Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - DEFENSIVE CRISIS? Hawkeye Women STRUGGLE for Answers as Taylor McCabe Injury SPARKS Three-Game Skid

Starting point is 00:00:02 Three straight losses, this one on the home floor and favored by four and a half. Still, another punch to the gut. Iowa falls to Minnesota and the questions keep palling up. No Taylor McCabe. Defense of breakdowns everywhere and suddenly this team is winless without her. Let's talk about what's going on in Iowa City. You are 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 Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast.

Starting point is 00:00:43 Thanks for making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every day. We're available wherever you find podcasts. You can also find this on YouTube while you're there. Make sure you hit that subscribe button. I've been watching the Hawkeyes for over 40 years now and covering them on the radio for over 20. You can find me currently on the Iowa Sports Radio Network with stations all across the state, Sioux City, Iowa City, the Quad City, Cedar Rapids, and our flagship 106.3, KX&O in Des Moines.

Starting point is 00:01:10 You can hear me each weekday from noon to do. Today's episode of Lockdown Hawkeyes is brought to you by GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account and use code locked on for $20 off, your first purchase. Well, the weekend in front of it, it is going to be looking for a bounce back for the women's team after what we're going to talk about that loss to Minnesota. We'll take a look what's ahead next for Iowa as concerns are starting to rise with the women's basketball program. The Iowa men are back home after their West Coast trip, looking good, feeling good, and a winnable game against Northwestern in Carver Hawkeye Arena coming up on Super Bowl Sunday. And the Iowa wrestling team faces off against Ohio State.

Starting point is 00:01:51 They saw them earlier this year, any hope that they can close the gap. Yeah, close the gap between them and Ohio State. Plus, we'll be joined by Wade Looking Bill, former Hawkeye player, as we will talk to him about Iowa basketball, staying up late, and watching that win a couple nights ago against. Washington. But we begin today's program with a look at Iowa and maybe the most concerning loss so far of this Iowa basketball season comes at the hands of Minnesota as they fall 91-285 to the gophers. As we talked about previewing this game, I think this Minnesota team certainly better

Starting point is 00:02:26 than a lot of people anticipated coming into the year. There weren't high expectations for them. They're getting some help from Mara Braun. That definitely helps. Battle's been tremendous for them. We talked a little bit about Sophie Hart in the middle at 6 foot 5. And really, that was the least of Iowa's concerns. It was on the perimeter as Minnesota goes 10 of 14 from the three point line, 32 of 62 from the field shooting 51%. And the defensive issues continue to rise here. It was just one of those things that after a very good start where Iowa races out to a 14 to 6 lead,

Starting point is 00:03:00 there just wasn't anything there. And it was their inability to do anything really to get any stops. and generate a string of steps on the defensive end of the floor. You go through and you look at what we saw out of your best defensive perimeter defender and Kylie Fearbach. And though she still does those things, there were still some misses out of her. Yet you look at this and he kind of look through and what we get out of Kylie Fearbach, she's got to be able to knock down an open shot.

Starting point is 00:03:30 And she's just at this point, such a weakness offensively. And when she's not knocking down shots from the outside, you're at times playing four on five. And you just can't afford that the way this team is currently built. It goes back to something we brought up many times. And every day, you certainly know this. And it is what Jan Jensen said after the USC game about Taylor McCabe and her loss and the impact that it's made to this squad that she's turned herself into at minimum, a pretty good defender coupled with making the right decisions,

Starting point is 00:04:02 that senior leadership, the understanding of exactly what Jan Jensen wants, what they need to do, making the right place, basketball IQ, through the roof for Taylor McCabe. And they don't have that on the floor anymore. And it's definitely showing up in a big time way. Ava Hayden, she was tremendous, 24 points in the ball game, including 9 and 13 from the floor, but just four rebounds out of her. As a whole, Iowa gets dominated on the glass, 4128. At the half, it was.

Starting point is 00:04:32 Lee as well. I think it was 1812 of memory serves at that point. It was one of those games where you'd say, well, just flush it, right? Move on. It's not that big of a deal. But as you dig through here and after the 9 and 0 start of the Big 10, we're talking about not just getting one of the top four seeds in the NCAA tournament and the ability to host the first and second round, we're talking, can this team get as high as a two seed? Well, that looks completely off the table. And it's getting early quick. We're down now to the final six games of the regular season. all of them are going to be somewhat difficult for a bunch of different reasons. Starting with the home game against Washington, Washington team that is solid.

Starting point is 00:05:11 Iowa has six point favor projected in this game coming up next Wednesday against Washington. After that, it's Nebraska. That was a game that went down to the wire before Iowa pulled away in the final four, five minutes of that one at home. Well, now you're going over to Lincoln to take on the Huskers there. Another road trip against Purdue. Purdue's not very good. still, it's a road game. You come back for Michigan. You're projected underdog there.

Starting point is 00:05:35 Illinois comes in with the Alia Geithen and company. And then you wrap it up on the road again against an improved Wisconsin team that you still should beat. Still, it is another road game. The other part that really jumps out and looking at some of the different metrics that are there is these are outside of the game against Yukon. And he kind of put that one to the side because Yukon is a behemoth, and they're a completely different level. The last three games at USC, at UCLA, and here against Minnesota, these were their worst performances, excuse me, on the defensive end of the floor. Defensive efficiency rating over 100.

Starting point is 00:06:14 Hundreds average, if you're higher than that, you're not playing well. If you're lower, you're playing really well. So like against Rutgers, where they won that game, 7936, their defensive efficiency score was a 53. That's elite. but here they've been the last three. USC a 108, bad. UCLA a 119, hideous.

Starting point is 00:06:36 And then against Minnesota last night, 129.4 defensive efficiency number. That's worse than what they had against Yukon. That is Putrick. 10 of 14 shooting, as mentioned by them. It was just one of those nights where whatever they tried, whatever they tried to do wasn't there. I don't know if there's an easy answer at this point.

Starting point is 00:07:00 Because as we look at this matchup and we look at Addy Deal, two or six from the floor, had a three-point or had one good move in there. They battled back at the end, but it was too little too late. Is it time to maybe get Taylor Stremlow out there? I mean, that's a button certainly you could push, yet Strumlow is two and nine, including O a six from the floor. Had four assists, also had a couple of turnovers. there isn't anything easy.

Starting point is 00:07:28 I mean, you're not going to, I don't believe at this point, play Journey Houston out there. Journey Houston was the blown real bright spot outside of Ava Hayden in this game, but you're playing Journey Houston. You're talking about perimeter defense because with Stulke in there with Hayden, you can play her at the three. Maybe you can get away with that for stretches, but I don't think that's long-term something that you look at.

Starting point is 00:07:51 I think this is a difficult spot for Iowa. Now, we go back to a year ago and remember we were at a low point for the Iowa women's basketball team. They lost five in a row, looked pretty rudderless. The questions and rumblings were out there from small portions, but still portions of the fan base about did I will make the right decision going and just hiring Jan Jensen and not opening this thing up. So there was a lot of questions that were there. And they did. Now, that's not what I'm going at all. And I think anybody that knows me knows certainly my thoughts on Jan Jensen and how good she is for this program.

Starting point is 00:08:24 But this is what happens when you have a three-game losing streak. And losing that way to this Minnesota team, that's where the frustration lies. You bounce back this week. You got another kind of longer break, if you will, before you face off against Washington. Middle the week on Wednesday, you get that one. You start to feel good again. But I think we need to maybe reconfigure what our expectations are of this team. And the goal that we started the season with, be a top four seed, get those home games at the

Starting point is 00:08:54 NCAA tournament. That's what you're shooting for for Iowa basketball. And I think we're back on that one. Chit Chat right also got to mention Chit Chat as well. She was really good, certainly in the first half of the game. She finishes as well with 20 points. She was the one that got them back in at 12 assists on top of it. Talk about bright spots and bad work out of me. That was absolutely got to mention Chit Chat. Loved her play. Just working out there trying to get them around. They just couldn't get any stops. That was a rough one last night. Well, it wasn't rough for the Iowa men when they went out to the West Coast to take on the Washington Huskies and the Oregon Ducks. A couple of wins. We'll talk about a former Hawkeye basketball player. Wait Lookingville, he's going to

Starting point is 00:09:34 join us on the other side. Breakdown of what we saw in that one. Plus, a look at the week ahead in Iowa hoops and Iowa athletics. That's all to come as we continue. This is Lockdown Hawkeyes. I'm Glea Butler, host of Lockdown Women's Basketball. And this is Mazda's Women's Basketball snapshot, celebrating the work no highlight reel can ever capture. Number one ranked Yukon dominated Tennessee, 96 to 66, turning a halftime tie into a historic win and avenging last season's loss by delivering the largest margin in the rivalries history. Azi Fudd had 27 points and Sarah Strong added 26, as the Huskies remain perfect on the season, reminding everyone why they are the reigning national champions. In the Big Ten, number two, you

Starting point is 00:10:25 UCLA rolled past number eight, Iowa, 88 to 65, powered by 22 points from Angela Dukalage, and a huge advantage in the paint, staking their claim as a national threat. These moments are earned off the clock, those long before the lights ever come on, the sweat, the fakes, the doubt, the scrapes, and coming back for more every time. Mazda puts that same drive into every detail. Wins defined the moment, putting in the work, that defines you. There's more to a Mazda because there's more to you. Let's get right to Wade looking bill, former Hawkeye.

Starting point is 00:11:15 He joins us more on Iowa, Washington. Wade, Trent, and Ken. How far did you make it, Wade, in the game? You know what? I stayed up for the whole game. I'm there from the tip to the very end. Yeah, I was very focused. But, you know, if these teams want their $87 million or whatever they get from the Big Ten network,

Starting point is 00:11:36 they're going to be playing these types of games, these types of times for a long time. And you know what McCollum said, let's not make a big deal of it. Let's embrace it. And I love that part about it. What a great quote. He said, this is what it is. We're both teams got to play.

Starting point is 00:11:50 I think that's really good. Just another thing that I think he's doing correctly. It's been fun. Pushing a lot of the right push. And the West Coast that was a bugaboo, certainly not for this squad as they go two and O'n'O out there with a win against Oregon and against Washington. Tail of two halves, obviously.

Starting point is 00:12:06 defensively. What did you see in the first half? Washington was making some shots, but was it a lack of connectedness out of Iowa? I know Combs was dealing with foul trouble. What did you see in the first half that maybe was concerning in what you saw on the defensive end? And then what turned around in the second half on that end of the floor? To me, I saw a team that had been living in hotel rooms for four or five days, been out of their routine, a little rusty. Now, Washington got some dudes. They got that Indiana transfers, McDonald's All-American. and the big guy in the medal the lottery pick, those USC transfers.

Starting point is 00:12:40 They got some talent. But I think it was just something Iowa was just, you know, they were pretty good themselves offensively, really good, but they were just horrendous defense. I think it was you Trent that put that screen shut up. Iowa had three rebounds at half. Not offensive rebounds, three total. I've never seen that before.

Starting point is 00:12:58 And then the second half, they just imposed their will, got back to the way we've seen Iowa play, guarded, Washington obviously cooled off. and they win comfortably. Yeah, they certainly did. What do you think about Fulgaris? From when you first saw him to where he's at now, how much of a different player is he, Wade?

Starting point is 00:13:17 He's a guy that can make some money playing basketball. I'm going to be in the NBA, but he's got a chance because he's that stretch floor, stretch four, six, nine, maybe even six, ten, and he's got some post moves too. And I forget the story, but I think he was playing with the national team over the summer. He didn't come into Iowa City until later, almost early fall. And all these

Starting point is 00:13:41 guys had to play what they have to, what they did, I'm sure, is just go play pickup games and see who can, who can shoot, who can handle the ball, who can I throw a lob to, who can I post up. You know, it takes a lot to get that chemistry. And I think you see that with Iowa. Ogaris, for example, he was great in that first half. Needed that. Also needed what they got off the bench from both Tate Sage in the first half. Isaiah Howard, I thought, was tremendous defensively. And there's just something about Howard. How he's not the tallest guy, you know, for a wing or anything like that. He's bouncier than you think a really good defender.

Starting point is 00:14:12 And he understands angles when he's getting there into the paint, how to hit that fade away shot, how to go up and over, you know, a smaller defender. Really like his game. Tell us a little bit your thoughts on both Howard and Tate, what they provided. Yeah. And I think, I think the first thing that jumps into my mind is toughness. You know, I love Bennett Sturts and he is an unbelievable player, but he's a little bit like Kagan Murray,

Starting point is 00:14:35 the Murray brothers with that personality, you know, which is terrific. Probably in a point guard, but then you need guys like Chris Street. Well, that's like what I was emotional and had some toughness. I think that's what I see with Sage and with, you know, other guys off that bench. They just come in and they're going to get six, seven minutes and a half,

Starting point is 00:14:56 and they're going to make the most of it. And, you know, they got some pieces. Cooper Codds played well that second half. Very well. You know, not the greatest competition, but a road win against the Quad 1 team, you'll take that every night. Yeah, a team that was hungry that knew that this was an opportunity for them, maybe their last chance at a Quad 1. They had this game circle, the fans, the coaches, the players, they were all invested in that game. And it looked like in the first 20 minutes, but Iowa had different plans in the final 20 minutes, thankfully.

Starting point is 00:15:27 So they won five in a row, wait, including back-to-back wins on the West Coast. here comes the Northwestern outfit that I mean let's face it it should end up in the wind column they got absolutely destroyed last night when you look at this Iowa team do they have a chance maybe to better where your expectations were preseason might this be a six seed

Starting point is 00:15:47 maybe maybe a five six seven somewhere in that range once we get this election Sunday yeah so I think there's two things you start talking about seeds now you want to be in that in that top eight that top eight for the big 10 tournament because then you get, they're not going to be in the top four where you get that triple by. But if you're in that top eight, you don't play, if I got this right, you don't play Tuesday or Wednesday. So that's one thing.

Starting point is 00:16:11 And then to me, like with the NCAA tournament, if we're going to look that far ahead, and now that the schedule gets tough, it's going to get a lot tougher. At Maryland should be a win, but they got talent. But then you got Nebraska twice, you know, you got Michigan, you got Purdue again. but if you're looking then towards the NCAA tournament, I think the biggest thing is to stay off that 8-9 line. If you could get a 7-seed, because if you look at the 1-seeds, you've got obviously Arizona, probably Duke,

Starting point is 00:16:40 but those teams to be- Yukon. Yeah, Yukon. Those teams, you know, a lot more dangerous than when we look at the 2-sees. So that 8-9 game, that's the one you want to stay away from, get that 7. That 7-10 matchup is dangerous, but it should get a win. Now you've got a two-seed that next weekend.

Starting point is 00:17:00 I think that's where you want to be. You want to be an eight-seed, at least, in the Big Ten tournament, and try to get a seven-seed, stay off that eight-nine game in the big day. We agree. How about a six? Yes, absolutely. Even better. Yeah, I mean, it's just going to be tough.

Starting point is 00:17:14 Can they win at Wisconsin? Well, yeah, but maybe. It's going to be tough. You know, can they maybe get Purdue or Nebraska at home? Yeah, maybe. You know, maybe. We'll have to see. Good stuff. Wade looking bill. Thanks for giving us a few minutes. Wade, well done on staying up last night.

Starting point is 00:17:32 I had you figure you figured for half time and turning out the lights and watching in the morning. Wade with Iowa hoops. I got you. Good stuff, Wade. Thanks, buddy. We'll talk to you down the road. Thanks, guys. Any time. Pretty go off. See you, pal. Wade looking bills, we check in on Iowa. Thanks to Wade for joining us as we take a breakdown and a look at what the Iowa basketball team out there in Washington, former Hawkeye. Wade Looking Bill joining us here on Lockdown Hawkeyes. We can. Continue locked on Hawkeyes. Thanks for being with us as always. And making Locked on Hawkeyes, your first listen to the day.

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Starting point is 00:22:07 Friday night. I will be back with you after that one goes final, as we will take a look back at the Ohio State wrestling meet against the Hawkeyes in Columbus. It didn't go well when these two faced off in the national duels and the real concerns that go. And you just wonder, the murmurs are out there. The frustration with Tom and Terry Brands definitely has been there. Many people believe it doesn't matter. People writing the checks, the people that are investing in the wrestling program are still happy. Don't want to see a change. And if that's the case, or if Beth gets, if she is going to be pushed a little bit in this one.

Starting point is 00:22:46 We'll be back with you on Friday night, though, with the Rapid Reaction podcast on that one. We'll also be joined by Tom Kakert from hawkeyeye report.com. And I'll break some things down with Tom. On the other side, the Iowa men, you get a very winner. game. This Northwestern outfit certainly has not been very good. This season has been, I would say, overall, a pretty disappointing year for them. Hawkeyes are a projected 13-point favorite in the matchup against Northwestern. Northwestern's lost three out of their last four. Their only win during that time came against Penn State. I know the Nittany Lions are not very good. You go through, there's not a whole lot of depth to this resume. Probably their best win. To this point was the win that they got against USC. maybe South Carolina, who is a below average SEC team, the only thing in their overall, that's pretty good. Now they don't turn it over.

Starting point is 00:23:38 All right, there's an aspect that's pretty good. You're not going to force turnovers against them, not going to steal the ball, not going to block many shots against this squad. They are also going to play some long possessions on the defensive end of the floor. So anticipate maybe a little bit more rugged affair here, but feel pretty good. What you have to talk about, though,

Starting point is 00:23:57 when you talk about Northwestern is Nick Martinelli. He is an incredible score. He's been towards the top of the Big Ten all season long in terms of scoring. He can fill it up for the big way. And he's a tremendous shooter from the outside, shooting 46% from the three-point line. Anticipate, Tavion Banks is going to get that assignment initially, probably going to throw a little bit of Isaiah Howard on him and some different matchups to try to slow him down.

Starting point is 00:24:22 Not an overly big team either. Maybe this is a game we can see Al Fu Garas continue to kind of build on what he has recently. Keep building that thing up and he can have another nice performance. That would certainly go a long way. Two more on the quote unquote easy part of the Iowa basketball schedule. This one against Northwestern at home and then the road trip next Wednesday when they go out to Maryland before the closing stretch of games. And six of those seven, some absolute behemous. Two against top 10 Nebraska.

Starting point is 00:24:53 You got Purdue in there. A road trip to Wisconsin, Ohio State, maybe the most difficult one, even at home against Michigan. And if you saw what the Wolverines did on Thursday night, who, yeah, maybe they're cooking once again, a dominating win for them in that one. Good shape, though, for this Iowa basketball team. Let's continue and we got you covered. Your daily Iowa Hawkeye podcast, it is Lockdown Hawkeyes.

Starting point is 00:25:15 Thanks for being with this. You can find me on social media as well. I'm Trent Condon. At Trent Condon is where you can find me. You can also find us on Twitter at Lockdown, Iowa is our account over there. We're on TikTok. We're on Facebook all over the places where you can. can find Locked-on Hawkeyes.

Starting point is 00:25:31 And if you never miss an episode, the Everydayer Club, well, it's built for you. Get Locked-on Hawkeyes ad-free, plus members-only Discord access and more. Head to Lockdownhawkeyes. Dot supercast.com to join the club. That's Locked-on hawkeyes. That supercast.com. Hope everybody has a great weekend. We'll be back with you on Friday night, recapping what we see on the wrestling mat

Starting point is 00:25:53 mat against the Ohio State Buckeyes in that one. and Tom Caker will join us as well. We'll talk to you again then. Until then, as always, go Hawks.

Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - DEFENSIVE CRISIS? Hawkeye Women STRUGGLE for Answers as Taylor McCabe Injury SPARKS Three-Game Skid

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