Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - Hawkeye Weekend Recap - Missed opportunities from Iowa Hoops & Baseball, women & wrestlers bounce back

Episode Date: February 26, 2024

Trent Condon returns for another week of the Locked on Hawkeyes. It was a week of misses for the men's basketball team and baseball team. The Hawkeye men fell at Illinois after having a 7 point lead ...in the 2nd half and couldn't get stops on the defensive end of the floor. Josh Dix was outstanding and Iowa needs him to play at that level going forward. Iowa goes into the final 3 games of the regular season having to win out to have a chance at being an NCAA Tournament team.The Iowa baseball team lost all 3 games down in Jacksonville after the bullpen blows leads against Auburn, Virginia and Wichita State. They need to figure it out in order to be a tournament team. It wasn't all bad news though as the women's basketball team bounced back with a big home win over Illinois. The team gave a lot of help to Caitlin Clark after the disappointment against Indiana. And the wrestling team got a win over Oklahoma State to finish off the regular season. Now what does Tom Brands do with true freshman Gabe Arnold and Ben Kueter in the Big Ten Tournament.  Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!LinkedIn These days every new potential hire can feel like a high stakes wager for your small business. That’s why LinkedIn Jobs helps find the right people for your team, faster and for free. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/lockedoncollege. Terms and conditions apply.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase.FanDuelNew customers, join today and you’ll get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS if your first bet of FIVE DOLLARS or more wins. Visit FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON to get started. eBay MotorsWith all the parts you need at the prices you want, it’s easy to turn your car into the MVP and bring home that win. Keep your ride-or-die alive at EbayMotors.com. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers.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)

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Starting point is 00:00:00 missed opportunities. That was the name of the game this weekend. The Iowa men basketball team had an opportunity to pull off a huge win at Illinois. They let it slip through their hands. The Iowa baseball team, woof, boy,
Starting point is 00:00:13 the bullpen, some big time issues. We'll break it all down today. A weekend recap on Locked on Hawkeyes. 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.
Starting point is 00:00:42 I'm Trent Condon, and this is the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. Thanks for making Locked On Hawkeyes your first listen every day. We're available wherever you find podcasts. You can also find us on YouTube. While you're there, make sure you hit the subscribe button. Helps us get in front of more Hawkeye fans. Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Make every moment more.
Starting point is 00:01:01 New customers join today, and you'll get $150 in bonus bets if your first bet of $5 or more wins. Just visit fanduel.com slash locked on to get started. Well, a weekend of some highs and some lows overall as we get into it here today. We open things up with a huge missed opportunity from the Iowa men's basketball team as they made their way over to Illinois. Coming on the heels of the big victory against Michigan State earlier in the week, the opportunity was there to pull off the upset. And when you kind of look to this final stretch of games, this was going to be the most difficult in my mind.
Starting point is 00:01:37 Illinois coming off the loss against Penn State, letting one slip away, a seven-point lead with 40 seconds to go, and they blow that one in regulation and lose to the Nittany Lions. They're coming back mad. They're coming back on their home floor, and Iowa, of course, going on the road for the second consecutive game. Not a more difficult road trip, going out for two games, going to East Lansing and Champaign like the Hawkeyes did,
Starting point is 00:02:00 yet they had opportunities in this game. In fact, a seven-point lead in the second half of this one. Certainly felt like maybe they could pull this off. Ultimately, though, the way the second half went, and more importantly, the way the second half was actually officiated, really dictated this one. It really took away some of the things that Iowa was able to do in the first half. As they shot incredibly well, were able to get to the rim. They were doing so many good things in that avenue. And when that went away, Iowa just didn't have a response.
Starting point is 00:02:29 They didn't have kind of a plan B in the second half when the physicality really went up on the defensive end from Illinois. Now, Iowa scores 42 points in the second half, but after shooting a blistering 62% from the floor in the first half, it really did crater in the second. And I think when you look back upon it, that's going to be the one that you look back upon because you win this game. If Iowa would have beat Illinois, we'd be talking about a team. Absolutely.
Starting point is 00:02:55 That would be in consideration to be an NCAA tournament team. I don't think there's any doubt about it. Iowa though in the second half shoots just 12 of 34 from the floor, including one of six from deep. And that continues to be the one main thing. This team still playing at an elite level offensively. When you look at efficiency numbers, they are still one of the best teams in the country. And they're doing it without tuning the ball well from downtown.
Starting point is 00:03:18 It's just such a rarity in today's age of basketball that you're able to do that. And now the pressure ramps up. So we talked last week when you look at Iowa's resume, and they were up to three quad one victories after the win at home against Wisconsin, going to Michigan State, and then Minnesota jumped into the top 75 of the net rankings.
Starting point is 00:03:37 And with that, that meant the road win against Minnesota was a quad one victory. Well, yesterday, Minnesota gets blown out at Nebraska and they drop in the net rankings because the net rankings are not just winning and losing games. It's also how you lose them and win them. And the numbers that are put in there go in the efficiency numbers. When you get blown out, it's much more impactful. So now Minnesota is down 278.
Starting point is 00:04:00 The Gophers can get back in there. They have two tough road games themselves. Excuse me, does Minnesota. They go to Illinois this week and then at the end of the season to Northwestern. Likely going to have to win both of their home games and maybe even pull an upset. And it's difficult to see, though this Minnesota team is getting better of them getting to that level. It could come down to the Big Ten tournament. But it's not about Minnesota and getting another quad one victory. It's back to Iowa and getting back in to the winning side of things.
Starting point is 00:04:33 You get Penn State this week, a huge opportunity there, obviously, to get a home win. And then you finish up at Northwestern. And then you go and get Illinois one more time back at home. That is a schedule they're mating away. The likelihood is that Iowa's probably going to have to go 3-0. The Penn State win will not be a quad one victory. That will not go in their resume, being at home. And then the final two games will be quad one opportunities for them. If they would do that and Minnesota doesn't get back in to the top 75, I would be sitting at 4-8 in quad one, coupled with a 6-3 record in quad two, going into the Big Ten tournament. The record would sit at
Starting point is 00:05:04 that point at 19-12 overall. You would be in really good shape. A3 record in Quad 2 going into the Big Ten tournament. The record would sit at that point. At 19-12 overall, you would be in really good shape. Winning record in the Big Ten, even in a down season. It's a down season, but one thing also we do have to look at is not all schedules are created equal in the Big Ten. Realize this. Iowa has had to play the top teams or will have played the top teams in the Big Ten in two different times this year.
Starting point is 00:05:26 Obviously played Purdue twice. It didn't go well. Played Wisconsin twice. Got a game at home against them. And played Illinois, and in this scenario, you get a win against them. So it's not an 11-9 record that is dictated because you're beating up on the bottom of the conference. You got two wins against Michigan and two wins against Ohio State. That's not the way this is. Absolutely not. In fact, Ohio State, with their win against Michigan State, that's improving as well in terms of the metrics. But that's another thing that you have to look at. When you dig a little bit deeper, they don't look at conference record, but they do look at who you played within the conference.
Starting point is 00:05:59 And because of what Iowa has against Wisconsin, what they would have with a win against Illinois, I think the resume would be really good shape going into the Big Ten tournament. Now, the likelihood, even doing that, Iowa's still going to be probably the number seven seed. I'll potentially have to see Illinois again after the 7-10 game in the quarterfinal round against the Illini, who'd be the number two seed. So that's still out there. Some things can change and fluctuate, but overall, that is what's in front of them.
Starting point is 00:06:25 You can't lose the game in the 7-10 game in this scenario, but that's where we are right now. Digging a little bit deeper into the game, a couple of different factors. Ben Kricke, good to see him out there fighting again. Did some good things offensively, but on the other end of the floor, him against Coleman Hawkins, it was a mismatch. We saw that. And you understand wanting to keep Owen Freeman out of foul trouble, keep him out there as much as possible. Oner really struggled.
Starting point is 00:06:51 Just got five shots off, was two of five from the floor. Just some fumbled passes in there. It wasn't the Owen Freeman, certainly, that we were used to. And the bigs were a big reason for that of Illinois. Mentioned Coleman Hawkins, Guerriere, who can play inside, outside. Really athletic guy. He was really good in the game. Danger came in and he caused some problems with his physicality.
Starting point is 00:07:13 So, you know, overall, wasn't a great game for Owen Freeman and definitely need to get him back playing at a high level. We got to talk about Josh Dix, though. And this is the Josh Dix that we've been hoping to see all season long. Numbers are incredible. I mean, efficiency numbers are so, so good. And it's because he doesn't force the issue. He doesn't push things when they're not there.
Starting point is 00:07:34 But we continue to bring it up. Josh Dix needs to be more aggressive. And certainly, as this team is not a great three-point shooting team overall, when they're not a great three-point shooting team, you need guys that can be facilitators and do some different things. And that's definitely a part of his game. Tony Perkins was great again. There's something about him playing Illinois.
Starting point is 00:07:52 He's had some really big performances. 18-8 and 4 points, rebounds, and assists for him in the game. Patrick McCaffrey, it was a struggle. Finished minus 15 while he was on the floor. Minus 16 for Tony Perkins in the game. Patrick McCaffrey, it was a struggle. Finished minus 15 while he was on the floor, minus 16 for Tony Perkins in the box score. Raymond was a minus 11 of the regulars that played. Brock Harding was a plus six, had a bucket score late in that game that helped that out. And Dembale gave him good minutes. And Fran said after the game, I got to get more minutes. Fran, you control the minutes. Do it. You want to give Nibali more minutes? Guess what?
Starting point is 00:08:26 Sherm's not going to tell you no. Do it. Put him out there more if he needs to. Patrick, a disappointing effort from him. We saw a lot of the issues that have cropped up from him in the past, dribbling to nowhere, picking up his dribble in bad spots. He was just bad out there. And when he's not able to get to the rim and do some different things for you on the offensive end of the floor, he's just not a very impactful player. And we certainly saw that in the game on Saturday.
Starting point is 00:08:53 Overall, got to bounce back and it has to start coming up this week against the Nittany Lions. That game will be played coming up this week. That will be a Tuesday night game. So just a day away from that one, eight o'clock tip on BTN. Bounce back and give yourself hope
Starting point is 00:09:09 going into the final week. And then now you get a little time. You get the Saturday game, kind of an extra day of rest, if you will, in there against Northwestern. And then the following week, you get eight days off. After the Northwestern game,
Starting point is 00:09:20 eight days before the finale against Illinois. So opportunities definitely going to be there. Well, there are opportunities missed from Iowa basketball. There were definitely opportunities missed from Iowa baseball. We're going to talk a little bit about that. Wrestling with a big bounce back performance against Oklahoma State, plus the women. Whoa. Speaking of bounce back, they did it in a big way.
Starting point is 00:09:39 We got a lot going on here. It is a recap edition of the weekend that was here on Locked On Hawkeyes. We got more coming your way. Stay right there. We're back with more in a moment. Get buckets with your first bet on FanDuel. It's America's number one sports book because right now new customers, you can get $150 in bonus bets with any winning $5 bet. That's $150 if your bet wins, and you can bet on all your favorite NBA players and teams with quick bets, live scene game parlays, exclusive props, and a whole lot more. You're a college basketball fan like me, they got you covered as well. They have odds up right now to win conference tournaments, to win the regular season title.
Starting point is 00:10:23 Not up there for the Big Ten, it's produced right away from things, but a whole lot there. How about Final Four numbers? Or you want to bet on who's going to win the Women's National Championship? They got you covered there. A lot going on with FanDuel. Just visit FanDuel.com slash LockedOn and shoot your shot. Again, that's FanDuel.com slash LockedOn. FanDuel, official sportsbook partner of the NBA.
Starting point is 00:10:50 Trent Conant back with you once again here on the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. Thanks for making Locked On Hawkeyes your first listen every day. Your team every day. That's what we do here across the Locked On network. And not just Locked On Hawkeyes, your favorite Major League Baseball team. Spring training is underway. NFL, the offseason is here. Leading up to the draft, we got you covered.
Starting point is 00:11:11 NBA, NHL, Lockdown Big Ten, Lockdown Vets, you name it, we have it covered for you here across the Lockdown Network. Let's get back in to the Hawkeyes, and we go from the disappointment of letting one slip away against Illinois. That was the case for Iowa baseball over the weekend. What a devastating weekend it was for the baseball team. And we came in as hyped of a baseball season as we've had in a really long time, certainly in my lifetime.
Starting point is 00:11:38 I can't think of another time that I was had this much hype, this much anticipation coming into a season. They're a preseason top 20 team. And you look at what they have, certainly enough on the bats. They definitely have the starting pitching and a starting pitching staff that maybe is as good as anybody in college baseball. I don't think that's hyperbolic. When you look at what Obermuller has done, coupled with what we know we're going to get out of Brody Brecht and what we're going to get out of Marcus Morgan every single time, it feels like you're in incredibly good shape. However, there is more to the game. And certainly early in the season, you're not going to be playing pitching guys nearly deep into games. You know, you're trying to keep things down a little
Starting point is 00:12:19 bit in terms of those numbers. But the bullpen, it faltered. Have a lead against Auburn. Auburn now that's ranked 23rd in the country, 6-1 on the season. Their only loss came to Virginia down in this tournament. Let that one slip away, lose it 7-5. Then you jump out to a 6-0 lead against Virginia. Virginia team that's going to host a regional, potentially host a super regional. They're undefeated. They're ranked 13th in the country, and you let that one slip away and fall 12-9. And then the same thing against Wichita State. You're up 4-1, you're cruising.
Starting point is 00:12:52 Obermuller was dealing, and what do you do? You blow that one and lose 12-6. Look, it's early in the season, and you're pushing buttons, you're trying to find the right guys. And Iowa went out, and they brought in a slew of arms for this season, a ton of bullpen arms, a ton of options, and it just hasn't worked. Control's been a bit of an issue, but more than anything, just leaving balls out and out over the plate. Is this devastating for Iowa's hopes of the NCAA tournament? It isn't. It's not devastating. Even now with a two and four record, the lowest game
Starting point is 00:13:23 doesn't count as it pertains to the RPI. Even with the 2-4 record, they're still sitting here 89th in RPI. Non-conference RPI strength of schedule, excuse me, is 42nd. So it's not awful, right? They're not done. Oh, man, season over. No, no, there's still a lot in front of them. Out of the Ole Miss series that they have coming up this weekend,
Starting point is 00:13:48 Ole Miss is down for their standards this year. You go to Jacksonville State in early March, three games against them. They're a top 50 team right now in the RPI. Ole Miss will be better, I think, by the end of the season. You get Georgia, and you go there for a midweek game on March 2nd, 12th, excuse me. So there's plenty of opportunities. Plus the Big Ten slate. Like you go out, you win the regular season title in the Big Ten.
Starting point is 00:14:12 You're still going to be in good shape. You can't afford some of the losses in the midweek games that have plagued them at times over the last couple of seasons. You can't afford a bunch of those, but there's still strength in the schedule. You still challenge yourself enough. And I think people will know if you figure out the bullpen, you're going to be okay. But that's the name of the game at this point. That's okay. When you would have told me going into the weekend that you're going to score five, nine, and six in those three games, I thought that was going to be
Starting point is 00:14:40 enough. And it was with the rotation. It was the bull bullpen it's a pretty simple equation here but definitely a missed opportunity it was not a missed opportunity for the women's basketball team they bounce back and dominate illinois it was the kind of win that they needed because it was another game where caitlyn clark didn't play her best trent she had a triple double she did but caitlyn is there a little something off there we're going to get into that a little bit. Let's talk about the wrestling team as they get their win in the finale of the regular season against Oklahoma State. Some definite good, good news coming out of that one as we continue.
Starting point is 00:15:16 This is Locked on Hawkeyes. Trent Conant back with you one final time on the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast let's end with some positivity and let's get into what we have happening right now with the women's basketball team coming off the loss against Indiana they looked lethargic
Starting point is 00:15:41 off and the story of that game was more than anything that nobody helped out caitlin clark wasn't great in the game and nobody stepped up he didn't get a game of god out of stulkey you didn't have kate martin playing a high level molly davis really struggled in that game we talked about some of the issues with gabby marshall and yet iowa comes out yesterday and another game where Kaitlin wasn't shooting well from the outside. Most everybody stepped up.
Starting point is 00:16:09 Most everybody made plays, got to see a little deeper out of the bench. We got to see a little bit more Addison O'Grady. I think that is a huge component, certainly for this team. Addison O'Grady very well could be the difference in a couple of games this season come tournament time. Her length that she has, the size that she has inside, some of the matchups that they're going
Starting point is 00:16:29 to face, they're going to need Addison to play at a high level. And she went out there and helped out in a big time way. Kaitlyn, 24, 15, and 10. But she did a 6 of 18 shooting from the field and 5 of 14 from three. Hannah Stolke, 20 of 9. Kate Martin, 13 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists. Just doing everything, right? She's the glue. She is the captain. She is the leader.
Starting point is 00:16:56 She is exactly what you want. Need somebody to make a big shot? She can do it. Need somebody to get to the rim? She can do it. Need somebody to get a steal? She does that too. She's a good defender. She does all the things that you want on both ends of the floor. Molly Davis, seeing her get going again, that was great. Molly has
Starting point is 00:17:14 had some games and she had the sickness, had the illness, played four minutes against Penn State, played two against Nebraska. Even in the Michigan game, she played 24, but you see, still working her way back. And that's the Molly Davis that they're going to need. Not just the 17 points, but the five rebounds. Now keeping the ball out of Caitlin's hands, getting her some rest from time to time, running Caitlin off the screens, do that. And you have somebody that can handle the ball in a big time pressure environment. And that's certainly what Molly Davis was able to do.
Starting point is 00:17:40 But again, Gabby, we're getting deep into the season now. We're running out of games for Gabby Marshall to figure this out. And as we look at the final two games of the season, at Minnesota coming up on Wednesday night, and then Ohio State in the regular season finale in Carver next Sunday, the time is limited. And if Gabby Marshall is not hitting her shot, we talked last week, the defensive metrics are not elite. Certainly not the numbers that you'd anticipate out of what many people believe is one of the best on-ball defenders that you have on the team. You got to get her going. And if it doesn't happen, that's going to mean more minutes for a falter. That's going to mean more minutes for Feerbach if she hits shots. Now, Kylie Feerbach, I know we're kind of going crazy
Starting point is 00:18:29 after Kylie hits three three-pointers in the game. Remember, she hadn't hit a three since the Wisconsin game, and that seems like a lifetime ago that they played the Badgers. That's a long, long time. Let's hope this is a sign of things to come because Feerbach, not only does she have the ability to knock down shots, but she's also one of the few players on this team that can do a few things off the bounce. It's not an elite level, but she's adequate at minimum off the bounce. And because of her offensive skill set, if she can play at that high level, knock down some shots and then make a couple of drives a game, do a couple of things off the bounce.
Starting point is 00:19:02 I think you really got an opportunity to build on this and have a chance to do some good things. Taylor McCabe, just seven minutes. I don't get it. Hit a three-pointer late in the game. Had one earlier as well. I still maintain she needs to see more minutes out there. Good to see Sharon Goodman.
Starting point is 00:19:17 And one final note on this game. So it was the pink out for cancer. And you saw all the players had somebody on their back, somebody close to them, somebody that was impacted by cancer and to see Sharon just with mom on her back I don't know if you read the story Chad Leistinkow did one earlier this season about her losing her mother and those are the things that tug at the heartstrings. And you really just, just seeing her and seeing that was amazing. Great event, great size crowd, as always. The environment at Carver for women's basketball is just through the roof and you have to love obviously what we're seeing there. And good to see Sharon get out there and able to play in the game. In fact, everybody I was able to come
Starting point is 00:20:02 in late in that game, got to see Johnson, the freshman, who I know they have high hopes for her building into something. Jada Jimfey from here, my local front in Central Iowa, and A.J. Edinger. One thing that Coach Bluter mentioned after the game is consistency with the post players and getting that consistency. We don't quite have it for Madison O'Grady, but got to see more. You got to give them opportunity to play through a mistake too. And that's something we just haven't seen this year because the minutes have been so limited for really all three of those post players with Goodman, O'Grady, and even Ettinger to a certain extent. The minutes have been so limited. And because of that, we just haven't been able to see them play through a bad stretch. Go out there. You're going to need them. You're going to need them at
Starting point is 00:20:46 some moment here. Got to continue to throw them out there. Got to continue to see that improvement. Keep doing the work and practice. Keep trying to open up the coach's eyes. Keep listening to Coach Jensen and what she posts on coaches in the post because she's amazing on that front too. That's what you need going forward. Oh, and one more note. How about the idea? Now, the first person that I saw that came up with the deal was my guy, Dan Welter. If you're a Hawkeye fan, he's a great follow on Twitter. And he mentioned putting something up, putting some kind of decal where Caitlin Clark hit the shot that set the scoring record, the NCAA scoring record.
Starting point is 00:21:20 And though still trying to track down Woodard, and there's the weird pistol P thing, which is a conversation maybe for a different day, um, to hit that shot in that moment from that far away. Uh, I thought FS1 did a really good job too, of showing all the players before the game, launching shots from there. And it's a long, long ways away. I saw that there was a youth team that was able to practice at Carver and they were trying to hit shots from there. There's no shot, not a whole lot of success from that one, but just having that little decal there, it shows you as you're watching the game and it's small. Now it's not anything gaudy, ridiculous, but just taking that moment, which was an incredible
Starting point is 00:22:03 moment. I mean, to hit that shot at that time was amazing. And to do it so early in the game against Michigan, but it shows you, A, how difficult that shot is for anybody short of Kaitlin Clark, right? Shows you how tough it is to make some kind of shot like that. But also, to honor her in a way, I mean, talk about a rarity. Having something, a decal on the floor.
Starting point is 00:22:26 While you're still playing. It doesn't happen. It just doesn't. With Kaitlyn, does she seem a little bit tired? Go back to the Indiana game, it wasn't good. This one didn't shoot it real well. Are the legs a little tired? Is all this, everything that she's going through,
Starting point is 00:22:43 with the publicity and the media availability and just the constant pressure that is on her, is it catching up? Ultimately, I don't think so. I think it's just a bad stretch shooting the basketball. She impacts the game in a number of different ways, and it's just not about her shooting as we know. It's all the other things that she can also do. But something to keep an eye on. Because Iowa's only shot of making another run, Kaitlin needs to be at her best. You go back to the South Carolina game,
Starting point is 00:23:12 yes, we talk a lot about the defensive game plan and what they came up with, and Coach Fitz coming up with the game plan, we're just going to sag off everything and pack it in inside and hope for the best. And though they gave up a ton of offensive rebounds, even with that game plan, they were able to find a way. Kaitlyn was still as amazing in that game of 41 points and just her ability to do that. Iowa has to have Kaitlyn Clark to play at that level. She has to be superwoman. If this team's going to make another final four, if they're going to play for a championship again, she has to be at that level. And she certainly has it over the last two games. I hope it's just as simple as there's some clunkers and they're at that level. And she certainly has it over the last two games. I hope
Starting point is 00:23:45 it's just as simple as there's some clunkers and they're going to happen. And she's going to find it again, get that stroke going again. And we're going to see the Caitlin Clark, just something to keep an eye on. And finally, the Iowa wrestling team, what a performance going down to Oklahoma state, really good environment down there. Third biggest attendance ever at IBA. And they went down there and really took care of business. It started early on and it continued really throughout the course of the match. Good wins. Gabe Arnold got beat. He was wrestling the second rank wrestler. And Ben Keeter, a heavyweight, beating a rank wrestler. You know, the decision now for Coach Brands and the rest of the wrestling crew is,
Starting point is 00:24:26 what do you do with those two freshmen? Both of them can maintain the redshirt status if they don't wrestle, or do you put them out there at Big Tens? You're not going to chase down Penn State. Mr. Okji, he's got banged up at the end of their final regular season duel, but even if he wouldn't wrestle first, even if he doesn't wrestle at Big Tens, he'll'll get a wild card and he'll be the number one seed. But secondly, even without him, Penn State's still going to win the national championship.
Starting point is 00:24:51 They are. It's just a simple numbers game. They're too good, too deep. They got the veterans. They got the youth. I mean, they have the gap between them and everybody else is so significant. Do you impact your future and getting four more years out of Gabe Arnold, four more years out of Ben Keeter,
Starting point is 00:25:10 to try to get second? I don't know if that makes a whole lot of sense. That's a decision, not an easy place to be, certainly for the wrestling program. But after how poorly it went against Michigan, went kind of as anticipated against Penn State, to bounce back, beat Wisconsin, and then do that at Oklahoma State, at least give a little positive momentum going forward here.
Starting point is 00:25:32 And again, the realistic scenario is you're trying to track down the top three finish, get a team trophy. That's what's plausible because number one is unattainable. You hate to say it, but that is the reality. And that's where we are. Up and down weekend of Iowa sports this weekend. Iowa baseball, Iowa men's basketball. Some disappointment there. And what could have been good on the wrestling
Starting point is 00:25:55 on the women's basketball side. We got a busy week coming up for you here on Lockdown Hawkeyes. We got you covered. We're going to get a little more football talk in also this week as we ramp up towards spring practice. We got to talk a little football. If you missed it last week, we had an opportunity to talk to
Starting point is 00:26:09 our recruiting guru and get a little look at Thomas Meyer and a couple of the other guys for the class of 2025 that already committed and good stuff there. That was on the Thursday podcast. Your team every day. That's what we do here on the Lockdown Network. We got you covered each and every day on the Hawkeye front.
Starting point is 00:26:25 Plus, Lockdown has launched the first ever National Sports 24-7 streaming channel on YouTube. And now it's also available on Amazon Fire TV and the free Fire TV channels app. Lockdown Sports Today is here for you 24-7, covering the top sports stories of the day with the local experts of Locked On, plus our national shows covering every league. Find Locked On Sports Today now available on the free Fire TV channels app. We'll be back with you tomorrow. We'll get ready for Iowa-Penn State and get ready for the week ahead,
Starting point is 00:27:00 plus talk some football coming up on tomorrow's show. Your team every day on the Locked On Network. Thanks for making Locked On, Haw Hawkeyes your first listen every day. We'll talk to you again tomorrow. Go Hawks.

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