Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - How Iowa Hawkeyes' Sydney Affolter dominated Michigan & Scott Dochterman talks NFL Draft Combine

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Iowa women go on the road and pick up another quad one victory, an impactful one and maybe one of the more complete performances of the year. We talk about that. Plus, the Hawkeyes in the NFL draft combine with Scott Dockerman all today, Locked on Hawkeye. 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 00:00:32 I'm Trent Condon and this is the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. Thanks for being with us and making Locked On Hawkeyes your first listen every day. We're available wherever you find podcasts. You can also watch us on YouTube. While you're there, make sure you hit the subscribe button subscribe button helps us get in front of more Hawkeye fans We've got a busy show for you here today and a little bit of everything We're gonna be talking football and NFL combine with Scott Dockerman from the Athletic also I'm gonna get his thoughts in his perspective on Liddell Betts leaving for the NFL

Starting point is 00:01:01 We'll talk NFL and Iowa football coming up here with Scott Dockerman in just a little bit, plus his thoughts on some Iowa basketball topics. But not only that, we got you covered on the basketball front an important victory for the women. We will break that one down. And also I look forward to Friday, the men. It's not a must win situation. At minimum, the Iowa men to extend their season,

Starting point is 00:01:24 I believe they have to win at least one more game. And it doesn't matter which of these three it comes from, but you can't go over an 0-0 for three, or this season's going to be done for the Hawkeyes. We're going to talk about that as well. But we kick things off from what we saw, Iowa against Michigan. Hawkeyes race out to an early lead against the Wolverines. And you know, one thing that we talked about leading into the game yesterday for the Hawkeye women is that this is a Michigan team that was in a very similar spot to Iowa. You look at the net rankings.

Starting point is 00:01:52 You look at Big Ten standings. You just look at overall quality of resume. These two teams were incredibly tight. Now, the likelihood that Iowa is going to be able to track them down, we'll see on that front because tiebreakers are gonna be crazy. There's still a very good likelihood, even if Iowa does what they're supposed to on Sunday against Wisconsin, that they're still going to be playing in the opening round of the

Starting point is 00:02:13 Big Ten tournament and having to win five games in five days to cut down the nets and win another Big Ten championship and make it four in a row. But this is a Michigan team that not only had a very similar resume to Iowa, this is a team that was playing incredibly well. Now they came into the game last night, they had won five of their last six and it wasn't just that they had won five out of six, they were beating some solid teams. Wins against Oregon, Nebraska, Michigan State, Indiana. These are all really solid teams, all of them NCAA tournament teams, but it wasn't that they were just beating them, they were throttling them. They beat Oregon by 32. They beat Michigan State by 10. They beat Nebraska by 18. This was a Wolverine team that came in playing incredibly well.

Starting point is 00:02:57 The Iowa women just absolutely took it to them. Early on, it was Sydney Affolter. And it was so great to see that performance from Affolter because she struggled coming into the year coming off that knee surgery. And we saw she just wasn't herself. Sydney Affolter is not a player that you look at. That's going to be your typical 20 point score. That's not where she is. What she is Southside tough, an incredible rebounder, especially for her size of five foot 11, maybe. She is tough, tenacious, can guard a bunch of different positions, can guard inside, can guard outside.

Starting point is 00:03:32 Her athleticism is her strength, and with a knee injury, well, didn't have as much practice time. Now, you wonder how this year could have gone if it would have been healthy all the way through and didn't have that surgery, but we'll never know that. To see her put together that kind of performance, 35 minutes of the game, she goes nine to 12 from the floor, four of four from the three point line.

Starting point is 00:03:52 And that was another area that she was really struggling earlier this season. And of course, another double double with 11 rebounds to go along with it. 24 and 11. Now with City of Falter, a lot of times it's 7 points, 12 rebounds, right? Those kind of games that you get from her. But her ability to knock down those shots. And it was not just that she was knocking down the shots. What I'd love to see from her, especially in that first quarter when she had what 14 of those points was she was aggressive. It wasn't just hitting the open shot. That's always been part of the repertoire for Sidney and Folter. It was always open

Starting point is 00:04:25 shot knock it down, right? But she was being aggressive. There was somebody closing out on her but she was hot. I'm going to fire it up. And then she started going to the hole a little bit more and you saw a couple of times she was able to get a step on the defender because what she was doing with the three point shooting. Look, if you get this kind of offense and of course you can never expect a player to go four for four, a game and it came out from the three point line. But if you get an aggressive,

Starting point is 00:04:50 a solid offensive showing from Sydney Fulter every single time, you're gonna be in good shape. McCabe did her thing, knocked down a couple of three pointers in the game. Lucy Olson then, after the attention started to go to a Fulter, they jumped on her and she was hot.

Starting point is 00:05:04 And boy, Lucy Olson talk about the three point shooting that we've seen from her this easy. You know, when she committed it coming in from Villanova, we were told very quickly, you know, this could be a different type of player than what we're used to at KM Clark. And obviously, it's going to be and I think we all understood it. But it was more than anything here, one of the top scores in the country, and a guard and a point guard at that you think, well, she's going to be handled the ball a ton that

Starting point is 00:05:27 she was going to be a player that you were going to see that had a three point. That was not Lucy Olson. She was never known as a great three point shooter. And then you look at what she's been able to do this season, what she's been able to put together at the three point shooting 35% from behind the arc. I mean, that's, that's big time, 42 three pointers on the year. And that was not always the case for her throughout the course of the year. That is something that is definitely taking a big step forward. And, and they definitely need that. A couple other players to mention, we're going to talk about the resume of this women's team, because

Starting point is 00:06:01 more than anything, the importance in my mind for them to get up to that number six seed line in the NCAA tournament. I think it's incredibly impactful and a chance for this team to make a run. I hit a Stulkey, a little consistent at times in this one. Stulkey though got to the free throw line, five out of six. Love to see that. We know that's been up and down. The continued play of Kylie Fierbach though on the defensive end of the floor. Had a couple of runouts. Really nice up and under move. Come to the right side of the rim to finish in the second half of the game.

Starting point is 00:06:33 But it just, it feels like the light bulb has come on for Feerbach and what she's done. And then we got to see the youngsters out there a little bit more. 11 minutes out of Guyton, six minutes out of Hayden. Hadn't seen her a ton lately. Able to get a little bit of run. Saw Taylor Stremblo and Malaney both in there a little bit as well. So still working those freshmen in, getting them minutes, getting them minutes on the road in the Big Ten because that is part of the future of this basketball program. But we will go to Senior Day and it will be a chance to honor Lucy Olson for one year here, but the other seniors and gonna be I think quite a scene in Carver Wisconsin team that

Starting point is 00:07:11 is not very good looking at the projections as I was going to be projected to be a really big favorite in that game against the Badgers. Let me bring it back up here at 21 is where the analytical website Bart torvik dot com has that I will favor by 21 that shows you this one should be a laugher I wish you finish the season at 20 and nine 10 and eight in the big 10 and a resume that points to potentially working their way up to become a number six seed in the NCAA tournament now you start with beating Wisconsin number one if it plays out like I projected, Iowa opens up as the number 10 seed in the Big Ten tournament against 15th seeded Penn State.

Starting point is 00:07:51 Then they would take on Michigan State and my projections, Sparty would be the number 7 seed. Michigan State, there's a little payback there, as Iowa won slip away back in the middle of December. That was one of those games. Now the early conference games, if you will, really should have put that one away. I think they're kicking themselves about that one. Michigan State came back and got the victory. Iowa can win that game and that would be another quad one victory for them. So speaking of that, here's the resume for Iowa as it's currently sits. They have six road victories, four neutral court victories. They are number 26 in the net rankings. Their non-conference strength of schedule is 24. Their overall strength

Starting point is 00:08:35 of schedule is seventh in the country. They are five and six against Quad One, have that elite level win against USC. Overall, Quad's 1 and 2 when you put them together, they are 8 and 9. And when you look at other teams in the same kind of level, Charlie Kareem, the bracketologist at ESPN before he, we went into the game against Michigan at Iowa on the 7th line, Michigan on the 6th. Look at Iowa's resume against Michigan. They're very close, basically a toss up, and Iowa beat them in Michigan. If we're looking at deciding factors and resumes that are that tight,

Starting point is 00:09:08 that should definitely play out. You look at other number 16 seeds, West Virginia, Louisville, programs like that, it's really good, and here's one other thing. And one thing I've been looking for, and I'm gonna dig in a little bit more on this front, we know that the analytical part of things is being looked at by the NCAA men's committee. So I've been talking a lot this season about Bartorvik, who is much like

Starting point is 00:09:32 Ken Pomeroy on the men's side. He's an analytic based guy, puts in the numbers and spits out what offensive efficiency is, defensive efficiency. It is a projection based metric that projects forward. It is predictive. Not just what you've done predicts what they believe, what the computer believes would happen going forward. Bart Tormach's advanced metrics has Iowa ranked as the 21st ranked team in the country. Got to do a little more digging and see if analytics, how much bigger they are on the women's side of things. Definitely know that is something that has come in and been part of the team sheets on the women's side. We will certainly keep an eye on that one, but the Iowa resume gets better at a chance to build on it. Get the win against Wisconsin,

Starting point is 00:10:16 win a couple in the Big 10 tournament. Let's get hot. Let's see what happens on that front. We continue Lockdown Hawkeyes. Time for some Iowa football talk with Scott Dockerman from the Athletic. He is in Indianapolis at the NFL Draft Combine. We'll get his perspective and his thoughts on what he is seeing with the local guys that are involved over there. We'll talk to him a little bit about that and a whole lot more as we talk with Scott Dockerman from the Athletic. When we come back back this is locked on Hawkeyes. All right Hawkeye fans the future of college athletics is here and it's transparent. Before the Roy app NIL negotiations often happen under the table and fans didn't have a clear way to directly support the athletes that they love. Now with Roy you get to be a part of the change and support Hawkeye athletes in the most transparent they love. Now with Roy, you get to be a part of the change and support Hawkeye

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Starting point is 00:12:03 Welcome back to the lockdowndown Hawkeyes Podcast. Trent Cotton with you as we talk the world of Hawkeye athletics. Had an opportunity to talk with Scott Dockerman from the Athletic Look at Iowa at the NFL Giraffe Combine right now. The Anapolis, the Combine goes on. Scott Dockerman is there covering it for the Athletic and he joins us. Doc, Trenton, Ken, how are you? the yet the famous steak house with more famous shrimp cocktail sauce have you been. Not yet now it's I was I was pretty busy yesterday, I got there Monday night after stopping in champagne and

Starting point is 00:12:53 talking to bread be limit for a little while but I know I haven't made it there hopefully I will sometimes. So is it still is popular dock when you look around it really escalated in balloon as far as attendance, media, eyeballs covering this event. Is it as popular as it was? I know that there's actually some teams that aren't going anymore that are taking part via Zoom. Is it still as big as it once was?

Starting point is 00:13:21 Yeah, it is. I think it's different than it has been in the past. I would say from a media perspective, there's just as many people here as there normally is as far as the teams go. Some staffers don't think they get enough out of it. I can understand that if you're looking at it from the workouts. I think it's kind of short-sighted when you talk about like the interview process because you get all these opportunities to meet in with the prospects. I don't know why if you're a head coach or a general manager you wouldn't want to do that,

Starting point is 00:13:55 but for the on-field workouts, I mean you can see it on television these days and see what the numbers are and you know, so I can get it from that point of view. So question for you Doc I heard you last week talking about Nick Jackson not getting invited to the combine and there has to be a certain amount of teams that want you there how does that kind of process work in order to get that invite to the combine. Yeah, it was mainly with the related to Mason Richmond. Oh, okay. Eight team players or 18 teams have to like recommend each prospect

Starting point is 00:14:33 to come to the combine. And I think in Mason's case, there were 16 teams. So he wasn't able to get an invite, which is kind of wild when you think about it. Somebody could accidentally leave you off or they put on 300 names and whatever. But, you know, so, I mean, you look at it from different points of view, you know,

Starting point is 00:14:52 it's at least 18 teams think enough of you that you should be here. So that's pretty good for the players who are here. And, you know, in Mason's case, in particular, you know, he's not here, but he'll have a good pro day, I'm sure, and there'll be teams there that will meet with him. But it's kind of like a status symbol. It's kind of like if you get drafted versus undrafted, you're always going to be a draft

Starting point is 00:15:13 pick, even though you may have a better situation if you're not. So, you know, and then Mason's case, he may actually build him more of an interest base in Iowa City during their pro day because other teams haven't met with him face to face. And you know, so you hope for the best for those players and there's others at every school they're like that. Nick Jackson's running May Jay Higgins met the media this morning, you were there for that. What what's kind of the buzz around him doc and what did what did Higgins have to say in particularly when asked about his time at Iowa? And then kind of what's what are you hearing about him round wise, if anything?

Starting point is 00:15:49 Oh, okay. Yeah, he's, you know, the buzz around Jay is always good because he's energetic of a person as you'll ever meet, but also just his football acumen. And today he did a really nice job of outlining his responsibilities at Iowa, what he saw. I mean, he's teaching calculus to us media folk in Indianapolis when it comes to what he's looking at at pre-snap, what he's trying to define.

Starting point is 00:16:18 And then some of the things he said at Iowa, it was kind of funny that somebody asked, what's in the water at Iowa? And he's like, hard works in the water. We're different than everybody else. And, and we think of things that way. And, and then, uh, kind of, kind of took a shot at, uh, some people when it came to like the 24 seven and, and, uh, rankings and rivals, he's like, you know, we don't miss it. They're like, go after everybody who's that high on, on rivals and we value our own picks. Somebody's like, Hey, I work for rivals or whatever.

Starting point is 00:16:48 And he's like, you guys didn't have me very high, but some of the guys who had, you had me higher or I'm paraphrasing here, but that you had higher than me aren't here and I am. So I think that was, uh, that was pretty, pretty funny that Jay popped that out. Didn't forget. And a lot of those guys don't forget where they were the rankings And they won't forget where they go Certainly on draft day a guy with the Iowa background obviously that's gonna have I think interesting conversations is

Starting point is 00:17:15 Jamari Harris the decision to opt out the last couple of games he was involved in the sports gambling Suit and sat out a couple of games. He had an OWI in the sports gambling suit and sat out a couple of games. He had an OWI. There's a lot of demerits, a lot of marks on that resume. Now ultimately the NFL, if you can play- Can you play? Yeah, you're a decent dude. You're gonna find a home.

Starting point is 00:17:33 What's this week gonna be like for Jamari Harris? Yeah, I think there's gonna be a lot of interest from teams asking those questions because there are different camps. And I spent yesterday talking to some general managers, not about him specifically, because it would answer anything like that, but in general about players, say,

Starting point is 00:17:51 opting out of their regular season, which is a little bit different phenomenon than the Bulls, which is a normal occurrence these days. And I got most of the views where we take a case by case, and then there was another one who said, look, I'm not going to judge anybody if they think that this is the best decision for their family. But really what was unsaid was we're going to ask because it's going to depend on how comfortable they are.

Starting point is 00:18:17 Do they feel like, you know, and again, if you're injured and you're out there in your sub, you know, you got a situation that you just don't feel like you could play your best and maybe you hurt your opportunities, then they can maybe understand that. If they don't feel that way, then they won't. And I think there's gonna be a probably a sharp divide ultimately among the NFL teams where you're gonna see some teams say he's off our board. We just don't want that kind of a player. He quit on his team in the middle of the season. And then there's other players, teams that are going to say, you know what, we can understand

Starting point is 00:18:47 the circumstances here. And we decide, um, and we're about if you can play or not. And we, we feel comfortable with what his explanation was and move on. And ultimately you just need one team to believe in you. And I think he'd find that because his performance shows that. And he's a pretty, he's a pretty high character despite some of the past flaws. So, but it will be fascinating to see that unfold. And I don't know how much of that he'll share with me or, or later on, but,

Starting point is 00:19:15 but it is a fascinating topic. No question. Doc, uh, quarterbacks, a lot of them are opting out at least of the, of the working out of throwing. Um, I mean, I don't know who's going to, I know Quinn Ewers is going to, he's there. What about that? Obviously last year, I don't think Drake May through, uh, Caleb Williams didn't throw. Um, I'm not, I don't think any of the upper, though, of the big names top, how many went in the top 12? Was it six or five? Uh, anyways, most of them did not participate. How are teams viewing that, Doc?

Starting point is 00:19:48 Are they just gonna wait for the pro days? Yeah, it's that even, yeah. I mean, it's become such a common occurrence. I didn't even know that it's a big deal anymore. I mean, if somebody actually opts in to throw, it's kind of a big deal. Because they're throwing to receivers who they've never thrown to.

Starting point is 00:20:05 They have different levels that run routes differently. They have no chemistry with them. And you throw a couple of incompletions and then the basement draft next start getting, start chirping about, oh, look at him. He can't do this, right? Stock really fell. Yeah, exactly. And you just get all this negative rhetoric and it well why do that why not go to your home environment

Starting point is 00:20:28 you know receivers you know throw to them you know I went to Brock Purdy's throwing session a couple years ago and it was really good and I think he was like 52 of 55 and he showed a little bit better depth in his routes and there were a lot of scouts there and and and that makes a lot a lot of sense now if you're A bit round prospect, you know, this is a time to gamble on yourselves and you know, whether it's Quinnette yours who was injured Throughout the season, you know other other quarterbacks that want to show that they can do it and it just adds to you know It allows them to get a better opportunity But then you know, then they're the other ones who were in that upper category.

Starting point is 00:21:05 There's really no nothing to gain because if they're perfect on all their passes at the combine, it's not going to be, Oh, he's definitely going number one overall. It's just, uh, it's just neat for everybody to watch on TV. Another guy I had a thought from, from the Iowa state perspective, Gary Porter, a six four receiver. When he goes over there, doesn't get an Iowa offer. He goes to Iowa State from Bettendorf. Don't see that happen a whole lot. He goes, not a wide receiver. They move into corner and I thought, well, this guy's career is over. He'll be a special teamer. And that's it. Cause you don't see six foot,

Starting point is 00:21:35 four quarterbacks yet. Here he is a late bloomer. He's got speed. He's got size. What's going to be the buzz about Darien Porter? Yeah. How he tests will impact how he goes. I mean, a story that I'm writing, or I just finished and I'm writing, is just kind of about the CFP teams, like Ohio State, Notre Dame, and the players not getting much of an opportunity

Starting point is 00:21:58 to participate in training and progress to recovery and all of that. Well, you look at, you know, Darian Porter, he got all that opportunity and that's really helpful for him. And I think that what he does on the field drills where the Ohio State and Notre Dame guys won't get really judged by that if they do participate, but he will. And I think being that long, that lengthy and being able to do so many things that he can do if he can show that he's got good agility and quickness and speed That's really gonna benefit him in the long run because he is such a long-armed guy and then there are There are teams that that are you have absolute standards when it comes to how they determine, you know a corner cornerback. Like they want X number of arm lengths or for height, you know,

Starting point is 00:22:48 they don't want somebody for the, for an outside corner position who's five 11 with 32 inch arms, you know, so he can really put himself in a really good position with a, with a good workout. But, but even if he doesn't, I don't think that strips him off boards. It's just kind of a, um, but he can, he's got a chance to really rise as a, as a, uh, participant here. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:23:09 I've seen first round mocks with him. I mean, I think that's a stretch, but certainly second day, uh, potential, uh, doc, uh, Liddell bets, obviously you covered him as a player. Uh, and then he goes to the NFL comes back to Iowa. Um, everybody we talked to docs is this says this is a blow, especially where we are calendar-wise, what he meant recruiting-wise, how he was able to hold that running back room together with only a certain number of carries to go around. How big of a blow is Liddell Betts leaving Ference's staff? Well, he's a legitimate pro coach. I mean, he was one of the better position coaches and it's pretty obvious from his recruiting

Starting point is 00:23:47 Acumen that that I would completely benefit it from him I mean he went and got you know, they're top two running backs next year jazz Patterson and and Kamari Molten are both Florida guys that he went and got you know, uh, Caleb Johnson He was able to bring him in the fold He was the first guy he recruited lost him to to Cal, then brought him back. And of course, Caleb, there is serious buzz here. It's off the charts. I mean, I asked three or four, I know this is a different topic, but three or four big 10 linebackers today who is the best running back. They all said, Caleb Johnson, that's going to be back. So pretty big stuff there. But LaDelle is, I mean, is he replaceable?

Starting point is 00:24:25 Yeah. But is he going to find, are you going to find a better one? I don't know. He's, he did a really good job and I can see why the NFL wants him to be able to put everybody together and how he coached Salem Johnson from being a talented, um, guy to being an, uh, first team all American is because of what he was able to do with him and how he was able to train him and it Took time, you know to get him to do some things well, which was go from you know to finishing runs with you know, with a blow on the defender to Getting his pads down. I mean that took a lot of time and work and effort and Ladell with his of the respect that he built. I mean that was that was significant So this is not a minor loss for Iowa by any stretch. It's not just, A, a possession coach. I mean, but, you know, is it the worst guy to lose? You know, I'm not going to go there. I just think he's, he's going to be a quality running backs coach in the NFL.

Starting point is 00:25:24 That is Scott Dockerman from the Athletic as we take a look at some Hawkeye football topics with Doc today. We continue Lockdown Hawkeyes. Did you get your tickets to see Caitlin Clark if you didn't? Well, it's going to cost you next. We talk some hoops and a must win in Carver. That's all coming up on the Lockdown Hawkeyes Podcast. Today's episode is brought to you by Fabric by Gerber Life. Life comes at you fast, especially when you have a family. One day you're watching your kids take their first steps, and before you know it, they're off to college. That's why securing their future is so important. Fabric by Gerber Life makes it simple to get term life insurance that fits your family's needs.

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Starting point is 00:26:55 Western Southern Life Assurance Company. Not available in certain states. Prices subject to underwriting and health questions. Fabric by Gerber Life. Big thank you to them for being with us on the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. We continue here in a moment and a look at Caitlin Clark coming back to Carver. Traycona back with you one final time locked on Hawkeyes thanks for being with us and making locked on Hawkeyes your first listen every day all right rapid things up here and big win for the women we know Caitlin's coming back to Carver

Starting point is 00:27:38 and it's already sold out I told you yesterday about the ability to get tickets Hey baby you can jump aboard get some tickets this way or that way well before they get to the general public they're gone I've your season ticket holder you got first dibs at that one Congratulations to you if you were able to get that four pack That's the friends that I know jumped aboard with that one just absolutely incredible and the thing sells out in less than an hour You wonder should they just put this thing in Kinnick like they they did at the crossover to Kinnick? And it would have been a huge number. That probably went in 60,000 fans that were there in May to watch that one.

Starting point is 00:28:10 Their Indiana Fever, they've already had to move a couple of games. A couple of the rogue games have been moved against the Mystics in Washington, been moved to a bigger arena in Baltimore. It just, it's on and on and on. It continues. It's great. It's going to be awesome. So excited to have her back that ticket is gonna be absolutely

Starting point is 00:28:27 Ridiculous. In fact, that was one thing I was gonna take a peek at here is see Already because we are just a little bit after the sellout was announced So what are these Indiana Fever games going to go for on the open market? I am going to anticipate this thing is going to be a monster of a ticket. All right. Indiana fever events. Let's find it here. Against the Brazilian national team. There it goes. Pops right up. There's 20 listings right now, including fees. Get in price! That's the cheapest? Yeah, that's the cheapest. Get in price! $739 for one. $739. Okay.

Starting point is 00:29:09 Okay. Get out the wallets. Get out the checkbooks. Get out the credit cards. It could be a pricey one if you didn't get in. There's some gouging going on. It'll likely go down as we get closer. But boy, absolutely incredible. Sunday, May 4th, Kaitlyn makes her return to Carver Hawkeye Arena. I mentioned a must-win. And it's a must-win, I think, for the Iowa women. When we're talking

Starting point is 00:29:37 about the seeding coming up on Sunday against Wisconsin, the Iowa men, we're going to talk about that more tomorrow. Their matchup against Northwestern, just a huge, huge opportunity for them and an opportunity for them to go out, really improve their opportunity to get in the Big Ten tournament. There was some conversation earlier this morning with Fray McCaffrey at his press conference before the Northwestern game. Drew Thelwell is going to be available. There's a little storyline for you. But I was asked about the 18 teams, the three teams that don't make the Big Ten tournament. And there's a Penn State coach that I'd mentioned after their game didn't like it. I'm the same way. I guess maybe it does add a little intrigue at the end. But one thing that's great about college basketball,

Starting point is 00:30:19 one thing that I love about college hoops is that everybody can play their way in. Outside of the Ivy League that only four teams qualify for their conference tournament, everybody else that's eligible for the NCAA tournament, you can play your way in. You have one final shot to get there, except in the Big Ten, because the league has grown so big that they haven't been able to do it. Is there a perfect way? No. Take a look at the Sunbelt bracket, by the way, and see the way that they've configured this thing to make it easier for the top teams. I think it's six, maybe seven games that the bottom teams in the conference have to win to win the bid. That's fine. And we saw it last year, NC State

Starting point is 00:31:01 won five games in five days to win the ACC, secure the automatic bid, they went on to the final four. Give everybody the shot. And if you're one of those lower teams, it's going to be a much more difficult path. I get that. But if you finish in the bottom half of your league, an 18 team league, after 20 games, your path should be more difficult. I think they're onto something there. We'll talk about that a little bit more coming up here as we get ready for the Big Ten tournament. Back with you tomorrow, we have Tom Kaikert from Hawkeye Report set to join us and get ready for Iowa Northwestern on the hardwood.

Starting point is 00:31:33 Set the scene for the weekend and a whole lot more. I'm Trent Conda and I'm with you each and every weekday talking the world of Hawkeye athletics. You can join us. Hit subscribe if you're watching on YouTube. Just takes you a second, really does help us out. If you're on the podcast side, five star reviews helps us get in front of more Hawkeye fans. We'll talk to you again tomorrow. Go Hawks.

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