MEN'S BB: Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Kansas State Wildcats

VS.

GAME INFO: Sat., Nov 29, 2008 - 6:30 CST - Orleans Arena; Las Vegas, NV
IOWA: 5-1 (0-0); KenPom: 68/ Kansas State: 5-1 (0-0); KenPom: 82

TV COVERAGE: None (that I know of)
LISTEN ONLINE - http://www.kscj.com/
LINE - Iowa is a 5 point underdog at the neutral site.

Iowa takes on KSU tonight at 6:30 CST in the consolation round of the Las Vegas Invitational. Last night Iowa was out-physicalled (totally a word, by the way) by West Virginia. It was a rough and tumble first half where Iowa couldn't get much going (mainly because they turned it over 17 times in the first half). The mugging stopped in the second half courtesy of the refs actually calling fouls. Tucker lit it up again from behind the arc, scoring in double digits again (6th straight to start his career).

Kansas State forced something like 31 turnovers in the loss to Kentucky last night, so Iowa will be up against it as well. Iowa needs to hold onto the ball, they have been shooting well all season, but they don't get enough possessions to hang with some of the better teams.

No TV for the game as far as anyone knows - it might be shown on the FSS sports channel, but don't bank on it. LISTEN HERE

If Iowa can hold onto the ball, they can absolutely win this one... if the turnovers plague them, it will be a long, long night.

PREDICTION
Iowa - 67
Kansas State - 74

Men's BB: Iowa Hawkeyes vs. West Virginia Mountaineers

VS.

GAME INFO: Fri., Nov 28, 2008 - 8:05 CST - Orleans Arena; Las Vegas, NV
IOWA: 5-0 (0-0); RPI: 56 / West Virginia: 3-0 (0-0); RPI: 8

TV COVERAGE: MASN and SNY - DIRECTV (Ch. 639 and 640) and on the sportpack / DISH Network (Ch. 432). Mediacom will carry the game, as well.
LISTEN ONLINE - http://www.kscj.com/
OFFICIAL GAME NOTES - HERE
LINE - Iowa is a 9.5 point underdog at the neutral site.

The Mountaineers are a very dangerous, physical team. De'Sean Butler is probably their best player, but Alex Ruoff is guy that can really create match-up problems with his height and overall game. WVU also has a stud frosh in Devin Ebanks, who, in my opinion, could be their best player by the end of the year; he can do everything. The Mountaineers have shot the ball well through 3 games, esp. from 3 pt land. Overall, the Mountaineers are going to come out very tenaciuous tonight and Iowa had better be ready to be physical. WVU has a pretty stacked starting 5, but they can afford to be aggressive, as they are a very, very deep team.

Anthony Tucker for the Hawks continued his hot shooting last time out and, once again, finished with double digits points (his fifth straight to start his collegiate career) - AT finished the last game with a double-double (pts and boards). Look for Tate and Cole to be a bit more involved in the game tonight, as Iowa will need the on the glass and physical on the D end, as well. This game has special meaning for Devan Bawinkel, as he was shown the door by Mountaineer coach, Bob tHuggins back when he played for WVU two years ago.

KEYS TO THE GAME FOR IOWA:
1.) Handle the Press. There's no guarantee that WVU will press, but it would seem very likely if tHuggins did any sort of prep work for this game that he would be pressing Iowa all game long.
2.) Guard-Play Under Control. Peterson, Kelly, Tucker, Gatens all need to play poised tonight against a very hard-nosed backcourt from WVU.
3.) Limit Turnovers. Obvious.
4.) Knock Down the Open Jumpers. Iowa isn't going to get a lot of open looks tonight, they need to knock them down when they get them.

PREDICTION:
Iowa - 55
West Virginia - 64

OT: Sex in the Metrodome - More Info Released

This could get ugly, very quickly now that the details are coming out. It could be a he said, she said deal.

Feldman, the female in the article(s), says she doesn't remember anything according to the local Carroll paper.

The Des Moines Register's updated story says that it has ruined her life. She was fired from her job and has been outed.

Either someone is not telling the truth or we could have some HUGE legal issues arise from this.

I never know what to believe in these sort of deals, but who really does? Normally the people involved.

OT: Who Knew Iowa Football was an Aphrodesiac?

Illegal Use of Hands? You betcha'!

This is probably why they don't serve alcohol in Kinnick:
Iowa Fans Busted Having Sex in Metrodome Bathroom

I guess the fact that Iowa was up 55-0 was just too much for these two... No word if there was any foot tapping involved in the Metrodome stall.

I don't know what's more intriguing - the fact that there were 15 other people gawking at the lovefest or the fact that both people involved were cheating on their significant other. Imagine the walk back to the car after the game? Aaaaaaaackwaaaaaaaaard...

Proof enough that there was much more spanking occurring than just on the field on Saturday.

According to a WCCO report, the woman gave a false middle name. I doubt that happened, my guess is she was too drunk to remember.

Thanks for the link, Lane.

BHGP: A Picture Essay of the Win Over Minnesota (fossilhawk fanpost)

One of the funnier sports related items I've read in a while...

A picture essay of the win over Minnesota [BHGP]

Just a sample...


Take a look at the link, you'll be glad you did.

FOOTBALL: Shonn Greene is a Doak Walker Finalist

Shonn Greene, Jevon Ringer, and Knowshon Moreno are your 2008 Doak Walker Award finalists.

Congrats, Shonn.

Men's BB: Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Oakland Grizzlies

VS.

GAME INFO: Sun., November 23rd, 2008; Carver-Hawkeye Arena - Iowa City, IA
IOWA: 3-0 (0-0) / Oakland 1-2 (0-0)

TV COVERAGE: Big Ten Network - DIRECTV (Ch. 610)
LISTEN ONLINE - http://www.kscj.com/

LINE - NO LINE

Oakland's sole victory this year was Oregon's only loss, so Iowa should be ready for a team that going to give them a bigger challenge than The Citadel.

Gatens and Tucker have both scored in double digits in the three games to start their careers. I don't know the record for consecutive dbl digit scoring to start a career or if Iowa has ever had two froshes do it for even three games. With that aside, both Tucker and Gatens look very impressive on the court. Gatens looks like he is a Big Ten junior on the court, not only in stature, but in poise, as well.

Oakland did lose a key player to a foot injury about a week ago, so the team that took down Oregon is not the same one in Iowa City tonight. He was their top scorer, I believe.

Keys to the Game for Iowa
1.) Get Cole and Tate involved early. They have been nearly invisible early on this season.
2.) Big contributions from the froshes, specifically Gatens and Tucker.
3.) Stay out of foul trouble down low.


PREDICTION:
Iowa - 72
Oakland - 58

FOOTBALL: 2008 Week Twelve - Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers Preview

VS.

GAME INFO: Sat., Nov. 22, 2008 - 6:00 PM CST - The Metrodome; Minneapolis, MN
IOWA: 7-4 (4-3) NR; MINNESOTA 7-4 (3-4)

TV COVERAGE: BTN (HD)
IOWA'S GAMEDAY CENTRAL : VIEW HERE

LINE: Iowa is a 6 point favorite on the road.

---

All good things much come to an end, and even some awful things must come to an end, as well. Today marks the day when the last Minnesota - Iowa football game will ever be played in the Metrodome (i.e. - Kinnick North). Floyd of Rosedale has been in Iowa City the past year and I fully expect him to remain there. Minnesota has lost 3 in a row (I predicted they'd drop the final 4 of the season at the end of October), while Iowa has won 4 out of their last 5. Iowa has a very good chance to wind up in a January Bowl game, something that would have sounded silly last month. As long as Ohio State and Penn State both get BCS bids (meaning the Buckeyes need to beat Michigan and hope Oregon St loses one of its last two game), the Hawks, with a win, will likely be headed to Tampa Bay and the Outback Bowl. Even if Northwestern finishes ahead of Iowa with a 9-3 record, you can bet that the Hawks will get taken by the Outback. Furthermore, don't be surprised that even if Iowa loses and NW wins, that Iowa doesn't still take that bowl from NW even though it has 2 fewer wins (the Outback is one of the bowls that is exempt from the 2 win rule, as is the Alamo).

We are heading to Minneapolis shortly, to sit amongst the Gopher season ticket holders midfield, 20 rows up. Should be a blast - going to hit up the warehouse district before and after the game.

Enough of the babble - let's look at this game...

Eric Decker has been penciled in to start this game, but I have a hard time thinking he is 100%, or even 50% for that matter. A high ankle sprain is a hard injury to kick in a few weeks time. The Gophers are going to need to him to stretch Iowa's secondary. Without Decker, Iowa is going to be able to sit back in their regular defense and allow MN to dink and dunk, but I would be very surprised to see them do deep on Iowa with their current personnel. MN is also very young up front, so Iowa DL should be able to do a lot of damage. Adam Weber scares the crap out of me with his moxy and escapablity, however if Decker isn't effective, the Hawk will be able to spy him all game (a la - Juice Williams).

Iowa really doesn't have much on the offensive side of the ball to work with... unless you are talking about Shonn Greene - oh yeah, him. The nation's leading rusher and likely winnner of the Doak Walker Award and undoubtedly a first team All-American. Greene is going to run wild on the Gophers - look for 200+ yards in this one as well. Stanzi, once again, just needs to manage the game for Iowa to pull out the win.

Offensive Player of the Game: Shonn Greene
Defensive Player of the Game: Pat Angerer

---

PREDICTION:
Iowa - 38
Minnesota - 27

Gopher administrative bodies are hoping the goal posts can come down quickly tonight.

FOOTBALL: R.I.P. KINNICK NORTH!!

As we say goodbye to the Metrodome, let's look at the day the goalposts left the Dome...



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnUoQZUAdvA

Rest in Pieces, Kinnick North!

EDIT: Marc Morehouse sees it as one of the greatest moments in college football rivalries. I couldn't agree more.

MEN'S BB: Iowa Hawkeyes vs. The Citadel Bulldogs

See my prev. post about the game streamed.

Hope some of you can watch it.

This game will conclude the home and home these two teams had. Two of the coaches on The Citadel's staff are originally from Iowa (D-port, I believe). Iowa shouldn't have much trouble in this game, if they do, we are in serious trouble. In the season opener, The Citadel barely defeated a Bible School (no lie).

Jake Kelly and Jarryd Cole are still nursing injuries.
Look for the starting lineup of:
Peterson
Tucker
Gatens
Fuller
Tate

Iowa should be able to use Tate frequently down low.

PREDICTION:

Iowa - 78
The Citadel - 59