Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - 5 Hawkeyes prepare for the NFL Draft Combine, Iowa Hoops chances of a double bye in the Big Ten Tournament

Episode Date: March 2, 2023

Lukas Van Ness, Jack Campbell, Sam LaPorta, Riley Moss and Kaevon Merriweather prepare for the 2023 NFL Draft.The NFL combine is upon us and these 5 are in Indianapolis. Trent Condon returns to talk about them at the next level and what they meant to Iowa football during their careers in a Hawkeyes uniform.Then some basketball talk as the Iowa men's team gets ready for its regular season finale against Nebraska. A breakdown of what is needed in order for Iowa to get the double bye in the Big Ten Tournament along with a potential for a #2 seed.A look at the NCAA Tournament as well and just how high this Iowa team can continue to rise up the seed list.Finally some thoughts on the wrestling team as they get ready for the Big Ten Wrestling Tournament in Ann Arbor.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Don’t miss the chance to get your No Sweat First Bet up to ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS in Bonus Bets when you go FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Iowa basketball with a ton to play for on Sunday as they take on Nebraska. Looking for a bye. They needed a little bit of help in order to get there. They got it tonight. Good news on the Hawkeye basketball front. We also talk NFL draft and take a look at the Hawkeye prospects as the NFL Draft Combine gets started here today. All coming up on Locked on Hawkeyes.

Our Locked on Hawkeyes. Your daily podcast on the Iowa Hawkeyes. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hey, welcome in. I'm Trent Condon, and this is the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. Thanks for making Locked On Hawkeyes your first listen every single day. We're available wherever you get your podcasts, and you can also find us on YouTube. Make sure you hit that subscribe button while you're there. It'll just take a second.

Smash it, hit it, do whatever you need to to and get in front of more hawkeye fans that's what you help us do every time you hit that subscribe button and shout out to our latest followers out there while goodwin he jumped aboard in the subscriber base t wilder lm me just me hey welcome aboard it's got a nice cat avatar there ross Christensen, Topher Chris. Thanks to all of them for jumping aboard with us. Hit that subscribe button. Helps us out in a big time way. Well, we came into the week with question marks about this Iowa basketball team. They answered them in a big time way, as we talked about yesterday and locked on Hawkeyes and that monster victory against Indiana and completely changed the complexion of this Iowa basketball team

and what they were going to be going into the Big Ten tournament. Now they need a little bit of help. They got it last night in the victories that went their way. And now Iowa is just a win away from not only getting the double by a top four seed in the Big Ten tournament, the number two seed is the most likely spot that the Hawkeyes will end up with a win. We'll get into that a little bit more later on here today. We're also going to talk some Iowa football.

In fact, let's start right there. We haven't had a ton of football talk. Basketball's been so much fun, obviously, with what we've seen, the inconsistent nature at times of Iowa this year and the up and down nature of it. Of course, what the women's basketball team is doing here lately, the win last week against number one LSU for the Iowa baseball team. It's kind of dominated our conversations here. So I want to jump into some football. Excited to see, starting today, the NFL Draft Combine,

as we will see the defensive linemen get going. And it's going to start with Lucas Van Ness. So had an opportunity to see a couple of interviews from a couple of the Hawkeye draft prospects. Now, there are five guys that are at the NFL Draft Combine. Four of them defense, and one from the offense, Sam Laporta. Laporta has a chance to be, you know, third, fourth-round draft pick. That's where a lot of projections go.

Speed is going to be always a question. You're always looking for that extra gear, you know, what he's going to have there. We certainly saw throughout his career, making a ton of tough catches and the kind of numbers he was able to put up in a deplorable offense with a terrible quarterback. And he still put up numbers and I'm going to guess that there's going to be a lot of teams that are going to like the attention that he had. And he's going to turn, I think, into a really nice NFL player. Over defensively though, that's where I heard from today and listened to a couple interviews, one with Lucas Van Ness, the other in the media availability today with Jack Campbell. You want to start with Jack Campbell.

And we talked about throughout the course of this season, and if you could also, if you listen to me on the radio throughout really the last four years of Jack Campbell, just something special about him. I've told this story before. The first time I saw Jack Campbell, it was not on a football field. It was on a basketball floor. He was with the Cedar Falls High School team at the state basketball tournament. I knew we had an Iowa offer at that time, and he was a recruitable athlete.

He was going to be a D1 kid. And I saw him out there, and he wasn't clumsy. I mean, there was athleticism, size, but there was times, maybe a little plotting, and not exactly sure of himself. Wow. Well, I see him then the next year, this was as a sophomore, still growing into that body a little bit. I think it was six, four, six, five, maybe at that point, figuring things out, going through those growth spurts. And then I see him as a junior at the Unidome for the first time in the football

field. And I couldn't believe it was the same kid. I mean, just a completely different player on the football field as compared to what he was on the basketball floor. And right there, it was one of the best defensive players that I'd seen. I mean, he put together some performances as good as maybe dating back to Pat Angerer. If you remember what he did at Bettendorf in that state championship game, basically playing with one arm and he was an absolute wrecking crew. That was the kind of thing that I saw from Jack Campbell. It was completely different. But Jack Campbell, we know he's a great football player. There's no doubt about it. Middle linebacker,

it is not a need position like it once was in the NFL. You think back to the great Steelers linebackers. You think of a Mike Singletary. You think of those guys in the middle just piling up tons of tackles and right in the middle of things as everybody is three yards in a cloud of dust. It's a different game now. And because of that, the middle linebacker does not have the same stature that it once did. And on top of it, NFL teams look at it that, guys are kind of a dime a dozen. Yeah, there are some players out there that at middle linebacker

can make impact plays. You look at San Francisco and what they do. Now, you have to have the size and the speed, able to get depth, able to cover tight ends, be able to go back and play that center field at times. Brian Urlacher in somewhat recent history, he was a great player at doing that. And the thing that always impressed, and especially the Bears defense that they ran with the cover two back then, was the depth that he was able to get because of his speed at that middle linebacker spot. I don't know if Jack Campbell is going to have that kind of elite athleticism that is going to wow people and make him a second, third-round draft pick,

something like that. Again, just because it's middle linebacker in today's NFL. But we've heard Kirk Ferentz talk about Jack Campbell. We've heard people inside the program, and we've heard about great leaders that have come through the locker room. We've heard about those people that have changed kind of the complexion of Iowa. And there's been tons of them throughout the years. I mean, just too many to name at this point.

But Jack Campbell is special as a leader, as a football guy. And listening to him again today on the dais, as he's going through. He's just a special guy. I saw one note where people just were describing him as the kind of player that. It's easy. You plug them in, you're good to go, and you just don't have to worry about it. But not only that, the leadership quality. So even in an undervalued market for middle linebackers, is there going to be a team that takes a shot with him in the second round?

I don't know. It's going to depend on things like what he runs, what he does physically. Those things are still going to matter. But as it pertains to a leader, a person, a guy that's easy to root for, and a guy that you want hanging around your complex, there's no doubt about it. Jack Campbell, he's going to be at the top of that list. The big, of course, buzz guy is Lucas Van Ness. Not a starter at the University of Iowa, and kind of going down the same path as A.J. Epinesa that

we saw early in his career. Now, that is also by design with the Iowa defense. Iowa defensively up front, one thing that they've really worked to do over the last decade is build that depth up. one thing that they've really worked to do over the last decade is build that depth up. We saw dating back to the 2010 season coming off the great 2009, the orange bowl victory on and on and on playing for a big 10 title against Ohio state in the horseshoe. The next year they brought back a ton, including an all American and Adrian Claiborne, that defensive line.

They were stacked up. Roderick Vins and company, they were big time over there, but they didn't have depth. And there were so many games. I remember being in Chicago in Evanston for the game against Northwestern and just huffing and puffing because they didn't have the depth out there. And the following off season, Iowa went around the country, talked to a number of coaching staff, staffs, including Georgia. And they asked Mark Richt at the time and his coaching staff, you know, how do you do it? How does your defensive line year in and year out play at such a high level? Because Iowa had high-level guys, but they took a step back in 2010.

Well, it was very simple. You have depth. And the same thing here with Lucas Vandes. Yeah, he wasn't a starter, but he got plenty of snaps, and that number would have increased if he would have stuck around for another season. There's no doubt about that, but there's a reason behind it. And I've heard this narrative out there that, well, boy, Lucas Van Ness, he couldn't even start at Iowa. I think we all know that misnomer that is completely

wrong and just is not based at any kind of merit. It's the Iowa system. And I don't know anybody that can have a bad thing to say about Phil Parker as a football coach. If you do, hey, shoot me a message on Twitter at Trent Condon and let me know what negative you see with Phil Parker. How can that be a negative? The guy has been an absolute wizard of what he has done defensively. Year in and year out with this Iowa defense and continues to elevate it year after year after year. And a big part of that is what they do up front, making it easier for everybody in the back seven to be able to make

plays because those guys are doing their job. Get to the quarterback, rush defense year after year at a very high level, and they do it with depth. Lucas Van Ness, I think he is going to be a workout warrior. You know, really interesting kid too. Comes from a family. His dad was a chiropractor. He's never been injured in his life. Comes from a family. His dad was a chiropractor. He's never been injured in his life. He was a hockey player. He was a football player. I mean, that's a taxing toll on your body to be playing those two sports as your high

level sports. But yeah, he's had some bumps and bruises along the way. Chad Leistek, the Des Moines Register, had a really good article talking about him. Lucas Vandes, be ready. He's going to run a big, big number. I anticipate coming up here when he runs and he's going to run a big, big number. I anticipate coming up here when he runs and he's going to be the kind of guy that is going to put together a performance that not only is going to keep him in the top first round of the draft, which many people anticipate

top 20, but there's a buzz out there. This guy's going to be a top 10 guy and a real potential for him. The three other guys that are going to be at the combine this week, we mentioned Laporta on the offense, two other defensive guys. First, Riley Moss. I called a bunch of Riley's games in high school on the radio, and he was a guy, really talented athlete. You could see that track guy, had speed, working that eight-centennial old school offense with the Pizzettis, but what he did defensively, what he did as a returner, you could see that he was an elite athlete. Got the gray shirt offer from Iowa, and that meant he was not a full scholarship guy right away. He was anticipated that he was going to have to pay his own way for the first semester

his freshman year at Iowa, and then after that, he'd be put on scholarship. Well, a scholarship opened up, and away he went, and opened eyes right away. Let's be honest. When you look at him, he doesn't look. He was, and away he went and opened eyes right away. Let's be honest. When you look at him, he doesn't look like a quarterback, right? This guy with the long hair and the flowing locks. And well, frankly, we haven't seen a whole lot of white cornerbacks in the NFL. Jason Sehorne, that's the first one that springs to mind. How long ago was that?

That Sehorne was in the league before injuries derailed what was looking to be a very promising career. It just, it's the reality of the position. He is different, but going back to what he did in the senior bowl, and he turned a lot of heads there. He's a guy that out of high school, didn't have a full scholarship right away from Iowa, though it ended up being that way. Didn't have an opportunity to be one of those guys that is looked at as a surefire on the message boards, people even questioning, are we sure we even want to offer a gray shirt to this kid? And then what he has done, the kind of playmaker that he became,

locking down a side of the field time in and time out. He's going to be a fun one. I think he's also, because of his track background, going to be a guy that's going to test out well. And after what it did at the senior pool, he's going to be a draftable prospect. Then finally, Kayvon Merriweather. Kayvon Merriweather, when we look back, the summer of 2020 and the racial disparity arguments that were out there, and we talked about the court case yesterday a little bit on the show,

and Kirk Ferentz, Chris Doyle, Brian Ferentz, and Gary Barta being dismissed from the case, what that means, and you can go back and listen the case, what that means. And you can go back and listen to that a little bit more. But Kayvon Merriweather was one of the people. Excuse me. He was one of the people that was up there when they came back answering questions. Now, you also remember that time they had a press conference outside because it was the summer of 2020. We're still mired in the beginning stages of a pandemic.

Nobody knew exactly what was going on. There was tons of misinformation out there. Nobody really had a clue at that point. So you had the media all spread out on these folding chairs sitting out there outside. And the way that he stood by the program, it would have been very easy for a guy like that to move on. He didn't do that. He worked to change the culture for black athletes in the Iowa football program. And it wasn't just lip service.

It was real work that needed to be done. I mean, that's leadership. Talk about Jack Campbell's leadership through the roof. Kayvon Merriweather as well. He might look back as important. And if Iowa certainly continues down the path and the success that they have had since then and the wins that they piled up in 2020 and 21 and even this season, though a disappointing 2022 of what could have been.

And if Kirk gets back to a Big Ten championship game in 2023 and rides off into the sunset or even puts together another couple of years and does it with great success. An important piece to that and keeping this whole ship afloat is Kayvon Merriweather. I don't think you can overstate how important Kayvon was to this Iowa team, this Iowa program, what they have been over the last three seasons. Tip of the ball cap to him. Let's hope that he tests out well, that he gets drafted at a high spot.

Saw a lot of projections, fifth to sixth round, something in that range there. We will see. But more than anything, what he has meant to Iowa football certainly goes a really, really long ways. We continue the conversation here on Locked On. Hawkeyes, when we come back, we talk a little basketball. Iowa, after the win against Indiana, in really good shape to get a double bye,

just takes a win against Nebraska. Will they need just a little bit of help coupled with a win against the Huskers? They got it. We'll get into that. Look at seeding possibilities and also the NCAA tournament. How high can this Hawkeye team go up the seed line? We'll do that as we roll through here on Locked on Hawkeyes. team go up the seed line.

We'll do that as we roll through here on Lockdown Hawkeyes. Today's episode of the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast is brought to you by our friends at FanDuel. Well, the NBA season in the second half is heating. Now it's the perfect time for you to download FanDuel, America's number one sportsbook. New customers, how about this? You're going to get a no sweat first bet up to $1,000. That's bonus bets back if your first bet doesn't win. Just download the FanDuel Sportsbook app.

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Trent Catter rolling through here with you on Locked On Hawkeyes. As always, thanks for making Locked On Hawkeyes your first listen every single day. So let's get back into the basketball after we talked yesterday, the win against Indiana, just a dominating performance. The fun that was had, the smiles that were out there, Peyton Sanford doing Peyton Sanford things, Tony Perkins going off in his home state. It was a thing of beauty. And we've seen it a couple of times this season when Iowa gets that offense revved up and when the defense is making some stops too it just goes

hand in hand Iowa one of the few things they are good defensively this year at is forcing turnovers and you see how that coupled with what they want to do offensively the pace that they like to play at getting the ball up secondary breaks all the things that they do, the motion offense. Well, when you get a couple of stops, it really helps out what they're doing. But we talked about that yesterday. Go back, listen to the podcast if you missed it. But we know, and we talked about it a little bit, what Nebraska in the matchup means. You win against Nebraska, the chances were you're going to get a double bye.

Now, there were a scenario where six things had to happen along even a five wins that they didn't get a double bye. Well, one of those was Maryland had to win out. What did they do last night? Well, they go and lose 73-62 to Ohio State, to the Buckeyes, who suddenly started to play a little better basketball. Then another help as it pertains to jumping up, not just getting a top four seed in the double bye, meaning that Iowa doesn't have to play until the quarterfinals on Friday, well, you're battling a few other teams. One of them, Northwestern.

Northwestern in overtime loses at home to Penn State. It's all coming together. And now the scenarios are out there where Iowa has a chance, not just a chance. They are the odds on favorite to get the number two seed in the Big Ten tournament. I mean, think of how unlikely this was as you're sitting around at 1255 on Saturday afternoon. And I was down 13 to Michigan State with a minute and a half left, and I thought it was over. Be honest. You did too.

And here we are now talking about this team coming off a two-game losing streak, played horribly against a bad Wisconsin team. Just absolutely ugly there. Got run out of the gym by Northwestern. You hit six of 52 three-pointers in those two games, you're saying there's no shot. And here they are, wins against Michigan State and Indiana. The season sweep against the preseason favorite in the Big Ten.

Remember, that's what Indiana was supposed to be coming into the year. And though they were playing a lot better basketball and then themselves have a sweep against Purdue, I was swept to the Hoosiers this year. And now this is what the possibilities are. So again, this comes from Matt Hackman, and he has all kinds of scenarios out there for Big Ten, Big 12, all kinds of different conferences. Big East, I saw he had that up there.

And basically what he does is he generates, runs a simulation, a bunch of things, spits out the results and what it is. So this is what it spits out right now iowa after the games tonight last night excuse me on wednesday evening has a 68 chance of getting the number two seed a 12 chance of getting the number three seed and a four percent chance of getting the number four so add that all up an% chance now of getting the double bye. And all it takes is a win against Nebraska to have that happen. And you look through all the different scenarios. Iowa is in such a great spot here. You look at the way that the

bracket would spit out. If basically if Iowa wins now, let's play that game. Iowa wins their game against Nebraska. Simple as that. And everything plays out according to the way that it does. Now, this is not going to happen, right? There's going to be upsets. Well, we saw tonight. Upsets certainly are going to happen. But just for argument's sake, this is what your Big Ten bracket would look like.

Purdue, of course, is the number one seed. They take on the winner of the 8-9 game. That's Illinois-Michigan playing in the 8-9 game. Your number two seed is the Iowa Hawkeyes. We get the winner in Michigan State, Wisconsin. Boy, it'd be sweet to get another shot against Bucky the Badger. The number three seed in this scenario is Rutgers. They would get Indiana the sixth seed or Minnesota-Nebraska coming out of the 14-11 game.

And your number four seed, Maryland, who would get Northwestern the five or Ohio State-Penn State, who comes out of the 12-13 game. That's the way that it's set up if it goes according to plan. It won't, but we got you covered. We'll be here with you. We'll have those brackets on Sunday night after everything goes final. Iowa, it's very simple. Get the win against Nebraska.

Now, I know what you're thinking because I've had the same thought. November, Black Friday, the Huskers coming to town and the Hawkeyes crapping their pants against Nebraska. This isn't going to happen, is it? That Iowa football team, man, they had so many deficiencies. Nebraska is a lot better basketball team than they were a football team this year, which is crazy to say. It shows you how much Nebraska had fallen. I don't think there's any doubt about that. It's a lingering doubt. And I know the narratives, they can be difficult because I fell down the narratives on Tuesday night. Ah, there's no way this Iowa team could go in and beat Indiana. They've struggled shooting the ball in every game away from

Carver Hawkeye Arena except for one against Rutgers. No way it's going to continue. Indiana coming off the high of Purdue. Well, that's narrative-based. And what happened? Dead wrong. Love to be wrong as it pertains to things like that.

Connor McCaffrey playing for the final time in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Phil Pabraccia in there for the final time. Likely Chris Murray out there for the final time. I just can't see it. I can't envision that this one goes in the L column. Now, Nebraska, absolutely. And some of the problems we've seen defensively from Iowa, they come out, they can hit 12, 14 three-pointers,

and it's a different conversation. And we're going to be frustrated if it plays out. But there is a ton there. So taking it a step further. And what Iowa, what they can be now in the NCAA tournament. Because good or bad, the reality is that for Iowa basketball right now, these regular season runs have been great. And for him, McCaffrey's had this team now for a decade in the top half of the Big Ten

with a ton of top five finishes. He has accomplished that. He has got Iowa basketball back to the level they were in the 90s. He's got them back to what they were during that period of time. And in fact, has improved some things. But the one negative, he's got a Big Ten championship now in the tournament. He's won games in the tournament, but he hasn't won two. He hasn't put them back to back and got to that second weekend. And that's what still lingers. Dr. Tom did it in his final season year before his contract wasn't renewed. He was a lame duck coach going into that year. And of course that team absolutely loved him. And there was a little something in that round of 32 game against Arkansas out in Denver when they got the victory

against the Razorbacks and marched into the Sweet 16 where they ultimately fell to UConn, who was the number one seed in the West, and the team that went on to win the national championship. But with this, you got to have the path. They had the path last year. It was an awful performance against Richmond. No two ways about it. And Keegan got digged up early in the game. He wasn't himself. Shots weren't falling. But that's what it's going to come down to Iowa basketball. Well, to get there, what do you got to do?

Well, you get the right path. So going into play here this last night on Wednesday evening, this has not been updated yet. Bracket Matrix, I've talked about it before. It takes all the bracketologists out there up to 107 of them now on the list as it keeps growing as more and more people later in the season start to add themselves to the list and doing more bracketology. They are still solidly on the eight line.

In fact, the second team listed on the eight line right now going into play here this evening. So that's where they are. But Maryland lost tonight. They were ahead of them. Kentucky lost tonight. They were ahead of them. But Maryland lost tonight. They were ahead of them. Kentucky lost tonight. They were ahead of them. Northwestern lost tonight. They were ahead of them. We also have to remember that this isn't just in a vacuum. Things are changing. There's a real possibility the teams that Iowa's played, that's right on that cut line, that they can jump

up and become quad one victories. And that resume that we think we have a pretty good handle on right now, it can change a ton too. What they have, five quad one victories. And that resume that we think we have a pretty good handle on right now, it can change a ton too. What they have five quad one victories right now very easily could be eight, nine, 10 by the end of the season, depending on the way that things play out and the way that teams move up. You know, Seton Hall is on a run in the big East tournament.

I don't anticipate that, but if it would happen, they get back up into the top 75. That becomes a road victory and a top 75 win that they have on their resume. And that's a quad one victory, a road win against the top 75 team, Michigan State, Maryland. I believe Rutgers is right on that cut line right now. So there's a lot of teams, I think Illinois also there. There's a lot of teams that are on that cut line that could be very well the difference between Iowa having a lot better looking resume than what they have.

Plus the opportunity that's in front of them. You go, you get that double pie. You don't have to worry likely about a bad loss on your ledger. That's huge. You get a win against, say, a number seven seed Michigan State. You get a second win against Michigan State. That's going to help a ton. You get an opportunity against a Northwestern or a Maryland or whoever it turns out to be,

that's a quality victory. Maybe even get a shot against Purdue again. How high can this Iowa team go? Maybe number five, a five seed, if everything plays out. That's basically going all the way, I think. I think that six seed, though, that's a sweet spot. First of all, you're taking on an 11th seed. Could be a team that's coming out of Dayton.

That's happened plenty of times in the past. But those three seeds, the three seeds right now, Kansas State, Marquette, Tennessee, Gonzaga, don't wow you. The path is there. Get to the sixth seed. I think we could be in really, really good shape to get to that second weekend and get that monkey off of Freya McCaffrey's back. We wrap things up here on the other side, here on Locked On Hawkeyes.

A busy time, tons going on. Thanks, as always, for making Locked On Hawkeyes your first listen every day. And make sure you check out our brand-new podcast with March here, Locked On College Basketball, everything you need to know about college hoops in one place. Plus, hear from big-name experts, insiders, coaches, and players with Locked On College Basketball, available on YouTube and wherever you get podcasts. We finish things up as we roll through here on a Thursday edition of Locked On Hawkeyes.

Back with you one final time on the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. As always, thanks for making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every single day. One thing I do want to do before we get to the end of the week, do want to preview Iowa Wrestling as they make their way to Ann Arbor for the Big Ten Wrestling Championships. It's crazy to say. We're talking about Iowa Wrestling. But winning a big 10

championship, it just doesn't matter this year. Same kind of thing. It comes down to what you do in the NCAAs and trying to chase things down. And we're going to break down the seating of the way that set the things are set up. Obviously the automatic qualifiers in each of the weight classes for Iowa, they got to get 10 there. You have to start at that point. Iowa wrestling has to get all 10 wrestlers to the NCAAs. And then you're going to have to have the Spencer Lee's of the world going to take care of themselves, right? Real Woods, we're feeling really good about him and the way that he has wrestled here over the last month. You're feeling great about him, not just being an All-American, but the potential to being a

finalist and getting him a shot of winning a national championship. Those guys are well and good, and they're going to score some bonus points, and you're hoping Spencer Lee scores a ton of them, because to chase down the behemoth that is Penn State, that's what it's going to take. All 10 guys there, but then that next tier of guy, Brody Teske, winning some matches. When you have an opportunity, a guy like Warner or Tassiope, not just winning, not just advancing in the bracket of 32,

but really making a run with bonus points. That's what's going to have to happen. The math is there. It's not going to be easy. Going to need a little bit of help and you're going to have to have Penn State probably not wrestle to the best of their abilities. That's also the reality of the situation, but that is what's going to have to happen for Iowa wrestling

if they're going to ultimately win at NCAAs. Get all 10 guys there and then see where the chips fall. That'll do it for today here on Locked On, Hawkeyes. A lot more coming. We got more football talk coming up later for you in the week on Friday. LaShawn Daniels is going to join us. We'll talk some Iowa football as the football team gets ready for spring practice and plenty of storylines going on there.

Also an interesting football note. I want to talk to you guys a little bit about transfers and the guys, at least positionally, that usually are the most impactful transfer players. Some interesting stuff from Bill Connolly of ESPN.com. Their S&P Plus metric, his S&P Plus metric that rates teams. And now we're early on in, of course, the transfer portal era, and we haven't seen a ton of data, but his data says there's a couple of position groups that are very important.

We'll talk about that coming up on the Friday edition. We'll get set for the weekend as well. We'll know who the Iowa women get ready to play in the Big Ten basketball tournament up in Minneapolis. Hope a lot of Hawkeye fans can make it up there for that. I know that's going to be big time and an opportunity to win another tournament crown for the women as the number two seed in the Big Ten tournament. Maybe a rematch against Maryland in the semifinals, Indiana in the championship game. We'll sign me up for that over the weekend. Should be a lot of fun. Iowa baseball, another road trip for them after they get the home victory in the home opener against

Loras earlier in the week and the big wins last week against Kansas State and of course number one LSU. We'll talk about that. Busy time. We got basketball. We got baseball. We got football talk. We got softball going on. Track and field. I mean, you name it, we got it. Hawkeye sports. It is a good, good time to be a Hawkeye. It, good time to be a Hawkeye. It's always great to be a Hawkeye. We'll be back with you tomorrow. Thanks for making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every day.

Again, it's time right now. Get ready for your brackets. Get everything set up with Lockdown College Basketball with our experts, Isaac Shade and Andy Pratton, bringing you everything you need to know about college basketball all in one spot. They bring in the big names out there. our experts here on the Lockdown Network, coaches, players all throughout college basketball with Lockdown College Basketball available on YouTube

and wherever you get podcasts. We'll talk to you again tomorrow. Go Hawks.