Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - Caitlin Clark is frontrunner for B1G Player of the Year | Big Ten conference tournament seeding review | Will Joe Wieskamp go to the NBA?

Episode Date: February 16, 2021

Two Iowa Hawkeyes claim Big Ten Player of the Week awards so we have an award discussion. Find out why Iowa should claim back to back men's and women's Big Ten Player of the Year honors and whether or not Joe Wieskamp can make First Team All-Big Ten. We also check in on Luka Garza's National Player of the Year resume and wrap up with a basketball conference tournament discussion. What does Iowa need to have happened to improve its seeding and why the 4th seed isn't so bad after all.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 “LOCKEDON,” and you’ll get 20% off your next order.BetOnline AGThere is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKEDON for your 50% welcome bonus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You are Locked On Hawkeyes, your daily podcast on the Iowa Hawkeyes. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome back, Hawkeye Nation, to a Tuesday morning episode of the Locked On Hawkeyes Podcast, your daily podcast covering your Iowa Hawkeyes on the Locked On Sports Network. As always, I am your host, Andrew Wade, and there are a lot of topics to cover on today's show. We're going to talk about Luka Garza. Is he truly the frontrunner for National Player of the Year right now?

I know there's been some talks about the decline over the last couple games. Is he the guy in front? We're going to tell you why he is. A couple Iowa Hawkeyes won some additional weekly awards from the basketball front, Joe Wieskamp and Kaitlin Clark. We're going to talk about both of those players and whether or not Joe Wieskamp can get his inevitable first-team All-Big Ten honor and whether Kaitlin Clark can repeat for Big Ten Player of the Year from an Iowa Hawkeye perspective. I mean, for Iowa Hawkeyes, for them to repeat having a Big Ten Player of the Year as they've had for the last three seasons. Can Kaitlin Clark make it the fourth in the row?

And we're going to talk about all that on today's show. We're also going to talk a little bit of the NBA draft talk, and we have some announcements from the wrestling front and the women's swimming and diving front, and also get into some rankings talk. What is Iowa, or where is Iowa currently at in the standings? What do they need to do for the rest of the season? How could they still win a Big Ten title or improve their seating perspective? We're all going to get that on the show today.

Let's kick it off, though, with some women's swimming and diving news because the program has officially been reinstated for the following year. On the announcement, Iowa did say, We made the decision the right thing to do was to reinstate the women's swimming and diving program and remove any uncertainty moving forward for our current student athletes, as well as high school swimmers considering attending the university of Iowa. Um, a couple of things to think about this first, awesome stuff for the women's swimming and diving team. Love to see it. I wish they would have, you know, made that decision a little bit earlier. I know from a

recruiting perspective, it can be a little bit more difficult when you're trying to recruit and you don't have a team for next year. We're already halfway through the fall semester, or at least a third of the way into that spring semester, can be a little bit difficult from a recruiting perspective. We'll be interested to see how this impacts that women's swimming and diving team going forward. One of the reasons why this was possible, though, obviously there's been a concerted effort to get these teams reinstated, including the men's swimming and diving team, men's gymnastics, and men's tennis. But Iowa did originally estimate a financial deficit of $75 million due to the COVID pandemic. They now have reduced that to approximately $50 to $60 million. So

giving them a little bit of wiggle room to potentially add some programs back. It'll be interesting to see if they are able to continue adding programs back. I know it was a tough decision. It was a decision I didn't agree with, but it seems like they're willing to make some changes based on the new information they have available to them. So fantastic news for the women's swimming and diving team being back in action for the Iowa Hawkeyes for the foreseeable future. On the wrestling front, we talked about this as well.

We didn't know what was going to happen with the men's wrestling team because they were not able to wrestle this past weekend against Penn State, taking a layoff due to COVID issues. They did release a statement, though, a statement coming from that program. At the direction of the University of Iowa medical team, the Iowa Athletics Department announced Monday that the Iowa wrestling program has returned to limited in-person activities, ending a seven-day pause in response to positive COVID-19 test results within the program. Iowa will continue to follow Big Ten Conference medical protocols and the direction of the UI medical team regarding a full team return to in-person activities. At this point, Iowa's duel with Northwestern scheduled for February 19th on a Friday has been postponed out of an abundance of caution surrounding the health and safety of the participants. A determination of the Hawkeyes' duel scheduled at Wisconsin for Sunday, February 21st will be made later this week. So, good news.

Iowa returning to the mat. We still have no idea what's going to happen from a wrestling perspective, and it's important to note that the Big Ten Conference Tournament is just around the corner as well. So, are they going to be able to fit these wrestling matches in? Do they want to fit these wrestling matches in? I kind of err on the side of

does it really matter at this point as long as the Iowa wrestlers are healthy and in shape? Maybe just go and focus on the Big Ten Wrestling Tournament. We still know how good these wrestlers are. We've seen them in action enough. Obviously, returning a ton of guys, we know how good this team can be. I kind of err on the side of, at this point, just wait until the Big Ten Conference Tournament until they get into action there.

But that's just me. Obviously, as we get more information going forward on that, we're going to keep you posted on all that news. Also, some news that came out yesterday as well. Joe Wieskamp winning Big Ten Player of the Week. Awesome stuff for him. He's been on an absolute tear, and it's pretty impressive seeing what he's done. Also, Kaitlin Clark winning co-Big Ten Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week as well. I'm going to read to you those statistics, though, for what Kaitlin Clark did. Then get to what Joe Wieskamp has done.

Because, again, truly phenomenal stuff all around from both players. From the men's perspective, Joe Wieskamp. Again, we know how much of a tear he's been on the past couple weeks. Again, we know how much of a tear he's been on the past couple weeks. He averaged 23.5 points, 8.5 rebounds per game, and wins over Rutgers and Michigan State. Also shot 71% from three, which is just absolutely amazing. 16 of 27 from the field, and added four assists, two steals, and one block in those two games. He's hit some season highs in terms of points and rebounds and just really just a phenomenal, phenomenal week all around from Joe Wieskamp

earning his first player of the week accolade for his career. He was also named two-time freshman of the week back in the 2018-2019 season. And again, this is the trajectory of Joe Wieskamp. So coming up on segment number two, we're going to get into whether or not he can win first team All-Big Ten and talk a little bit about his NBA draft prospects. Before we get into that, though, obviously we've got to get to the Kaitlyn Clark news as well because she is just setting records all over the place, scoring 39 points on 12 of 18 shooting against Nebraska. Also grabbed 10 rebounds, had 7 assists, registered her 6th double-double of the

season in that game. She now collects her 10th Big Ten Freshman of the Week award, and that ties a conference record. She also gets her 4th overall Player of the Week award, which ties a record by a freshman for most Player of the Week awards. So awesome stuff from Kaitlin Clark. On segment number two, along with Joe Wieskamp and his NBA prospects and first-team All-Big Ten prospects, we're going to talk about Kaitlin Clark and whether or not she can win Big Ten Player of the Year, making it four straight for the Iowa Hawkeyes. That is all coming up on segment number two of the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. Before we get into that, though, you know I've got to tell you about

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with analysis from our local experts. Start your day with all the sports news you need in under 20 minutes. Subscribe to Locked On Today wherever you get your podcast at. And on segment number two of the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast, we're getting into some conversation about Kaitlyn Clark, Joe Wieskamp, and diving a little bit into NBA prospects before we hit segment number three,

talking about what Iowa needs to do the remainder of the season to continue to improve their seed in the Big Ten tournament and why that is so important. Let's focus first on Kaitlyn Clark though, because I wanted to dive in to see whether or not she did have a good chance of winning Player of the Year. I already know she has Freshman of the Year on lockdown. I know for a fact she is going to be Big Ten, our first team, all Big Ten. That's a guarantee here.

I really would be shocked if there's anything different other than that. But I truly believe she might actually be the frontrunner for Player of the Year as well. Let's look at what she's done. She leads the Big Ten in assists per game. She's second in scoring. And she's 22nd in rebounding per game and 24th in steals per game as a freshman. The only person that really is kind of a competitor for her in this aspect is Naz Hillman from Michigan. But even then, Kaitlyn Clark blows her out of the water in most of those statistics.

I also wanted to take a look at what Kathleen Doyle did last year, because we all know what Megan Gustafson did over two years. Her shooting percentage was outstanding. Rebounds-wise, she was just top of the charts. But Kathleen Doyle is an easier comparison to Kaitlyn Clark, both being guards. Now, Kathleen Doyle not necessarily being the point guard, but still being a guard nonetheless compared to Kaitlyn Clark. Kathleen Doyle in her all Big Ten and Player of the Year season averaged 18.1 points per game, 6.2 assists per game, 1.8 steals per game. She shot 40% from the

field and 30% from three and also brought in 4.6 rebounds per game. Now listen to Kaitlyn Clark's stat line because it will blow you out of the water. 26.6 points per game. So over eight points more than Kathleen Doyle. 6.5 assists per game. So just a little bit more. 1.4 steals per game. A slight dip there.

6.4 rebounds per game. Almost two rebounds more per game than Kathleen Doyle. And then the shooting percentage. 46% from the field rebounds more per game than Kathleen Doyle. And then the shooting percentage, 46% from the field, shooting 6% better than Kathleen Doyle did, and her Big 10 player of the year season, 37% from three, 7% better than Kathleen Doyle did from three as well. And we've seen some of those deep threes that Kathleen or that Caitlin Clark has put together. It has been incredible. The next thing Iowa needs to do though, is make the NCAA tournament. They need to have a good showing over the next couple of weeks.

And we talked about that right now. Iowa is on the bubble. I mean, they're, they're firmly in, but a couple of losses, they are going to be on that bubble. If not out,

they need to continue to win, win the, win the games. They should win and be competitive in the games. They are not favored in. And I think Caitlin Clark can run away with the big 10 player of the year, not just the big 10 are not favored in, and I think Kaitlin Clark can run away with the Big Ten Player of the Year. Not just the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, not just First Team All-Big Ten, but the Big Ten Player of the Year award. Now, turning our attention to Joe Wieskamp,

again, he has been playing outstanding the last couple games, really helping Iowa out while Luka Garza has been struggling, which we're going to get to here in a second. But can Joe Wieskamp be first team All-Big Ten? It's going to be a bit tough. It really depends on what the voters are looking for. And I think when you look at this Iowa squad and you look at the point and the juncture they are at in the season and what he has been doing to keep them in games, I see a first team All-Big Ten player. At least a second team All-Big Ten player.

He's going to have some stiff competition, though. Io DeSumo should be taking one of those guard spots. The big men are huge. And I don't mean that just literally, but figuratively, they are huge in the Big Ten. So there's probably going to be at least a center and two forwards getting on that first-team

All-Big Ten spot. So only maybe two guard spots in my opinion. So I think the first one obviously goes to Io DeSumo. I think Marcus Carr is right around there as well. Maybe Rom Harper Jr. and EJ Liddell. Those are all guys that are candidates along with Joe Wieskamp. Joe Wieskamp, though, when you look at it from just a purely statistical perspective, currently ninth in points per game in the Big Ten, fifth among guards,

third in three-point percentage, third among guards. One of those guys, though, in front of him is C.J. Frederick. And none of those guys I have already mentioned as far as competitors for a first-team All-Big Ten spot are in that number one spot for three-point percentage. Thirteenth in rebounding, which is second among guards. Only Franz Wagner is above him. And 22nd in steals per game. Now, there's certainly a few more guards ahead of him,

but tied with Io DeSumo. So Joe Wieskamp's impact to this Iowa team cannot be understated, and I think he's putting together a first-team All-Big Ten performance. Is this enough to get him in the NBA? I personally think so. I think Joe Wieskamp's stock has been rising. We talked about it a little bit on some other shows, but Joe Wieskamp, if he returns to the Iowa Hawkeyes as a true senior, this could be maybe even a better team next year with Joe Wieskamp leading.

And that has nothing to do with Luka Garza, right? That's not a diss on Luka Garza at all. But if Joe Wieskamp returns, this team can be just as competitive next year as it was this year because Joe Wieskamp, you assume, is going to take that even further step, that next step in his evolution. Now, we know Joe Wieskamp has aspirations of being in the NBA. Is it important enough to get to the NBA or is it important enough to try to raise his draft stock? For example, we saw Jared Uthoff, a guy who is not necessarily the exact same player as Joe Wieskamp, but a similar player, and he's been bouncing around the NBA.

Does Joe Wieskamp think he can improve his draft stock, though? That is going to be really important for making that decision. Can he improve his draft stock by going back to Iowa? I think he personally can. He can continue to work on a few of those things. He can be a more consistent threat. He can show that he can be the guy, not just a player playing with the National Player of the Year candidate in Luka Garza.

And right now, it's tough because NBA mock drafts don't really have Joe Wieskamp in that mix. He's rising up on boards. He's definitely making a lot of teams top 100. And as we talked about with John Rothstein yesterday and what he tweeted about Joe Wieskamp, Joe Wieskamp is a 3 and D type of guy, a guy who can play in the NBA.

But again, where does he project at, and does that projection change if he comes back for another year? It remains to be seen. But a big-time finish to the season, potentially a huge NCAA tournament, that could really be a catalyst for Joe Weiskamp to possibly leave the Iowa Hawkeyes after this season. So definitely going to be interesting to watch. He's been putting together just a great couple weeks as an Iowa Hawkeyes after this season. So definitely going to be interesting to watch. He's been putting together just a great couple weeks as an Iowa Hawkeye

and a great three years really as an Iowa Hawkeye, but really coming into his own as of late. Now we turn our attention to Luka Garza, and whether or not Luka Garza is truly a candidate for the Big Ten Player of the Year and the National Player of the Year award. And I know that seems a little funny, but there are people talking about it because Ioto Sumo is playing outstanding for a top 10 ranked Illinois squad. Drew Timmy at Gonzaga has been playing superb as well. Jared Butler for the number two ranked

Baylor Bears has also been playing really well. I think first and foremost, Luka Garza should undoubtedly be the Big Ten Player of the Year. I know what Iota Sumo has been doing has been great, be the Big Ten player of the year. I know what Iota Sumo has been doing has been great, but Luka Garza, he's getting triple teamed almost every single time he touches the ball and yet still putting up statistics that are better than a lot of these guys. So let's look at those statistics. Right now, Kempom has Luka Garza as the number one player in the nation. And Kempom can do a pretty good job there. Now let's look at the statistics though. Luka Garza is averaging 24.5 points per game. He's shooting 56% from the field, 43% from three point, averaging 8.4 rebounds per game, 1.8 assists per game, and 1.6 blocks per game. The next guy on Kempom's list is Drew Timmy. Luka Garza outscores Drew Timmy. He shoots just as

well from three point line, or the perimeter I should say. He has one rebound more per game than him. He's basically right on par with him in terms of assists per game and averaging.7 blocks per game more than Drew Timmy. And Drew Timmy has Jalen Suggs. So let's keep that in mind as well. Jalen Suggs, a guy who is likely going to be a top five pick in the NBA draft this upcoming year and also on Ken Palm's list of top 10 players. The next guy up, Jared Butler.

All right. Luka Garza outscoring him by seven points per game. He's shooting better than Jared Butler from the field by nearly 7% per game. He's shooting roughly the exact same from three point line. Jared Butler shooting 1% better. He's averaging five rebounds more per game. Definitely a dip in the assists per game. Jared Butler being a guard, it makes sense. But Jared Butler averaging three assists more per game than Luka Garza. And just a little bit more, you know, obviously in terms of steals per game as well. But Luka Garza getting more blocks and really crushing it from the shooting percentage perspective.

Ayotosumo, the fourth-ranked Kempong guy, 21.7 points per game. Luka Garza's got him beat. Field goal percentage, Luka Garza's got him beat. Three-point percentage, Luka Garza's got him beat. Rebounds per game, Luka Garza has got him beat. Blocks per game, Luka Garza has got him beat. The only thing Ayo leads in terms of Luka Garza in is assists per game and steals per game. Now, Cameron Krutwig from Loyola is not going to be a player of the year candidate.

I don't see it. But let's look at a few other guys, especially in the Big Ten, specifically at Trace Jackson Davis, Travian Williams, and Hunter Dickinson. Trace Jackson Davis, less points per game, more rebounds per game, worse shooting percentage, less assists per game, less points per game, more rebounds per game, worse shooting percentage, less assists per game, less blocks per game, or sorry, the same amount of blocks per game, and the same amount of steals per game. So Trace Jackson Davis, we've seen him go up against Luka Garza.

He's a great player, but I don't think he has any chance to beat him. Travion Williams, less points per game, more rebounds per game, worse shooting, just slightly better assists, and worse steals and blocks per game. And then Hunter Dickinson, the freshman, less rebounds per game, less points per game, better shooting percentage, less assist, less steals, and just 0.1 blocks per game better than Luka Garza. So to me, when you look at it purely on a statistical basis, I don't see how Luka Garza isn't going to win the National Player of the Year, and especially the the National Player of the Year, and especially the Big Ten Player of the Year.

I just listed out the top five candidates for Big Ten Player of the Year. Luka Garza, in my opinion, has them firmly beat. Then you factor in all the other pieces about Luka Garza. The fact that he honestly got robbed last year. The fact that he's been struggling the last couple weeks and still has those phenomenal numbers. The fact that he gets double and triple teamed every single possession, especially with C.J. Frederick out, those are all things that are being factored into this.

And if Iowa can make a run, I see no reason why Luka Garza is not the National Player of the Year. Coming up on segment number three, though, we're going to dive into more about Iowa and where they fall in the rankings. They moved up, and what they need to do from a tournament perspective to bolster their resume going into the Big Ten tournament and ultimately the NCAA tournament.

I know I was going to talk a little bit more about the NBA draft, but I'll save that for another day. I want to talk a little bit more about Luka Garza, but we'll talk about that on a future episode. We have plenty of time to cover that. So before we get into segment number three, though, I do want to tell you about our partners over at BetOnline.ag. BetOnline.ag is the fastest and easiest way to bet on all your sports action.

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Draft guru Chad Ford has his first big board of the year, out with profiles of Cade Cunningham, Jalen Suggs, Evan Mobley, and Luka Garza has got to be on there as well. Subscribe to Chad Ford's NBA Big Board Podcast wherever you get podcasts at. Now let's turn our attention back to the Iowa basketball squad and what they need to do over these last couple games. And they have a very critical stretch for these Hawkeyes. Right now ranked 11th in the nation, moving up quite a bit. Not quite a bit, but enough from 15, moving up four spots.

They are currently sitting at 9-5 in Big Ten conference play. So you'll love to see that. You'll love to see Iowa in that spot today currently. But what can they do to continue to bolster that spot and get a better position in the Big Ten basketball conference? That's what we're going to be talking about right now. Because right now, Iowa sits at fourth in the conference. And that's huge. That's a very pivotal spot to be

for Iowa at this point. Getting that fourth spot allows them to get a double bye. So let me walk you through kind of how that works. And then again, what Iowa needs to do kind of going forward. If you don't know, the tournament has, you know, they seed every team 1 through 14, and how those seeds happen is important as well. It's based on a couple different factors. The first one, though, is really just head-to-head competition during the regular season after they look at their general record in that season. So it's based off of your final regular season conference standings. A team seed should correspond to its regular season finish and seeds one through four do get a double buy through the first two rounds if there is a two-team tie it's based off a head-to-head

competition that's going to be really important as we get into why this matters now let's look at what would have happened last year Iowa got the five seed last year they took on number 12 Minnesota they were supposed to, at least, after Minnesota beat Northwestern, and they would have gotten number four, Illinois. So right now, when you look at these standings, Iowa's currently in fourth. They would actually get the winner of Wisconsin, Penn State, and Northwestern. Why that is important is it's not necessarily from the talent of a team perspective, because Penn State has been a solid team this year. So has Northwestern. I mean, they took Iowa to the wire. They haven't been able to finish as of late, but there's not necessarily from the talent of a team perspective because Penn State has been a solid team this year. So has Northwestern. I mean, they took Iowa to the wire.

They haven't been able to finish as of late, but there's not an easy game in the Big Ten unless you're playing Nebraska for the most part. Penn State, Northwestern, both teams that could beat someone. So you don't want to play them in the first round or that second round. You want to get them in the third round after they've either played Wisconsin or Wisconsin has played one of those two teams, had a physical game, and gets into that next round versus Iowa. So getting that fourth seed is incredibly crucial.

Now, how Iowa can do it, they're in a good spot right now, right? They just need to, if they win out, they get that fourth seed. That is a guarantee. But there are a lot of other factors that go into it because when you're in that fourth seed, you're also on the same side of the bracket as Michigan so you want to have ideally the easiest route to the Big Ten Championship game as possible and as as Michigan has shown they are a formidable squad taking down Wisconsin despite you know not having played basketball in a couple of weeks that is not an easy test so right now Iowa has Wisconsin then Penn then Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

They get Ohio State and Michigan on the road. They also have Wisconsin on the road. So three road games against ranked opponents and then Penn State and Wisconsin at home. Now, if we're looking at that, we probably got to chalk that up as being possibly two and three in those five games. I truly think Iowa, if they get CJ Frederick back, they can go four in one of those games. I think they're probably going to lose to either Ohio State or Michigan on the road. That is just my opinion, but let's say they went out. What would need to happen for them to possibly get a number one seed and claim that Big Ten regular season crown? Well, it's going to be tough, but let's start with Ohio State first because they are currently third seeded, 11-4. They just need to lose two games, including the game against Iowa because Iowa would have that

tiebreaker in case they only lost one game and Iowa went undefeated. But if they lost two games, that's the easiest way for this to happen. Ohio State's going to be really crucial though because they have games against Michigan and Illinois. So if Iowa wants to get that number one seed, and I know this is very tough to project of project this out because a lot can happen, and the chances are Iowa doesn't get that one seed, right? There's probably a 5% chance Iowa gets that one seed because you need Michigan to lose at least four of their next five games, including their game against Iowa. So Michigan, their number one seed right now, they have a 9-1 Big Ten record.

They get Rutgers, they go on the road to Ohio State, on the road to Indiana. They get Iowa at home, and they go on the road to Michigan State. Now, all those games, except for Michigan State, in my opinion, are probably winnable games, but also losable games as well. When you're traveling to Ohio State, that's a must-lose game.

When you're playing Iowa, that's a must-lose game. So Michigan needs to lose four of their five games, including the game against Iowa. Illinois, they're second in the Big Ten and hold that tiebreaker over Iowa. So they need to at least lose three games while Iowa goes undefeated if Iowa wants to get that number one spot. And they have a tough road ahead of them. They have a Northwestern game.

They go on the road to Minnesota. They go on the road to Michigan State. They go on the road to Wisconsin and on the road to Ohio State. I think they can lose that Ohio State game. Minnesota has been really tough at home, so they probably can lose that game. Can Wisconsin turn it around? Maybe. Wisconsin is a solid team despite the fact that they just have really been struggling as of late. So that is not unrealistic for Illinois to drop three of their next five games. Now back to Ohio State. They need to beat State. They need to beat Michigan. They need to beat Illinois. Their schedule at Penn State versus Michigan, at Michigan State versus

Iowa versus Illinois. We need them to beat Michigan. We need them to beat Illinois, and we need Iowa to beat them when Iowa goes there. If Iowa beats them, that at least puts them in a spot, now just a spot, to get that number one spot. Now there's some additional tiebreakers that go into commonality. So I think ideally Ohio State loses at least two games. So we're looking at maybe losing to Penn State or Michigan State. We'll also lose to Iowa. Both possibilities as well, traveling on the road to Penn State and to Michigan State. Maybe if Michigan State can turn it around.

So very important stuff as Iowa heads into the final stretch of their games. Again, if they can continue to improve their seed, the biggest thing is getting that 4 seed, but can they continue to improve their seed? That will remain to be seen. If they can move up, the better, right? They get easier matchups. So when you look at it from last year,

if you were taking the No. 1 seed, which was Wisconsin, they would have got the matchup between Michigan and Rutgers. So you look at this year's schedule, who is number nine and who is number eight? We have, let me see, six, seven, eight, nine. That's Indiana or Minnesota. Now, Indiana has been a tough matchup for Iowa, but I think with C.J. Frederick healthy, they can get them. They're not going to lose three straight to them.

Now, if you look at it again, that two seed, that two seed was Michigan State last year. They would have gotten the game between number 10 Purdue and number seven Ohio State. This year, it would be Rutgers or Maryland. Now, I would take those games. I think Iowa can be physical. Rutgers doesn't have as good of athletes at the perimeter, although they do have very strong defensive players. I think Iowa can take Rutgers and Maryland. So you can see why those seedings matter. You get different matchups. You get easier teams as you move up.

That's just my thoughts, though. We're going to be back tomorrow breaking down all the news and notes that kind of pop up over the next 24 hours and giving you some great content right here on the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. So if you enjoyed the show, give us that five-star review. Obviously leave that review and subscribe wherever you downloaded this podcast at so you can get this episode downloaded directly to your smart device each and every day. We are here every single day.

And follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Hawkeye Nation, I appreciate you listening in. Have a fantastic Tuesday, and let's go Hawks.