 20-3 8-1 .9829/5 .7512/19 .5578/139
Wisconsin 22-2 8-1 .9797/6 .6894/47 .5263/159
Indiana 16-6 6-3 .9661/12 .7864/7 .6281/89
Iowa 13-10 5-4 .8755/62 .7095/37 .4609/220
Illinois 17-8 5-5 .9263/37 .7152/33 .5027/178
Michigan 16-7 4-4 .8925/55 .6297/95 .4102/260
Michigan St. 17-7 4-5 .9549/17 .6937/45 .4804/199
Purdue 15-8 4-5 .9082/44 .7482/20 .5859/117
Minnesota 9-14 3-6 .5705/141 .6829/55 .4773/202
Penn St. 10-11 1-7 .6703/114 .5567/141 .2975/319
Northwestern 11-11 1-8 .6874/106 .7065/40 .3827/277
TOP TEN RPI CONFERENCES:
Rnk Conference W-L Pct Overall RPI SOS(Rank) Non-Conf RPI Hi Lo Avg Median
1 Atlantic Coast Conference 128-33 .795 .5912 .5204 ( 6) .5766 ( 2) 2 163 53 33
2 Southeastern Conference 126-38 .768 .5899 .5290 ( 3) .5783 ( 1) 6 91 49 48
3 Pac 10 Conference 90-24 .789 .5849 .5176 ( 8) .5734 ( 3) 1 233 67 40
4 Big Ten Conference 115-38 .752 .5749 .5186 ( 7) .5621 ( 5) 4 197 73 47
5 Missouri Valley Conference 74-27 .733 .5699 .5108 (10) .5711 ( 4) 9 138 72 58
6 Big XII Conference 119-40 .748 .5674 .5080 (13) .5556 ( 6) 13 210 76 67
7 Big East Conference 156-52 .750 .5671 .5077 (14) .5496 ( 7) 3 188 77 59
8 Mountain West Conference 81-33 .711 .5603 .5011 (18) .5462 ( 8) 11 199 86 98
9 Western Athletic Conference 61-49 .555 .5212 .5083 (12) .5188 ( 9) 28 278 135 109
10 Atlantic 10 Conference 97-81 .545 .5153 .5074 (15) .5107 (12)
Fans Need to Lay Off Coach Alford; Iowa's NCAA Tourney Chances?
As I have written previously in my blog, I sincerely feel as if Steve Alford has turned the corner as the coach at the University of Iowa. Some think the turnaround happened last year, some think this year. Still others think Coach Alford should be run out of town. I will stick to my guns on the fact that I believe Alford made his move during the 03-04 season.
The coming out party was three years ago during the 03-04 season. Alford was able to rally the troops. Jared Reiner had a season-ending injury that hurt the Hawkeyes tremendously, as Brunner had to switch to the 5 spot. Reiner had a chance to be All-Conf. that year. Nick DeWitz and Sean Sonderleiter both left mid-season, which killed the continuity (and already short bench) of the team. Mike Henderson was ineligible for the second semester. Depending on Kurt Spurgeon and Jack Brownlee isn't something I wish upon any basketball program. I give them all the credit in the world, as they stepped up big, but let's be reasonable here. Iowa played with SEVEN scholarship players that year. SEVEN. They didn't make the dance, but it was the beginning of the turnaround for Alford, IMO.
The next year starts out great, then PP is kicked off. Hawks falter big time. Alford rallies the troops and gets into the dance.
Last year, nothing bad happening to the program, the team can focus on the season. Alford gets a 25 win season.
This year, injury to Mike early, no consistency on a inexperienced team, crappy practice times - not all players making all practices; second semester this team has a completely different look to it. They are playing extremely good BB right now, fantastic job by the coaching staff.
Alford first four seasons: 73-58 overall (25-39 conf)
Alford last three-plus seasons: 76-44 overall (33-25 conf)
I know I keep beating a dead-horse and no one agrees with me, but I truly think Alford turned the corner in 03-04 and has gotten better and better every year there after.
IOWA'S CHANCES AT AN AT-LARGE NCAA BERTH?
52.17%
This second half of the season team is heads and shoulders above the first half team.
If Iowa can steal one at either MSU or Wisky and take care of the rest, get one win in the BTT, they are in.
Otherwise, they probably need to go 4-2 with 2 BTT wins, 1 BTT win would put them on the bubble.
Don't mess with my BB predictions, I'm unconscious right now:
http://www.mostlynothing.com/2006/12/iowa-basketball-predicting-rest-of.html
The coming out party was three years ago during the 03-04 season. Alford was able to rally the troops. Jared Reiner had a season-ending injury that hurt the Hawkeyes tremendously, as Brunner had to switch to the 5 spot. Reiner had a chance to be All-Conf. that year. Nick DeWitz and Sean Sonderleiter both left mid-season, which killed the continuity (and already short bench) of the team. Mike Henderson was ineligible for the second semester. Depending on Kurt Spurgeon and Jack Brownlee isn't something I wish upon any basketball program. I give them all the credit in the world, as they stepped up big, but let's be reasonable here. Iowa played with SEVEN scholarship players that year. SEVEN. They didn't make the dance, but it was the beginning of the turnaround for Alford, IMO.
The next year starts out great, then PP is kicked off. Hawks falter big time. Alford rallies the troops and gets into the dance.
Last year, nothing bad happening to the program, the team can focus on the season. Alford gets a 25 win season.
This year, injury to Mike early, no consistency on a inexperienced team, crappy practice times - not all players making all practices; second semester this team has a completely different look to it. They are playing extremely good BB right now, fantastic job by the coaching staff.
Alford first four seasons: 73-58 overall (25-39 conf)
Alford last three-plus seasons: 76-44 overall (33-25 conf)
I know I keep beating a dead-horse and no one agrees with me, but I truly think Alford turned the corner in 03-04 and has gotten better and better every year there after.
IOWA'S CHANCES AT AN AT-LARGE NCAA BERTH?
52.17%
This second half of the season team is heads and shoulders above the first half team.
If Iowa can steal one at either MSU or Wisky and take care of the rest, get one win in the BTT, they are in.
Otherwise, they probably need to go 4-2 with 2 BTT wins, 1 BTT win would put them on the bubble.
Don't mess with my BB predictions, I'm unconscious right now:
http://www.mostlynothing.com/2006/12/iowa-basketball-predicting-rest-of.html
Monday, January 22, 2007
Iowa travels to Columbus, OH and meets Greg Oden; Frosh abuses the Hawks, dunks ensue, Iowa's streakiness continues
Just like the Illinois game in Champaign-Urbana, Iowa's opponent on Saturday was rude to the rim. Value City Arena was the host of yet another dunkfest courtesy of Iowa's lack of interior defense. Freshman Greg Oden abused the rim on a constant basis in the second half of the ballgame.
Surprisingly, Iowa's Seth Gorney was able to do an average job against Oden in the first half. Unfortunately after taking a charge from Conley Jr., Seth wasn't able to return to the floor. Ohio State capitalized on Gorney's absence. Fouls began to mount up on the Iowa bigs, and being down a player on an already below average front court was too much to make up. I, for one, was astounding that Gorney's presence would turn out to be a turning point in the ballgame. Looby, Angle, and Tate were no match for Oden down low. After holding Oden to 11 and 5 in the first half (I say hold will complete seriousness in my tone), Oden exploded in the second half with 18 and 5 (8 for 8 from the field and most of the FGs being huge two handed Shaq-esque dunks).
Going into the ballgame, I assumed that Oden would be able to put 20 and 10 against Iowa. He finished the game with a career high 29 points, and added 10 boards. While Oden did lead the team with 4 turnovers, he was clearly the reason Ohio State won (and handily at that). The Buckeyes' perimeter shooting was horrid (2-12 in the first half, 6-20 in the game), but Oden was there to take the game into his own hands.
While I have not been a big fan of Oden (I still feel he isn't the best freshman on his own team and isn't as complete as Durant from Texas), he was able to prove to me that he's an absolutely force in college basketball. A game like the one played on Saturday magnified Oden's game primarily because Iowa's front court is one of the worst in the Big Ten.
That said, Iowa was very much in this ballgame with 13 minutes to go, but then Oden went off. The score wasn't indicative of how competitive the game was for 30 minutes (yes, I realize games are 40 minutes and that's what counts).
STICKIES OF THE GAME (stats from the game that stick out at me):
IOWA'S STREAKINESS IN OFFENSIVE PRODUCTION CONTINUED ON SATURDAY NIGHT.
During their 8-0 run early in the first half, they made 3 field goals in 1 minute, 31 seconds.
The last 8:21 of the first half, Iowa only made 3 field goals, yet they had 5 turnovers in the same amount of time. Ohio State's lead went from 4 to 11. See below.
Surprisingly, Iowa's Seth Gorney was able to do an average job against Oden in the first half. Unfortunately after taking a charge from Conley Jr., Seth wasn't able to return to the floor. Ohio State capitalized on Gorney's absence. Fouls began to mount up on the Iowa bigs, and being down a player on an already below average front court was too much to make up. I, for one, was astounding that Gorney's presence would turn out to be a turning point in the ballgame. Looby, Angle, and Tate were no match for Oden down low. After holding Oden to 11 and 5 in the first half (I say hold will complete seriousness in my tone), Oden exploded in the second half with 18 and 5 (8 for 8 from the field and most of the FGs being huge two handed Shaq-esque dunks).
Going into the ballgame, I assumed that Oden would be able to put 20 and 10 against Iowa. He finished the game with a career high 29 points, and added 10 boards. While Oden did lead the team with 4 turnovers, he was clearly the reason Ohio State won (and handily at that). The Buckeyes' perimeter shooting was horrid (2-12 in the first half, 6-20 in the game), but Oden was there to take the game into his own hands.
While I have not been a big fan of Oden (I still feel he isn't the best freshman on his own team and isn't as complete as Durant from Texas), he was able to prove to me that he's an absolutely force in college basketball. A game like the one played on Saturday magnified Oden's game primarily because Iowa's front court is one of the worst in the Big Ten.
That said, Iowa was very much in this ballgame with 13 minutes to go, but then Oden went off. The score wasn't indicative of how competitive the game was for 30 minutes (yes, I realize games are 40 minutes and that's what counts).
STICKIES OF THE GAME (stats from the game that stick out at me):
- Points off turnovers-IOWA 8, OSU 21 *
- Bench points-IOWA 9, OSU 24
- Points in the paint-IOWA 26, OSU 46
- Ohio State: 25-33 from 2 pt FG range
- Conley, Jr. had 10 assist, dude is crazy good
- Iowa outrebounded Ohio State
IOWA'S STREAKINESS IN OFFENSIVE PRODUCTION CONTINUED ON SATURDAY NIGHT.
During their 8-0 run early in the first half, they made 3 field goals in 1 minute, 31 seconds.
The last 8:21 of the first half, Iowa only made 3 field goals, yet they had 5 turnovers in the same amount of time. Ohio State's lead went from 4 to 11. See below.
8:21
GOOD! FT SHOT by Lighty, David 08:05 23-19 H 4 FOUL by Tate, Cyrus
GOOD! FT SHOT by Lighty, David 08:05 24-19 H 5
REBOUND (DEF) by Conley Jr., Mike 07:51 MISSED JUMPER by Gorney, Seth
TURNOVR by Oden, Greg 07:41
07:05 TURNOVR by (TEAM)
GOOD! JUMPER by Oden, Greg [PNT] 06:51 26-19 H 7
ASSIST by Conley Jr., Mike 06:51
06:33 TURNOVR by Henderson, Mike
MISSED 3 PTR by Lewis, Ron 06:06 REBOUND (DEF) by Gorney, Seth
REBOUND (DEF) by Oden, Greg 05:57 MISSED 3 PTR by Freeman, Tony
MISSED 3 PTR by Conley Jr., Mike 05:46 REBOUND (DEF) by Haluska, Adam
FOUL by Terwilliger, Matt 05:12
05:10 26-21 H 5 GOOD! JUMPER by Gorney, Seth [PNT]
05:10 ASSIST by Freeman, Tony
GOOD! LAYUP by Terwilliger, Matt [PNT] 04:58 28-21 H 7
ASSIST by Conley Jr., Mike 04:58
04:38 TURNOVR by Smith, Tyler
04:38 FOUL by Smith, Tyler
GOOD! LAYUP by Butler, Jamar [PNT] 04:27 30-21 H 9
04:12 TURNOVR by Smith, Tyler
MISSED DUNK by Cook, Daequan 4:09 REBOUND (DEF) by (TEAM)
REBOUND (DEF) by Cook, Daequan 03:48 MISSED 3 PTR by Smith, Tyler
TURNOVR by Cook, Daequan 03:39
03:39 TIMEOUT MEDIA
REBOUND (DEF) by Cook, Daequan 03:11 MISSED JUMPER by Johnson, Justin
MISSED 3 PTR by Harris, Ivan 03:04 REBOUND (DEF) by Smith, Tyler
02:45 30-23 H 7 GOOD! LAYUP by Freeman, Tony [PNT]
02:45 ASSIST by Smith, Tyler
FOUL by Cook, Daequan 02:45 MISSED FT SHOT by Freeman, Tony
REBOUND (DEF) by Lewis, Ron 02:45
MISSED JUMPER by Oden, Greg 02:27 REBOUND (DEF) by Freeman, Tony
02:20 MISSED 3 PTR by Freeman, Tony
02:20 REBOUND (OFF) by Looby, Kurt
02:14 TURNOVR by Smith, Tyler
TURNOVR by Harris, Ivan 01:59
REBOUND (DEF) by Harris, Ivan 01:51 MISSED 3 PTR by Haluska, Adam
GOOD! FT SHOT by Lewis, Ron 01:37 31-23 H 8 FOUL by Freeman, Tony
GOOD! FT SHOT by Lewis, Ron 01:37 32-23 H 9
01:26 32-26 H 6 GOOD! 3 PTR by Haluska, Adam
01:26 ASSIST by Freeman, Tony
MISSED 3 PTR by Harris, Ivan 01:15
REBOUND (OFF) by Oden, Greg 01:15
GOOD! DUNK by Oden, Greg [PNT] 01:10 34-26 H 8
REBOUND (DEF) by Oden, Greg 00:54 MISSED JUMPER by Angle, J.R.
GOOD! DUNK by Oden, Greg [PNT] 00:44 36-26 H 10
ASSIST by Conley Jr., Mike 00:44
GOOD! FT SHOT by Oden, Greg 00:44 37-26 H 11 FOUL by Henderson, Mike
00:19 MISSED JUMPER by Angle, J.R.
00:19 REBOUND (OFF) by Looby, Kurt
REBOUND (DEF) by Conley Jr., Mike 00:11 MISSED 3 PTR by Haluska, Adam
TURNOVR by Conley Jr., Mike 00:02
FOUL by Conley Jr., Mike 00:02
Friday, January 19, 2007
It's Official: USC is my Dark Horse this Year
The USC men's basketball team has greatly improved under the direction of Tim Floyd.
They have taken out Oregon, Wichita St, and Arizona; they also took UCLA down to the wire. They don't have many bad losses on their schedule so far (their worst would be an OT loss at home vs. S. Carolina in the first game of the season OR the K State loss in Vegas). The only thing hurting their RPI right now are the home losses they suffered (S Car, WSU, and UCLA).
Therefore, I present the University of Southern California Trojans with the Official Darkhorse Award.
They have taken out Oregon, Wichita St, and Arizona; they also took UCLA down to the wire. They don't have many bad losses on their schedule so far (their worst would be an OT loss at home vs. S. Carolina in the first game of the season OR the K State loss in Vegas). The only thing hurting their RPI right now are the home losses they suffered (S Car, WSU, and UCLA).
Therefore, I present the University of Southern California Trojans with the Official Darkhorse Award.
Pat Hardy - "Alford unfair to point guard" - Cry me a river...
In his column on Jan 17, 2007, Pat Hardy writes that Iowa men's basketball coach, Steve Alford, made unfair comments about the team's point guard play at Indiana. Read the article here: Alford unfair to point guard
Pat Hardy
"Steve Alford reverted back to his old ways by throwing Henderson under the bus after the game."
Throwing under the bus? Hardly. Pointing out the truths of the game? Yes.
"Alford also blamed Henderson for causing the offense to bog down."
Well, when you turn the ball over 4 times, only have 1 assist, and score 5 points, I'd say that's an astute observation.
"It's also unfortunate and counterproductive because how does a player, even an experienced senior, benefit from being ripped publicly?"
It's called accountability, look into it.
"What's ironic about this is that Alford used Henderson's absence as an excuse for why Iowa struggled early in the season."
Pat needs a reality check.
Once Mike Henderson starts playing like a senior, perhaps then Alford will lay off Mike. There was nothing wrong in what Alford said in his quotes. The only apology that needs to be made is Mike Henderson to Hawk fans; his play has been awful at best. Alford was right to acknowledge the Hawks' lack of consistency early without Mike, they needed him in there to give them his ball handling skills, knack for getting to the hole, and leadership (something he was very efficient at the second half of last year). Once healthy, you'd think Mike would be able to get back to his old form, but right now the only thing he has been consistent at is getting called for palming.
Guess what, Pat? When players don't play well, they should be accountable. Don't whine about the coach. Mr. Hardy is probably one of those guys who blames the parents instead of the kids.
Pat Hardy"Steve Alford reverted back to his old ways by throwing Henderson under the bus after the game."
Throwing under the bus? Hardly. Pointing out the truths of the game? Yes.
"Alford also blamed Henderson for causing the offense to bog down."
Well, when you turn the ball over 4 times, only have 1 assist, and score 5 points, I'd say that's an astute observation.
"It's also unfortunate and counterproductive because how does a player, even an experienced senior, benefit from being ripped publicly?"
It's called accountability, look into it.
"What's ironic about this is that Alford used Henderson's absence as an excuse for why Iowa struggled early in the season."
Pat needs a reality check.
Once Mike Henderson starts playing like a senior, perhaps then Alford will lay off Mike. There was nothing wrong in what Alford said in his quotes. The only apology that needs to be made is Mike Henderson to Hawk fans; his play has been awful at best. Alford was right to acknowledge the Hawks' lack of consistency early without Mike, they needed him in there to give them his ball handling skills, knack for getting to the hole, and leadership (something he was very efficient at the second half of last year). Once healthy, you'd think Mike would be able to get back to his old form, but right now the only thing he has been consistent at is getting called for palming.
Guess what, Pat? When players don't play well, they should be accountable. Don't whine about the coach. Mr. Hardy is probably one of those guys who blames the parents instead of the kids.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Iowa Hawkeyes Go Cold Again; Indiana Takes Advantage
For the second game in a row, the Iowa Hawkeyes came down with a cold (cold shooting that is). Iowa went over 8 minutes without a FG in last night's game against Indiana. The drought, similar to the previous one vs. Minnesota, ended up costing Iowa the game this time.
RECAP OF STATS
1st Half
Pt in Paint - Iowa 6, Ind 8
Pt off TO - Iowa 4, Ind 7
2nd Chance pts - Iowa 4, Ind 9
2nd Half
Pt in Paint - Iowa 26, Ind 14
Pt off TO - Iowa 8, Ind 4
2nd Chance pts - Iowa 13, Ind 2
Entire Game
Pt in Paint - Iowa 32, Ind 22
Pt off TO - Iowa 12, Ind 11
2nd Chance pts - Iowa 17, Ind 11
Rebounds - Iowa 33, Ind 32
FGs - Iowa 25/55, Ind 25/54
3 pt FGs - Iowa 2/10, Ind 8/21
FT - Iowa 12/16, Ind 13/17
Indiana's Last FG of the Game was with 4:58 left.
Iowa scored 0 FG from 15:42 to 7:17 (8 min, 25 sec) left in the first half
Iowa scored 1 FG from 15:42 to 3:37 (12 min, 5 sec) left in the first half.
Iowa scored 2 FG from 15:42 to :49 (14 min, 53 sec) left in the first half.
Iowa scored 3 FG in the last 15:42 of the first half.
Iowa scored 17 points in the first half, yet still only trailed by a dozen. Hawks then came out and put up 47 in the second half, but it was too little, too late. Hawks lose by 7.
RECAP OF STATS
1st Half
Pt in Paint - Iowa 6, Ind 8
Pt off TO - Iowa 4, Ind 7
2nd Chance pts - Iowa 4, Ind 9
2nd Half
Pt in Paint - Iowa 26, Ind 14
Pt off TO - Iowa 8, Ind 4
2nd Chance pts - Iowa 13, Ind 2
Entire Game
Pt in Paint - Iowa 32, Ind 22
Pt off TO - Iowa 12, Ind 11
2nd Chance pts - Iowa 17, Ind 11
Rebounds - Iowa 33, Ind 32
FGs - Iowa 25/55, Ind 25/54
3 pt FGs - Iowa 2/10, Ind 8/21
FT - Iowa 12/16, Ind 13/17
Indiana's Last FG of the Game was with 4:58 left.
Iowa scored 0 FG from 15:42 to 7:17 (8 min, 25 sec) left in the first half
Iowa scored 1 FG from 15:42 to 3:37 (12 min, 5 sec) left in the first half.
Iowa scored 2 FG from 15:42 to :49 (14 min, 53 sec) left in the first half.
Iowa scored 3 FG in the last 15:42 of the first half.
15:42
TIMEOUT media 15:14
GOOD! 3 PTR by Ratliff, A.J. 14:48 8-8 T 1
ASSIST by Bassett, Armon 14:48
BLOCK by White, D.J. 14:26
FOUL by Ratliff, A.J. (P1T1) 14:19 8-9 V 1 GOOD! FT SHOT by Haluska, Adam
14:19 8-10 V 2 GOOD! FT SHOT by Haluska, Adam
GOOD! LAYUP by White, D.J. [PNT] 14:06 10-10 T 2
FOUL by Stemler, Lance (P1T2) 13:22
12:34 FOUL by Looby, Kurt (P1T1)
TIMEOUT media 11:58
GOOD! FT SHOT by Bassett, Armon 10:54 11-10 H 1 FOUL by Tate, Cyrus (P1T2)
GOOD! FT SHOT by Bassett, Armon 10:54 12-10 H 2
10:29 FOUL by Freeman, Tony (P1T3)
09:52 FOUL by Freeman, Tony (P2T4)
GOOD! JUMPER by Calloway, Earl [FB/PNT] 09:27 14-10 H 4
GOOD! LAYUP by White, D.J. [PNT] 08:36 16-10 H 6
ASSIST by Calloway, Earl 08:36
FOUL by Stemler, Lance (P2T3) 08:06
GOOD! 3 PTR by Stemler, Lance 07:31 19-10 H 9
07:30 TIMEOUT 30sec
07:16 19-13 H 6 GOOD! 3 PTR by Haluska, Adam
07:16 ASSIST by Smith, Tyler
TIMEOUT media 06:46
GOOD! 3 PTR by Wilmont, Roderick 06:41 22-13 H 9
GOOD! TIP-IN by White, D.J. [PNT] 06:17 24-13 H 11
FOUL by Ratliff, A.J. (P2T4) 06:08
04:17 FOUL by Henderson, Mike (P1T5)
FOUL by Calloway, Earl (P1T5) 03:58
03:58 TIMEOUT media
03:36 24-15 H 9 GOOD! JUMPER by Smith, Tyler [PNT]
GOOD! JUMPER by Wilmont, Roderick 03:02 26-15 H 11
BLOCK by White, D.J. 02:47
00:48 26-17 H 9 GOOD! JUMPER by Henderson, Mike
00:48 ASSIST by Smith, Tyler
GOOD! 3 PTR by Wilmont, Roderick 00:27 29-17 H 12
ASSIST by Stemler, Lance 00:27
FOUL by Wilmont, Roderick (P1T6) 00:10
BLOCK by Ratliff, A.J. 00:02
Iowa scored 17 points in the first half, yet still only trailed by a dozen. Hawks then came out and put up 47 in the second half, but it was too little, too late. Hawks lose by 7.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)