Iowa at Virginia, 7 p.m. today ESPN2
Iowa and Virginia tangle tonight in Charlottesville for the right to meet Maryland in the NIT semifinals Tuesday at Madison Square Garden. The Terrapins held on against Alabama on the road Tuesday night to take a 58-57 win in the quarterfinals. Of course, if Virginia beats Iowa, the 'Hoos will take on Maryland for a third time this season, adding extra intrigue to the game. It is well-documented that UVa had a chance to get to MSG earlier in the season. In the preseason NIT quarterfinals, the Wahoos fell to Delaware at home, 59-53, to spoil that chance. It hurt the 'Hoos in two ways: It was a loss to a team lower in the RPI so that affected Virginia's Big Dance chances. Second, it caused Virginia to stay home and face Lamar and North Texas in the consolation rounds. Both those teams were not good this year and ended up being drains on UVa's RPI. At MSG, Virginia could have faced Pittsburgh and Kansas State instead, two squads who made the NCAA tournament. They would have helped UVa's schedule strength tremendously. Based on the way Virginia played good opponents, it would not have shocked me if it would have beaten one of those teams, too. Nevertheless, even if it had lost to both, a win over Delaware plus the schedule strength bump the Cavs would have gotten might have been enough in itself to boost them to the Big Dance. We will never know, though. Granted, this is not as good. The NIT is not the NCAA tournament. But Virginia has a chance tonight to make things right in a way by winning in the postseason NIT quarterfinals and get that coveted trip to MSG it missed out in November.
Iowa's leaders:
6-foot-6 junior guard/forward Roy Devyn Marble -- 14.8 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 2.9 apg, 80.3 percent from the free throw line
6-foot-8 sophomore forward Aaron White -- 13.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 48.4 percent from the field, 73.8 percent from the charity stripe
6-foot-1 freshman guard Mike Gesell -- 8.7 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.8 apg, 78 percent from the line
6-foot-7 junior forward Melsahn Basabe -- 7.3 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 44 blocks
6-foot-7 junior forward Zach McCabe -- 5.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 75.9 percent from the line
6-foot-5 senior guard Eric May -- 4.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 73.5 percent from the line, 36.7 percent from 3-point land
7-foot-1 freshman center Adam Woodbury -- 4.7 rpg, 49.7 field goal percentage
A few things jump out at me as I study the Hawkeyes, who are 23-13 overall and went 9-9 in the Big Ten this season:
The Hawkeyes probably won't score a bunch of points. They score about 70 ppg, which is 100th in the country, but they seem to have good balance. Virginia's defense has been very solid lately. Except for the ACC tournament game against N.C. State when the Cavs allowed 75 points, they have allowed 53, 53, 58 (in 45 minutes), 56, and 50 points five of their past six games. I expect this to be a grind-it-out type classic Big Ten-type game, on the order of Virginia's 60-54 victory over Wisconsin in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, maybe with a little more scoring.
Iowa goes deep on the bench. I don't think the Hawkeyes will score much, but they can hit you with lots of different punches. That makes them dangerous. If one player isn't having a good game, many others are probably stepping up. Ten players average double-figure minutes per game, and nine of those average at least 15 minutes per game.
Iowa is not good on the road. Coach Fran McCaffery said that one of the reasons Iowa did not make the Big Dance was the Hawkeyes' lack of road wins, which haunted UVa as well. Iowa picked up just two all season (one less than UVa) at Northwestern and at Penn State, both sub-.500 teams. Virginia, on the other hand, has been spectacular at home, going 20-1 overall and looking for its 19th straight victory at JPJ.
UVa better not foul too much. Iowa shoots 72.2 percent from the line, which is very good. As you can see from above, there are lots of good free throw shooters on the team. The only player who gets major minutes that would be smart to foul is Woodbury, who shoots about 48 percent from the line.
Iowa might shoot well from the stripe, but it doesn't shoot well from anywhere else. The Hawkeyes shoot just 42.2 percent from the field, which ranks 230th in the country. Additionally, they shoot just 30.4 percent from 3.
The Hawkeyes' 'D,' though, is pretty solid. They give up 62.2 points per game, which ranks 68th in the country. They allow teams to shoot just 29.1 percent from 3, which is ninth in the nation. Virginia will need to move the ball quickly and crisply to get open looks from beyond the arc.
Iowa is not very experienced. There is only one senior that gets major minutes (like UVa with Jontel Evans) and just three juniors that gets lots of minutes. Otherwise, their rotation is made up of several sophomores and freshmen. This could help explain why Iowa (and Virginia) is good not on the road. Neither team has the veterans yet it takes to consistently win on the road. But as a side note, watch out for the Hawkeyes next season.
Iowa is getting better. Like Virginia, Iowa has shown improvement throughout the season. In the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, Iowa lost at Virginia Tech, 95-79. The Hokies went on to have a losing season. Later in the season, though, the Hawkeyes got good wins over Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Illinois. They also played Michigan State tough in a 59-56 loss in the Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis. Iowa has won five of its past six games and nine of its past 12. In the first two rounds of the NIT, at home, Iowa beat Indiana State, 68-52, and Stony Brook, 75-63.
Iowa and Virginia tangle tonight in Charlottesville for the right to meet Maryland in the NIT semifinals Tuesday at Madison Square Garden. The Terrapins held on against Alabama on the road Tuesday night to take a 58-57 win in the quarterfinals. Of course, if Virginia beats Iowa, the 'Hoos will take on Maryland for a third time this season, adding extra intrigue to the game. It is well-documented that UVa had a chance to get to MSG earlier in the season. In the preseason NIT quarterfinals, the Wahoos fell to Delaware at home, 59-53, to spoil that chance. It hurt the 'Hoos in two ways: It was a loss to a team lower in the RPI so that affected Virginia's Big Dance chances. Second, it caused Virginia to stay home and face Lamar and North Texas in the consolation rounds. Both those teams were not good this year and ended up being drains on UVa's RPI. At MSG, Virginia could have faced Pittsburgh and Kansas State instead, two squads who made the NCAA tournament. They would have helped UVa's schedule strength tremendously. Based on the way Virginia played good opponents, it would not have shocked me if it would have beaten one of those teams, too. Nevertheless, even if it had lost to both, a win over Delaware plus the schedule strength bump the Cavs would have gotten might have been enough in itself to boost them to the Big Dance. We will never know, though. Granted, this is not as good. The NIT is not the NCAA tournament. But Virginia has a chance tonight to make things right in a way by winning in the postseason NIT quarterfinals and get that coveted trip to MSG it missed out in November.
Iowa's leaders:
 |
| Roy Devyn Marble |
6-foot-6 junior guard/forward Roy Devyn Marble -- 14.8 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 2.9 apg, 80.3 percent from the free throw line
6-foot-8 sophomore forward Aaron White -- 13.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 48.4 percent from the field, 73.8 percent from the charity stripe
6-foot-1 freshman guard Mike Gesell -- 8.7 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.8 apg, 78 percent from the line
6-foot-7 junior forward Melsahn Basabe -- 7.3 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 44 blocks
6-foot-7 junior forward Zach McCabe -- 5.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 75.9 percent from the line
6-foot-5 senior guard Eric May -- 4.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 73.5 percent from the line, 36.7 percent from 3-point land
7-foot-1 freshman center Adam Woodbury -- 4.7 rpg, 49.7 field goal percentage
A few things jump out at me as I study the Hawkeyes, who are 23-13 overall and went 9-9 in the Big Ten this season:
The Hawkeyes probably won't score a bunch of points. They score about 70 ppg, which is 100th in the country, but they seem to have good balance. Virginia's defense has been very solid lately. Except for the ACC tournament game against N.C. State when the Cavs allowed 75 points, they have allowed 53, 53, 58 (in 45 minutes), 56, and 50 points five of their past six games. I expect this to be a grind-it-out type classic Big Ten-type game, on the order of Virginia's 60-54 victory over Wisconsin in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, maybe with a little more scoring.
Iowa goes deep on the bench. I don't think the Hawkeyes will score much, but they can hit you with lots of different punches. That makes them dangerous. If one player isn't having a good game, many others are probably stepping up. Ten players average double-figure minutes per game, and nine of those average at least 15 minutes per game.
Iowa is not good on the road. Coach Fran McCaffery said that one of the reasons Iowa did not make the Big Dance was the Hawkeyes' lack of road wins, which haunted UVa as well. Iowa picked up just two all season (one less than UVa) at Northwestern and at Penn State, both sub-.500 teams. Virginia, on the other hand, has been spectacular at home, going 20-1 overall and looking for its 19th straight victory at JPJ.
UVa better not foul too much. Iowa shoots 72.2 percent from the line, which is very good. As you can see from above, there are lots of good free throw shooters on the team. The only player who gets major minutes that would be smart to foul is Woodbury, who shoots about 48 percent from the line.
Iowa might shoot well from the stripe, but it doesn't shoot well from anywhere else. The Hawkeyes shoot just 42.2 percent from the field, which ranks 230th in the country. Additionally, they shoot just 30.4 percent from 3.
The Hawkeyes' 'D,' though, is pretty solid. They give up 62.2 points per game, which ranks 68th in the country. They allow teams to shoot just 29.1 percent from 3, which is ninth in the nation. Virginia will need to move the ball quickly and crisply to get open looks from beyond the arc.
Iowa is not very experienced. There is only one senior that gets major minutes (like UVa with Jontel Evans) and just three juniors that gets lots of minutes. Otherwise, their rotation is made up of several sophomores and freshmen. This could help explain why Iowa (and Virginia) is good not on the road. Neither team has the veterans yet it takes to consistently win on the road. But as a side note, watch out for the Hawkeyes next season.
Iowa is getting better. Like Virginia, Iowa has shown improvement throughout the season. In the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, Iowa lost at Virginia Tech, 95-79. The Hokies went on to have a losing season. Later in the season, though, the Hawkeyes got good wins over Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Illinois. They also played Michigan State tough in a 59-56 loss in the Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis. Iowa has won five of its past six games and nine of its past 12. In the first two rounds of the NIT, at home, Iowa beat Indiana State, 68-52, and Stony Brook, 75-63.
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