Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - FRUSTRATION? Hawkeyes’ Defensive ISSUES Exposed AGAIN— Iowa FALLS vs Ohio State in Big Ten Tournament

Starting point is 00:00:01 Another March, another familiar problem for the Hawkeyes. Iowa falls to Ohio State in the Big Ten tournament. The offense was good enough. The defense, not so much. Iowa needs to fix the issue with the NCAA tournament looming. You are Locked on Hawkeyes, your daily podcast on the Iowa Hawkeyes. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome in. I'm Trent Condon, and this is the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. Thanks for making Lockdown, Hawkeyes, your first listen every day. We are your daily Iowa Hawkeye podcast. I've been covering the Hawkeyes for over 20 years on the radio here in the state of Iowa, including currently on the Iowa Sports Radio Network with stations all across the state. Sioux City, the Quad Cities, Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, and our flagship 106.3 KX&O in Des Moines. Today's episode of Lockdown

Starting point is 00:00:59 Hawkeyes is brought to you by Game Time. Download the GameTime app, create an account, and use code locked on for $20 off your first purchase. Well, the brackets are out for NCAA wrestling. We will get into that a little bit later on today. Some good, some bad, some pass that makes a little sense. And Iowa, after showing signs of life on the backside of the bracket in the Big Ten tournament, maybe there is hope for a better than anticipated finish for the Hawkeyes at the NCAA wrestling tournament. But we're going to kick things off talking about the Hawkeye men as they fall in the Big Ten tournament.

Starting point is 00:01:33 to Ohio State 7269. We're also going to talk a little bit about Ben McCullum and some interesting comments that he made after the game, including what it's going to take to go from good to great with this Iowa basketball program. But we begin with the here and now and what we saw on the hardwood, another game that played out like so many of them have throughout the course of this season.

Starting point is 00:01:57 I win the second half down double digits, down by 16 to the Buckeyes. They didn't quit. They didn't give up and had opportunities. late in the game. I know for a lot of us that is initially, certainly where the angst is going to go and the frustration of what happened in the final moments of that basketball game and a lot of the arrows right now being pointed at Brendan Hassan, the shot that he took from the corner that clanged off the top of the backboard, went out of bounds. I would got another opportunity. And as Isaiah

Starting point is 00:02:25 Howard launched that shot, and as it was going through, I was thinking this thing's got a shot, this thing might fall in. Alas, it doesn't hit off the back iron off the backboard. Not maybe he was going to bank the thing in, but regardless, it goes, Karram's off. There is no overtime. Iowa falls by 3, 72 to 69. An interesting one.

Starting point is 00:02:45 And as I mentioned, this is a game that we've seen play out a bunch of different times. Though they got out to a 12-6 lead, it was still a slow start overall for the offense. But if you would have told me leading into this one that I was going to shoot 50% from the floor, 22 of 44. They're going to go 10 to 21 from the three point line. Going to go 15 to 19 from the free throw line, only going to turn it over 10 times, have 16 assists in the game.

Starting point is 00:03:12 I would have told you I was going to win. That was not the case, though. In a game that was a grinder that only had 58 possessions, Iowa was good enough on the offensive end, even with the misses late in the game. Again, it was the defense out of this squad. And though this is not an awful defensive team, I think sometimes the perception for some people gets lost to what they are.

Starting point is 00:03:37 Because they play such a slow pace. And this is one of the slowest pace teams in the country, what Iowa does, game in and game out. When you look at tempo numbers, when you look at those kind of things, this is an incredibly slow team. And because of that, you're not going to have as many possessions. And your points per game is going to be down because of the style of play that they're going to have. It doesn't paint the full picture.

Starting point is 00:03:58 Now, this team is better defensively than what we saw during most of the Fray McAfree era. There rank currently 33rd at Bartorvik and defensive efficiency, meaning, yes, this is a good defensive team. But it's not an elite one. It's not a great one. And we continue to see guys that can get to the rim, guys that can put their head down, like Bruce Thornton, they're going to have trouble with those kind of guys.

Starting point is 00:04:21 Bidenham had some moments. We even saw some different players. And really, the big one in the first half was Christoph Tilly. And we talked about that leading in. the game. Why I felt this game was going to look a whole lot different than what we saw in Iowa City is having the seven foot big man out there in Tilly for the Buckeyes. And you saw that show up in the first half, Iowa was starting to get into foul trouble. We saw Trevin Yorock get thrown out there for a couple of minutes in that one. It just, it was something that completely changed the way

Starting point is 00:04:48 the Buckeyes are. Tilly's a guy that can step out. He can make a shot that we didn't even attempt a three-pointer. He was giving Iowa problems, really good in the pocket, made good decisions, and made it tough on the Hawkeyes early on in this game when they battled back after Iowa jumped out to that six point lead till he was a big reason for it. And then in the second half, it was Bruce Thornton. And after the performance that Iowa had defensively, specifically Kale Combs and what he was able to do that first time against Thornton, you knew you're going to be able to replicate that.

Starting point is 00:05:17 You knew that Deebler was going to come up with something different. You definitely saw that at different times as they kind of zigged to Iowa Zag and were able to get Thornton going. And when he gets going, he's just incredibly difficult to stop. He is a absolute high-level score. Can do it a bunch of different ways. And he definitely saw that show up on that one. I would continually without a rim protector,

Starting point is 00:05:39 without that guy back behind, that is going to be an issue for the squad. And we've seen it happen time in and timeout throughout the course of this season. When they go up against athletic guards, it is a problem for this squad. Staying in front of them. And then on top of that,

Starting point is 00:05:53 being able to get stops on the end. and you look at the numbers for Ohio State, they were great. They were great at the rim throughout the course of this one. They finish 15 of 19 at the rim. When you don't have a shop blocker in the middle, you don't have that seven foot presence there defensively, these are the things that are going to happen. Just not good enough on the defensive end.

Starting point is 00:06:15 Ohio State, remember, is also playing at a high level. This is a Buckeye team playing very well, and it's another one, woulda, shoulda, coulda, almost there, but you can't get over the hump. Bennett starts the only player in double figure scoring. He finished with 17, left the game for a little bit as he got need up on the upper thigh groin area, wherever that was that he took it. It looked like to be in some pain.

Starting point is 00:06:38 Still play 39 minutes in the game, though. Overall for the Hawkeyes, go 611 from the floor, 2 of 5 from the 3 point line, had an incredibly difficult 3-pointer he hit early in the ball game. Four assists in the game against three turnovers as Iowa overall turned it over 10 times. A couple of guys to spotlight. And during the first half, Elverro Fool Garris was playing terribly. And again, we talk about the inconsistency that we've seen from Fool Garris this year. That has been a huge piece.

Starting point is 00:07:05 It just, you never know. Knocked down a couple of three-pointers as I was roaring back. Thought he defended hard. So got some tough rebounds in there, had three assists. Those are the kind of things you need to see from Fool Garris. But we only got it for half. But I think that's also a reason we saw Yurok because there's a couple fouls on Man Yao. There was a couple of fouls, I think on banks in the first half.

Starting point is 00:07:25 And that was a reason that it went that direction. And they decided to go out there with Yorak, who had a look from the top of the key. I'm fine with Trev and Yorak shooting that shot. This is a guy that I called, I don't know, 30 of his games in high school, 25, 30 games, something like that at West Des Moines Valley. I know the skill set. You saw it a couple of assists in the game too. Defensively also. That's the thing that's going to have to change for him.

Starting point is 00:07:47 He just has to get quicker. The footwork has to be better. He needs to be quicker, even with the size that he has. to be able to compete game in and game out at the Big Ten level. Again, the substitution patterns were head scratching. Brendan Hassan came in for a couple minutes of the first half, fine, but played 10 minutes overall, including eight in the second half, just struggle to wrap your mind around it.

Starting point is 00:08:08 He's in there, gets the final shot in the corner before Howard got the final final shot, but we don't what we're talking about there. The substitution patterns just leave you scratching your head. After the performance that we saw from Kill Combs the first time, And that first meeting against Ohio State against Thornton certainly wasn't that case in this one. How about just five shots also for Cooper Cotch? And now you're seeing after he's starting to heat up from the three point line, teams are becoming much more proficient. They're going to be guarding him.

Starting point is 00:08:36 He's going to be one of those guys, along with Bennett Sturts, towards the top of the scout airport, one of those guys that they're going to key in on because, man, yeah, is not that guy that's going to go out. He'll get you the garbage buckets and he'll get an offensive stick back and be able to do some things on the turn on the screen and roll. can do those things, but he's not a back to the basket score. He's not somebody that you throw it into the post. Tavion Banks, good pull-up game, good for the mid-range, but not a guy that's consistently going to be able to beat you as a score. So because of that, Cooper Cotch, he's going to get more attention.

Starting point is 00:09:07 And when you get more attention, you're going to have to do it different ways because they're not going to allow you just to check up three pointers like he's been able to do against a couple of teams here recently. That's going to change also. Like the times what we saw from Isaiah Howard continue just to like his game, the shot, hit a three-pointer in the game. Tate Sage, I thought, gave him a couple of good minutes also when he was in there. Overall, again, it comes down offensively. They were fine. Just couldn't get the stops that they needed in this basketball game. And that's where the frustration lies with this team.

Starting point is 00:09:36 Well, there is going to be an NCAA tournament bid for the Hawkeyes. We do feel very confident about that. We'll talk a little bit about the resume, how it sits now, and some good news on that front. Plus, after the game, Ben McCullum made some comments talking about going from really good to great. And though it's not always easy, something that he's striving for for this program. Iowa got the right guy as their head coach. Even some of the frustrations have bubbled up here over the last couple of weeks with the team. They have the right guy. I want to talk about that when we come back on the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast.

Starting point is 00:10:17 I'm Clea Butler, host of Lockdown Women's Basketball. And this is Mazda's Women's Basketball. shop celebrating the work no highlight reel can ever capture. Texas won its first ever SEC championship on Sunday beating South Carolina 78 to 61 and snapping the game Cots three-year run as SEC tournament champions. In the Big Ten championship, UCLA dominated Iowa 96 to 45. The 51 point margin is the most lopsided title game in Big Ten tournament history. With a resume that includes 18 quad one wins in one of the toughest schedules in the country. UCLA is making a serious push for the overall number one seed.

Starting point is 00:11:00 But Yukon has held that spot all season and remains the nation's only unbeaten team. 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. What if sports were traded like markets?

Starting point is 00:11:32 Now you can put your sports IQ to work in real time with Robin Hood prediction markets. It's not just you against the house, it's you participating in a live market. You can buy or sell your positions live all game long. Use your sports knowledge in the moments that matter. Robin Hood prediction markets changes the game. It's people moving the action. So when momentum shifts, you can move with it. I always knew the game, but never had a dynamic way to apply that knowledge.

Starting point is 00:12:00 Now I can actually take part live in a market powered by people. You're no longer just a spectator, play by play, you decide. Trade every play with Robin Hood. Now available across the U.S., download the Robin Hood app now to begin. Futures and cleared swaps, trading involves significant risk. It is not appropriate for everyone. Event contracts are offered by Robin Hood derivative. LLC, a registered futures commission, merchant and swap firm.

Starting point is 00:12:33 Trent, kind of back with you once again here on the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. Thanks for making Lockdown Hawkeyes, your first listen every day, your daily Iowa Hawkeye podcast. And a big, big thank you to our everydayers and everybody part of the Everydayer Club. We'll talk about that a little bit later on. First, though, I want to start with the postgame press conference as we got to hear from Coach McCollum. He talked a little bit about the decision, the play that they've done. drew up that Hassan got that corner three, mentioned that they were hollering foul, and Hassan made a veteran play going up with the shot thinking he was going to get fouled,

Starting point is 00:13:07 get the three, three-pointers. You know, going back and watching it a bunch of times. And I was broadcasting high school basketball at the time, though, yes, I did have it on the iPad. I was not deep into the game because I was calling another game. But I did see that final play and wondered what happened. So I went back tonight and rewatched the whole game. And going back, Yeah, in the moment, it was awful.

Starting point is 00:13:29 You look at the shot the way it ended up. But when you get the context of what was happening, I think Ohio State kind of roped to doped him, right? They got him to believe that they were going to foul when they weren't going to file, or maybe they didn't swipe at him and the foul wasn't called. Regardless, he wasn't fouled on his way up. It was just a bad shot. So now, you can argue, don't even want to have it in his hands.

Starting point is 00:13:53 If they would have went to Sturts, they would have filed right away. a lot of different ways that you can certainly argue with that. And I know some metrics point to Iowa being good on out-of-bounds plays. We know Fran McCaffrey's, that was certainly one of his strengths of what they did there. Still, late-game situations have not been great. And I was battled back so many times this year, just another one. And the way that it ended up leaves a lot of frustration. But he talked about that.

Starting point is 00:14:18 But got a clip here from Hawk Central that I think paints a picture of why Iowa has the right guy. And even as this team has been not at the level at times, maybe we thought those close losses, they start to stack up and they start to get into our Hawkeye DNA a little bit. And you remember these tough moments that they've had throughout the course of the year. Ben McCollum, I initially was curious how this was going to work at the Big Ten level. And after, I know a lot of people just pointed to Todd Licklater, a guy that played at a slower tempo and how ugly that was for Iowa that it could

Starting point is 00:14:54 ever work, but hearing him speak, his understanding of the game and what he's really trying to build. This is not, in my mind, just lip service. This is not coach speak. This is a guy that's done it at the Division II level and what national championships and got a program over the hump to get to that level. And when he talked about going from good to great, I thought that said a whole lot. Here's Ben McCollum after the game.

Starting point is 00:17:18 So really good stuff there from Ben. Ben McCullum in the postgame press conference at audio from Hawk Central and talking about going from good, really good, to great, and taking that step. And after I was missed the last two NCAA tournaments, I think a lot of people are happy just making the big dance. And I'm happy with making the big dance. But there's more there. And to have a coach that explains it in that fashion, I think, is a good thing.

Starting point is 00:17:48 I know for us Hawkeye fans, for so many of us, we just want to get to the second weekend. We're not talking about national championships. We're not talking about final fours. We're talking about sweet 16s. And we have seen, I believe the number is well over 100 programs now, have made a sweet 16 since the last time that I was been there, which is just unfathomable. In fact, I need to go back and do the research on that, but I know the number is huge. There are certain programs out there.

Starting point is 00:18:15 You know, you look at what Oregon State did a couple years back. when they went on and got to an elite eight. But they made two NCAA tournaments in the last two decades. And for I, well, heck if it happens this year, if, say, they pull an upset in the round of 32 and get to a sweet 16, that's not the end all be all. And that's something that I really enjoy about Ben McCollum, the way that he speaks and the way that he explains things is it's not just that.

Starting point is 00:18:42 That's not the end game. And when he talks about building the culture of this program, It's things that are difficult to quantify and even talk about on a podcast. How can you talk about culture in a basketball program on a podcast outside of, you know, a little bit of time? It's not something that you're going to go in depth on because you're not inside that locker room. You don't really know what that means. It is, I know what I see it. And I think they have the guy that absolutely can create that culture.

Starting point is 00:19:11 There's work that needs to be done in the offseason. And one of the things that needs to be done is improving the tax. out level. You can argue, yes, it's a very bad year on the bubble. That has helped Iowa, certainly, as it pertains to their NCAA tournament resume and where they're going to be sitting come bracket time when selection Sunday comes, and that's going to help them out. They need to go up. Need to go up a level. And that doesn't mean just going out there and spending more money than everybody else because, A, that's not going to happen. I was not going to outspend Kentucky. You're not going to outspend in their own league, a half dozen teams. It doesn't mean that they're also at the

Starting point is 00:19:46 bottom end as it pertains to the NIL for the men's side of things, they're okay. And it's still going to take money to get in some of the players that they need. A rim protector costs a ton of money. A new point guard is going to cost money. That is the new reality of college athletics. But when you talk about culture, I definitely believe in Ben McCollum, what he's building for the Hawkeyes. Well, speaking of that NCAA tournament resume, a couple of updates for you. We talked yesterday.

Starting point is 00:20:12 Iowa had a couple of quad three losses on their resolution. That is not the case anymore because Maryland has jumped up after today's games and they're now 135th in the country, meaning that that road loss against Maryland is not a quad three loss. It's actually a quad two loss. So Iowa's resume as it's currently constructed, four and nine against quad one. The victories, we certainly know, home against Nebraska. That is the best of them. The whole win against Ohio State, that's a quad one victory. As they sit 30th currently in the net. We can't have them fall out of that 30th spot. And then the road victories against Indiana and against Washington. Two quad two losses. That was the loss, as we mentioned, against Maryland that jumps in there and the road loss against Minnesota. And then the one loss that they have in quad three. That is the Penn State.

Starting point is 00:21:00 Though if the Nittney Lions somehow without playing move up to 135, that also becomes a quad two loss. I was going to be fine because bubble teams across the country continue to lose. They're going to be an NCAA tournament team. And Bracket Matrix, which puts together all the different resumes out there, We talk about it every single time. All the bracketologists are there, and Iowa still on the nine seed line. Some of those have already updated here this evening as we sit here on Thursday night.

Starting point is 00:21:26 And they have Iowa as the second now number nine seed behind TCU, who fell in a tight one against Kansas earlier this evening. Still Iowa in good shape. Number of teams below them, including Texas A&M, Central Florida, NC State, Miami, Ohio, Missouri, Santa Clara, Texas, SMUBCU. These are all teams that they have as at large teams, not that many teams are going to jump in front. Bid Steelers are going to happen. Miami of Ohio, if you believe they're in, with the 31 and O regular season

Starting point is 00:21:56 and an opening round lost UMass in the Mac tournament. There's going to be another team that's going to come from that conference. There's a couple other potential ones out there, VCU. One of those teams battling in the 8-10 might get a couple of bids out of that. Regardless, Hawks are going to be fine. Where will they be? I know we all want to stay away from that 8-9 game. I would love to see them on a 10-11.

Starting point is 00:22:15 line taking on a seven seed. The seven scenes currently at bracket matrix, Villanova, St. Mary's, Miami, Kentucky. If you watch those teams this year, is anybody scare you? And then in the second round, the round of 32, instead of having to take on a Duke or a Michigan or in Arizona or a Florida. And yes, they can play Michigan in the second round since they only face them once in the regular season. That has happened a couple of times recently with these bloated and expanded conferences. Yes, the new rules of the NCAA tournament. You can face a team now in the round of 32 that you've already seen in the regular season, as opposed to that, Michigan State, Illinois, Houston, Yukon, those are your projected number twos. That doesn't sound great, but more realistic

Starting point is 00:23:00 than probably any of those number one seeds for the Hawkeyes. Here we are, selection Sunday. It's back, and the Hawkeyes are going to be there in the NCAA tournament. That is a very good thing. Just stay away from the 8-9 game. We come back here, Lockdown, Hawkeyes. Speaking of brackets, the brackets are out for NCAA wrestling. Good news, bad news, some open brackets, and maybe a chance of a couple of runs, is Iowa going to continue their streak of having a wrestler in the finals.

Starting point is 00:23:28 We'll talk about that on the other side. This is Lockdown Hawkeyes. Coast Pay is giving Lockdown College listeners up to a $2,000 credit for your business when you get started today. If you manage a crew, construction, HVAC landscaping, any operations with trucks on the road, you already know how messy gas and material spending can get. Cards get shared, receipts disappear, and month end turns into a headache.

Starting point is 00:23:57 Coast Pay fixes all that. Coast Pay is the modern fuel card and expense management tool built specifically for fleets. Fuel, maintenance materials, all on one card with real control and instant visibility. Every transaction shows up the moment it happens, no surprises. If someone fuels up at an odd time or tries to buy something outside their limit, you're going to know instantly. I love the real time alerts, knowing exactly who's spending what and where. As a small business owner, that is something that definitely gives me peace of mind. Plus, it works anywhere.

Starting point is 00:24:31 Visa is accepted. No detours to specific stations. It's built for operators who don't have time to chase paperwork. And unlike old fuel cards, there's no contracts or commitments, just smarter expense control. Right now, Coast Pay is offering our listeners of Lockdown Hawkeyes up to a $2,000 credit when you get started at coastpay.com slash lockdown college. Go to coastpay.com slash lockdown college to see how you can earn up to a $2,000 credit. Terms apply. The Coast Visa Commercial Credit Card is issued by Celtic Bank.

Starting point is 00:25:06 All card accounts are subject to credit approval. Today's episode is also brought to you by five-hour energy. It is here the five-hour energy flavor draft. 18 different flavors to choose from new options like confetti craze, fruity rainbow, or cotton candy. There's something for everyone. The board is set. The flavors are ready. And I got my number one pick in the five-hour energy draft.

Starting point is 00:25:30 Well, I'm going a little bit off the board here. I don't see anything that is easy. And we're a little bit tired. We've had a long day. You know what? We're going to go something a little bit off the beaten path. How about this? Tropical burst.

Starting point is 00:25:43 You get the tasty caffeine that you're looking for with five-hour energy and you're getting it with island vibes. For a number one pick, I'm going a little crazy here. Juicy, fruit forward tropical profile, sweet with a little bit of tang, smooth, rounded flavor, bright and sunny, taste impression, island style, fruit punch vibe. Now, I can't do my mild milk cut for junior impression because I don't have one, but that sounds like a number one pick to me. Now, a little bit later in the draft, I want to go with something solid. You know, those second, third rounders, you know we're going to hit. They're going to be starters for you. They're going to be solid every time.

Starting point is 00:26:17 That sounds like cherry to me. Bold cherry candy-style flavor, sweet with a little bit of tart to it and that classic red fruit profile that you're looking for. Cherry, you're talking about a value pick. That's absolutely there. Five-hour energy shots give you a boost with zero sugar. Five-hour energy has a lot of different flavor innovations playing for you as well right around the corner. find your new favorite flavor of five-hour energy shots now available online five-hourenergy.com or you can shop for them on amazon online five-hour energy dot com

Starting point is 00:26:49 trent kind of back with you one final time this is locked on hawkeyes thanks for being with us to making locked on hawkeyes your first listen every day thanks again also to our everyday listeners the time is now if you've been thinking about joining our everydayer club get ad-free shows that's what it is ad-free shows i'll the show you listen to to every day. Plus, you can join us on our group chat on Discord. And if you sign up before the NCAA tournament tips off, you can get into our Everydayer Club bracket pool on Discord for a chance to win Lockdown Merch. It's going to be a whole lot of fun. Right now, use the code March. You're going to get your first month free of the Everydayer Club. Head to Lockdownhawkeyes.

Starting point is 00:27:32 Dot supercast.com. That's locked on Hawkeyes.com. Your opportunity to get the show ad free, plus get your first month free with that promo code March. The brackets are out for the NCAA wrestling tournament. Penn State, of course, the clear favorite going into it. Quick run through. We're going to dive a little bit deeper into this next week. I will join Zach Seiko from lockdown Nittany Lions. And as he'll be gloating about how the Nittany Lions are going to win a national championship

Starting point is 00:28:00 and there's not a whole lot of comeback that I'm going to have for that. But that aside. So here are the seeds for the Hawkeye wrestlers that made it in, the nine of the ten, that are in the NCAA tournament. Started 25 with Dean Peterson. He gets the number 8 seed. Drake Iiella with the 6 seed, a little bit surprised by that.

Starting point is 00:28:17 This year, Bailey with the 7, maybe a touch better than I anticipated there. Rider Blocka number 15. Mikey Caliando with the 3, most importantly on the other side of the bracket for him on the bottom half of that bracket. Patrick Kennedy earns the number 5 seed. 7 seed for Angelo Ferrari,

Starting point is 00:28:32 number 27 for Gabe Arnold. Of course, bumping up to 97, the reason behind that. and then Ben Keeter at number eight. You kind of look at the matchups here. Now for Dean Peterson, he'll get Luke Lillendahl, the number one seed from Penn State, likely in the quarterfinal round.

Starting point is 00:28:50 If he can get there, he would have to dispatch a wrestler for Nebraska in the opening round, and then likely the number nine seed, Rentaria out of Oregon State to get to that spot. We've seen him be close against Lillandall. It's going to happen. Get to be hard to say. We go next over,

Starting point is 00:29:07 Drake Iiella. Get that number six seed. So that means that his quarter final round matchup as the six seed, he'd go up against the number three. Also interested in see Lucas Bird dropping all the way to the seven after IElla and others beat him in the Big Ten tournament, the defending champion from a year ago, 20 and two on the year. Yet he is the number seven seed after what happened to him in Big Ten's. So the number three seed would be Marcus Blaze from Penn State. We've seen what a tremendous wrestler, obviously. He has in that one. still Ayela. I think we saw signs of life, certainly out of him. 41 this year, Bailey, that means as the number seven seed, he's going to have potentially a quarterfinal round matchup against the number two seed. That is Sergio Vega out of Oklahoma State. We saw the way that that went. Vega looks to be an absolute stud there. Bailey, though, another guy that I thought at least showed a little bit there on the backside of the bracket at Big Tens. We go next to ride a block. He'll be the number 15 seed. You're looking for him at minimum win a couple of matches.

Starting point is 00:30:07 It's shown an aggressiveness that is fun to watch, certainly this season. Path going to be much more difficult, though, as the number 15 seed for him. He will open things up against the 18 seed, Eugene Haney, out of Morgan State, 28 and 4 on the year. And then with a win, he would have to match up against the second seed from Cornell, Jackson Joy. That is the path for rider block. Calliando mentioned him as the number three seed definitely works out, I think, pretty well in that space. spot at 157, staying away from PJ Duke, who is number one at that weight class. Check that, not at that weight class, Mitchell Messonbrink, excuse me, number one.

Starting point is 00:30:46 And we've seen Messon break at Galliano. It hasn't gone very well. Still, bottom half of the bracket, most important thing, and he definitely got that one. Your number five seed up next for the Hawkeyes with Patrick Kennedy at 74. As the five seed, he is potentially looking at a matchup in the quarterfinals against the four-seat. four seed, Cartia out of Ohio State. If you can get that, semifinal would be against Levi Haynes. Not a really easy path for Patrick Kennedy to make a deep run.

Starting point is 00:31:14 Intriguing, though, at 184. A number seven seed for Ferrari. That means the second round matchup potentially against the 10 seed Campos out of American. The two seed on that side of the bracket is Sinclair out of Missouri. He's 30 and one this year, but also on the opposite side of the bracket of Rocco Welsh. I think, yes, though he is the seventh seed, Calliando is probably the easy choice, are the most likely to make it to the finals.

Starting point is 00:31:40 So I think Ferrari, he's got the path definitely to make that happen. And then Ben Keeter want to talk about him just for a moment at heavyweight. He gets the number eight seed. It has been a very frustrating year. The thing is, Marasola is going to be waiting for him, potentially in the second round. He's also on the same side of the bracket as Basita out of Iowa State. We've seen the season that he has put together.

Starting point is 00:32:01 going to be a really difficult path for Ben Keeter. Again, we'll talk about that more next week as we will deep dive into the brackets coming up here on Locked on Hawkeyes. We are your daily Iowa Hawkeye podcast. Your everyday club access is now available, an opportunity to get the first month free. Just use the code March at locked on hawkeyes. Dot supercast.com. Get locked on Hawkeyes for you each and every day at free.

Starting point is 00:32:25 Plus join our Discord, an opportunity for you to get into our bracket pool to win some locked on March. That is promo code March with the first month free at lockdown hawkeyes. That supercast.com. Thanks for being with us. Make sure you hit subscribe if you're watching us on YouTube, five-star reviews over on the podcast side. We'll talk to again tomorrow.

Starting point is 00:32:44 Until then, go Hawks.

Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - FRUSTRATION? Hawkeyes’ Defensive ISSUES Exposed AGAIN— Iowa FALLS vs Ohio State in Big Ten Tournament

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.