Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - UNSTOPPABLE: Tavion Banks and Alvaro Folgueiras POWER Iowa Hawkeyes Past Florida for Sweet 16 Berth

Starting point is 00:00:00 The champions are done. Iowa knocks off number one, Florida, the defending national champions. And moves on to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1999. We break it down next. 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. Part of the Lockdown Network, now number of the Lockdown. one for sports podcast. Well, we got basketball to talk about. We got a sweet 16 matchup to talk about

Starting point is 00:00:42 as the Hawkeyes will face off against Nebraska. But we are here today to talk about what we just saw. Iowa did. Many people believed was impossible taking down the defending national champion Florida Gators, getting the win against them, the second ever victory against the number one seed for the Iowa basketball program. And now Ben McCollum becomes just the second coach in the second coach. Iowa basketball history to go to the Sweet 16 in his first season. Joining Dr. Tom Davis. Oh, what a night it is. As always, it is great to be a Hawkeye, but boy, this one feels even greater.

Starting point is 00:01:18 Thanks for joining us here as we react to the biggest win in the program since 1999. I don't think it's a stretch to say that. And obviously, it has been a long and difficult road for Hawkeye fans. But here we are you every day are watchers of our program. you know I got the poster of BJ Armstrong, Roy Marble, Ed Horton right over my shoulder. That's where my love of sport began. Not basketball, not the Hawkeyes. Sports in general came from that group of three guys and the 1986-87 team.

Starting point is 00:01:49 It was an incredible run, ended in the Elite 8 last year. Now Iowa will play for a chance to get to the Elite 8 in that one. Still, I am battling a little bit of sinus infection here, but I don't care because I am absolutely wired. I could not be more excited. The celebration with my kids and my wife, hopping up and down like a little kid again. And Iowa basketball. I'm sure you've heard me say before, if you joined us before, that Iowa basketball is still the sport that I have the biggest visual, just the reaction. It goes to another level. And I know there's lots that goes into that, but Iowa basketball, I still get the most upset when things don't go well. And during this,

Starting point is 00:02:33 27-year drought of not making it to the second weekend of the big dance, there's been a lot of frustrating moments. And we've gone through plenty of lows as Hawkeye fans. Just think back of this season and how close this Iowa team has been pulling off some monstrous upsets, a eight-point lead against Purdue on the road, what they did against Iowa State in Hilton. Of course, the game a couple of weeks ago against Michigan, forcing overtime against Nebraska road victory that maybe could have changed the course. And just how close so many times this squad has been against some of the best in the sport.

Starting point is 00:03:09 And a final, finally breakthrough, to do it in that environment in Tampa was just absolutely incredible. That's a road environment. And to do that in that scene against not just anybody, but a team also on paper, that was not a great matchup for Iowa. That was a matchup that you knew was going to be incredibly difficult. And what do they do? Ben McCollum and company put together a great plan.

Starting point is 00:03:32 On the other side, the team executed it. And as we've mentioned throughout the course of this season with this team, this is what you want to see. It can't just be the reliance on one guy. You put it all together. You know you have the guy with the X's and O's and the coaching acumen, obviously, and Ben McCollum. You don't win at any level of basketball if you don't have a high level basketball IQ like

Starting point is 00:03:55 Ben McCollum does. And obviously, we've seen that. And to put it all together and to do that against this squad, the defending national national champions, the favorite to come out of the region, and to go in there and not just beat them. It's not a fluky night where he hit 16 three-pointers. You went in there, you out-physicaled them. You absolutely were the better team on the floor. And to hear guys that say that, to hear commentators afterwards, what Charles Barkley is saying that your team was the better one and deserved to win, how great is that to hear as Hawkeye fans? So many great moments,

Starting point is 00:04:29 so many highlights, so many different things to get into. We definitely will hear. during our conversation today, absolutely pumped up. I want to start with Ben McCollum, and I want to start with the quote after the curleffle, the nearly fisticuffs that happen in the game. Now, of course, Todd Golden looked like an idiot, which isn't a surprise, looking to his background and probably shouldn't be a shocker there. But that aside, he's out there and Ben McCollum didn't back down. I love that.

Starting point is 00:05:00 I absolutely love that at the moment. I loved that at the moment before we saw if Elfuel, I'll get Algaro Fool de Garis actually had thrown a punch or not. I still loved it. We're not backing down. We're not going to come in here and get punked. And too many times in the past, during this 27-year drought, we've seen Iowa basketball back down.

Starting point is 00:05:20 Iowa basketball not be tough enough. And they were not going to allow that to happen. Florida might got them. Florida might go out there and be the better team. But Iowa was not going to go in there and get pumped. And that, I thought, was absolutely the perfect time for Ben McCulled not to back down, to holler right back at him, as told Todd Golden's looking like an idiot. And of course, we saw that as Full Garris.

Starting point is 00:05:42 I don't know how and I don't know why. There is the shot, though. He clenches up the fits, but he's just going after the ball. Absolutely wild. Absolutely crazy. But then we go a step further. And then we get to hear from Coach McCollum in the sideline interview during the first half. and he said, quote, their people got sensitive, we're just trying to play ball.

Starting point is 00:06:06 Again, not backing down. Absolutely perfect. The embodiment of what this basketball program needed. This is the guy that they absolutely needed. Now, had there been times during the course of the year that I get frustrated? Absolutely. I said after the Penn State game, I'm not going to treat it with kid gloves anymore. And I'm going to ask more questions about the reasons that they're doing things.

Starting point is 00:06:30 not that I thought Ben McCollum was a bad coach. And if that's your takeaway from it, give your head a shake. Come on. Think about things a little bit deeper. There has to be context beside things. And when you talk about things daily, like I do, both here and on the radio, there are going to be things. It can't just be, well, he's smarter me, and we'll move on, because these shows would be

Starting point is 00:06:50 very short, and I don't think you get much out of it. But here we are, and we are going to celebrate. And we are going to celebrate in the biggest way and get ready for this matchup, Nebraska, but before that, we continued to relive it. Their people got sensitive. We're just trying to play ball. Print the T-shirt. I can't wait.

Starting point is 00:07:09 I'm buying one. Absolutely. I don't care what company's coming out with it. I'm getting one of those things. Ben McCollum, boom, absolutely nailed it there. They didn't back down. And in the end, they made the plays to win this basketball game. We got so much to get into here today.

Starting point is 00:07:24 A retrospective, just I have been waiting for this moment for more than a quarter century. I am an old man with gray hair. I'm in my mid-40s. I was a freshman at the University of Iowa the last time that this happened. I watched the Sweet 16 game and What I Jakes. It's no longer a bar. Love that place, by the way, but it's not there any longer. Here we're going to get another opportunity.

Starting point is 00:07:48 I wish One I Jakes was there. Maybe I'd make a return or maybe be making them way down to Houston. But that aside, we have waited 27 years. Let's celebrate. We're going to dive back into this game. talk about some of the big matchups. And as I mentioned leading into this one, the anatomy for an upset, you need a Bennett starts to be superhero.

Starting point is 00:08:05 He wasn't, but everybody else stepped up in some way. And you have to love that part of this Iowa basketball team. The Hawkeyes are into the Sweet 16 in the first time of 27 years. We're celebrating as we continue. This is Locked on Hawkeyes. Workplace chaos, deadline stacking up, inbox overflowing in the one position you have to fill still sitting open. When the pressure's on and you're going,

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Starting point is 00:11:16 Trent, kind of back with you once again here on your daily Iowa Hawkeye podcast. We are Locked on Hawkeyes. Glad to have you aboard with us. You're watching us on YouTube. If you're with us on the audio side, appreciate each and every one of you. And certainly, we got a fun, fun week ahead of us here. We got Iowa women's basketball coming up on Monday. They'll play at 1 o'clock for a chance for them to punch their ticket into the Sweet 16,

Starting point is 00:11:39 but the men are already there. Let's go through a couple of highlight moments that I have here in my notes and take a look through things. Starting back in the first half, Iowa gets off to a solid start in the game, and you can see right away, Iowa dictated the tempo. It was something that was incredibly important to do. They had to be able to do that. And now this is the sixth time this season, Florida is lost when the possessions are low. When they're under 70 in the game, that's when they have been susceptible to losing.

Starting point is 00:12:09 What as Iowa do, they dictate pace. It's not always the most aesthetically pleasing. There are times, take the shot, it's right there. Why pull it out? However, there is a method to the madness. And if you just play this game straight up and each team racing up and down the floor, I don't think it ends with an Iowa victory as it did in this one. Let's go through a couple of the players.

Starting point is 00:12:31 Start with Bennett-Stertz, and that's normally who we start with. Bennett-Serts was not very good in this game. And it wasn't just the O of 9 shooting from behind the arc, though. That was a huge part of that. Both when Iowa had a chance to extend the lead at different points, but even as Florida was coming to roaring back, he had a couple of looks.

Starting point is 00:12:48 Couple in the first half, open looks. He couldn't knock down O of 9 from behind the arc, finished the game with 13 points, and 5 of 16 shooting, though, did have a late one. that was really important as he got a layup to go, I think to cut it back to a point if memory serves at that point in time. Did have five assists and boy, that fifth assist was the big one as Elverro Fulgiris knocked it down from the corner.

Starting point is 00:13:11 What a shot that was from him. Want to talk about Kail Combs. I thought he did a really good job defensively. Also during the second half, Kale Combs, what we saw out of him is both him and the sturt's in the back court, their ability to beat that pressure. And for the most part, Florida, this. was not pressure to get steals. It was a way to try to speed Iowa up a little bit,

Starting point is 00:13:33 get them to take a little bit more time, slow down some of the actions that he'd do to run clock and just get them behind the eight ball a little bit offensively of what they like to do. But both Combs and Sturts were really good in that role, beating the pressure, getting it to the middle of different times just to keep them off balance

Starting point is 00:13:50 and then going back and forth in the back court between those two. Really like what we saw out of Kiel Combs. Three or five from the floor, a miss is only three-point attempt in the game. Finished though with six points and six assists and did it with only one turnover. We know just how good that defense is for Florida. I think that said a lot. Without Tavion, Banks, Iowa does not win this game. Tavion, I know Elverro is going to get a ton of credit as he should for the game that he played. Without Tavian Banks in the first half, they do not take the

Starting point is 00:14:19 lead into the locker room. He was an absolute man in this game going up a front line of Alex Condit at 6 foot 11. Chittaloo at 6 foot 10 and looks like he weighs about 290 pounds. Just a monster of a man inside. Thomas Howe, their small forward. He's 6 foot 9. Going up against that front line, Tavion Banks did not back down, went into the rim and was absolutely outstanding. And that's the high level stuff we've seen at different times from Tavion Banks this season. He finishes with a game high 20 points. He also finishes with six rebounds in the game. Did have an assist, had a steal in this one. In fact, he was the top guy in plus minus. He was a plus six while he was on the floor. Cooper Koch, talk about the second half when Florida was making their runs. A couple of timely threes

Starting point is 00:15:06 for three-pointers in the game for him. Played some good defense also. I thought inside both when he was giving up size and girth against guys like Chittaloo and against Alex Kahn. I thought he did a really nice job defensively. And you talk about a guy that has taken an absolute leap on the defensive end of floor from what he was a year ago in the limited time we got to see during his redshirt campaign before the injury and continuing on Cooper Cotch, a huge credit to him. We know that scoring punch and that shooting ability is going to be big, also had three rebounds in the game against that front line. Cam Manuel, Maniow had a rough stretch. The turnover that he had on the fast break, that was one on two, then he had one swiped away when he was going in for a dunk. That was a bad minute and a half.

Starting point is 00:15:52 but outside of that, another guy that just competed his butt off against this big front line, have to give a ton of credit to him. Cam outstanding once again doing everything that he could. But we go to Elverro Fulgaris, a three-porter that will go down for a long time. And this is even better than Dean Oliver's behind the back pass to move on. I think this might even exceed Kevin Gamble in the shot that said I went to the elite eight back in 1987. this one's going to be remembered for a long time because Kevin Gamble beat Oklahoma

Starting point is 00:16:26 beat a team that Iowa seeded higher than in that one, though a very talented Oklahoma team back in 87. This was to beat Florida. This was to beat a team that's won three national championships in the last 20 years, a team that was a number one seed this season that was a defending champion and to knock them off in Tampa in that fashion.

Starting point is 00:16:46 And then the story with his mom there. Therefore, just the second time this season, season as she came to Florida to watch them play here in the NCAA tournament. So many great moments out of that one. Absolutely love it. And Begall has been frustratingly inconsistent this season. There's no doubt. But we know when he's at his best, just how good he is.

Starting point is 00:17:10 And it wasn't just making a shot, though, obviously the shot of the day. About 6 of 6 at the foul line, absolutely tremendous. There, five rebounds, brought that toughness, brought that ability. And again, we know I was record. When he scores a double figures, I was going to have a chance to win. What is it? 16 of 1 now. Again, we're just going off the top of the head as we react to this one.

Starting point is 00:17:30 But when he plays well, I was really good. Oh, by the way, mentioned that Tavion was plus six, the best of the starters in the plus minus, plus 11 when big Al was on the floor. Tate Sage went in there, thought he did some nice things. Definitely didn't look out of place. Had to play Yurrock because of foul trouble, didn't go very well. Isaiah Howard, the free throw. Still, you never know. You never know who's going to come in and be impactful.

Starting point is 00:17:57 And that has definitely been the case out of this team. When they get a bunch of parts, though, not just a guy or not two guys, but when everybody is chipping in the different ways that they did in this one, this is what can happen after Iowa's been so close this season to break through in this match. Oh, boy, how great was that. A couple other numbers for you.

Starting point is 00:18:18 Iowa 7 to 24 from the three point line, 29%. Again, this is not a fluke where they just knocked down 15, three-pointers and pulled an upset. That's not what this was. They shoot 51% from the floor in the second half, had six three-pointers after the slow start, six to 13 from behind the arc after going 111 in the first half. Finish the game, 51% from the floor. Florida got going in the second half. They were 13 and 19 from the floor.

Starting point is 00:18:44 They shot nearly 69% from the floor. in the second half of the game. So after we go through all the players here, I want to go back to Ben McCollum and accomplishing this in year number one. We know this is a fan base that has been starved to men's basketball for a winner like this. And we go through the history.

Starting point is 00:19:06 If you've been a listener to me on the radio here on the podcast over the last four or five years, you certainly know that I was always a Fran McCaffrey defender. I thought there was a certain segment of the Hawkeye fan base that didn't give him enough credit for resurrecting the program and getting them back to a level of respectability. But it was also a time for a change, and you could see that. And as the fan base had checked out like they had over the last couple of seasons,

Starting point is 00:19:34 a change needed to be made. And Fran, that's a topic for another time. Was never able to get over the hump. And opportunities have been there. We saw the second round flameouts. We saw the disappointment that came, the upsets in the first round, and what happened with that. Todd Licklander was an unmitigated disaster, and Steve Alford was overrated as a coach

Starting point is 00:19:57 and as a person much lower than that. After Dr. Tom. And Dr. Tom, with his own circumstances that plateaued as a program, and we're waiting to get to that next level. And unfortunately, the next level for Iowa basketball was a level down. And to get back to this with Ben McCullum, who is the same. ages me had a lot of the same experiences that he talked about in that initial press conference. And I know it's not about winning a press conference. I know that never should matter in the

Starting point is 00:20:28 grand scheme of things. You just want to get the best person for the job and the guy that's going to do the best job. But they got that in Ben, they got that in McCollum. He is the guy that that was absolutely perfect. The perfect guy at the perfect time. He was the salve that this program needs. And it didn't happen instantly. It's not that Iowa raced out to a 19-0 start like they did under Dr. Tom. But just a guy that gets it and talking about what it's going to take here. I was not going to be able to go out and outspend. And they didn't have the same budget that Darren DeVries had in Indiana. They don't have the same budget as a lot of programs in the Big Ten. and at the national level.

Starting point is 00:21:15 Not that they're poor, but it's just not at the elite level. So you're going to have to do things a different way. They're going to have to play a particular style. But a guy that is just a winner and a basketball IQ that is through the roof and an understanding what it's going to take in the tournament. And I go back to something that I mentioned a ton

Starting point is 00:21:36 throughout the course of this season. And even before the season began, I never wanted to put a ceiling on this, team. I never did. And I said this even when the bracket came out on Sunday last week. And I think everybody had the anticipation. Love the matchup against Clemson. We talked about that a ton. Love the matchup. They get it done. But there was something about this Florida matchup that I just, I had hope, A, because of the number one seeds. I think Florida is the one that you wanted to face. But also just this team, just as coach, the style, they're not backing down, they're not making excuses.

Starting point is 00:22:13 Boy, I love that part. It's something that now as a parent and my work life in general, I absolutely have grown to despise people that just come up with excuses for everything. Now, excuses are different than reasons, and I'll put that out there. But anymore, it feels like so many people, either in their own life or their outside life or their work life or their family life or whatever it is, they're just coming up with excuses. reasons are okay.

Starting point is 00:22:44 But when it's excuse after excuse, it drives me nuts. And the question was before their game against Clemson, but it was already brought up playing in Tampa. That's fine. He doesn't make excuses about things like that. They're out of his control. Yeah, you're playing a road game.

Starting point is 00:23:02 Bring it on. I love that mentality. And it's the mentality that Iowa basketball needs at this point. there was something that I saw here on Twitter, right as I was getting ready to record. I want to bring it back up here just because I thought it was so great. And I want to give a full credit to what they are and what it was. Here it is. It came from Coach Dan Casey.

Starting point is 00:23:27 And I want to see where the video came from. He's the one that put it up there. Oh, it's a video from Hawks Central. So it would have been Tyler, Tyler Tashman, who is down there. But this is what it said. This is Coach McCollum after the game. If you're a tough dude, this is a good spot for you. If you like yourself way too much, this is probably not the spot for you.

Starting point is 00:23:48 Nailed it. Absolutely nailed it. I love it. I love the guy. I love the personality. I love what this is for this year. And it's not over. I was going to get a match up against Nebraska.

Starting point is 00:24:03 I want to the Sweet 16. We continue. It's a celebration edition. Locked on Hawkeyes. Stay right there as we continue. with more here in a moment. What if sports were traded like markets? Now you can put your sports IQ to work in real time with Robin Hood prediction markets. It's not you against the house. It's you participating in a live market. You can buy or sell your positions live all game long.

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Starting point is 00:26:41 Find your new favorite flavor of five hour energy shots available online five hour energy.com or on Amazon once again five hour energy.com. Trent kind of back with you one final time here on the Lockheyes podcast. Thanks for being with us and making Lockheyes your first listen every day. Plus got something extra for you going on right now. It is our everydayer club. You can get Lockdown Hawkeyes. I have free every single day, each, every one of the episodes that we have for you.

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Starting point is 00:27:37 dot supercast.com and use that code March to get your first month free. As we wrap things up, I'm running short on voice and we got a lot going on. We got the women facing off what o'clock against Virginia to get to the sweet 16. We have spring football right around the corner. And now we have a matchup in the sweet 16 for the Iowa men against Nebraska. We know how crazy that first game was at Carver as Iowa got their signature victory of the season. in that win against the Huskers. Then battling back to force overtime in Lincoln when nobody gave them a shot of doing that

Starting point is 00:28:16 and had an opportunity in that game. Here is the rubber match with the Huskers. You got the storylines, obviously, with Price Samford, you got Fred Hoyberg and Iowa Native. There's a lot here, a lot of layers. And I go back to what we talked about with Ben McCollum at the top. Just the game plan, the significance of that. him understanding and coming up and now scheming and having three days to prepare for this game

Starting point is 00:28:42 and get down there to Houston. We know the Husker fans are good to travel. Let's hope the Hawkeye fans travel as well. Let's get that Texas alumni base going and making their way to Houston. Soft flights are not crazy right now to get down there. And I was thinking about it myself. I haven't brought that one up to the wife yet. But that aside, it is going to be incredibly fun.

Starting point is 00:29:04 That will be on Thursday. In fact, the release has just come out with the start time for the games coming up this weekend. So it will be for the Thursday matchup, 630 is one. That one will go on TBS, 630 tip time in Houston, and then the nightcap there will be Illinois and Houston. Think of this path now. An opportunity after beating the Defend of National Champion, you get the rubber match against a border rival in Nebraska against former teammate. to beat a cyclone of Fred Hoyberg, and then the possibility that you get Illinois.

Starting point is 00:29:42 And for Iowa basketball, and as we started the show going back to the 80s with Ed and Roy and BJ, and you know about that rivalry. And we see how Bruce Pearl on our TV set, and if you don't know the history, go take a look. I know for the younger fans out there,

Starting point is 00:29:59 maybe you don't remember just how big that was. The Iowa, Illinois basketball rivalry was one of the biggest in the Midwest and one of the best in the country. And it depends on what part of the state you're from. And I bring that up often of what the rivalry is. My wife's from Sioux City,

Starting point is 00:30:16 I know what the Nebraska rivalry is over there. We're from Council Bluffs. For me, I grew up North Iowa and had a lot of family in Minneapolis. We went there all the time. It's always the go-first for me. You're over in Dubupe, probably Wisconsin. Quad Cities, probably Illinois.

Starting point is 00:30:31 And if you're in central Iowa, very well could be Iowa State. family, friends, those kind of things also dictate what the biggest rivalry is. But for basketball strictly, this was it. And Dion Thomas and Jimmy Collins, there were so many parts to that. In some incredible games, think of that. Iowa, Illinois, to go to a final four. Last time Iowa, and the only time Iowa beat a number one seed was back in 1980.

Starting point is 00:31:00 It was on their way to the final four that season. Here we are. Iowa gets there in a day where Bennett Sturts wasn't a superhero or things didn't go perfectly, where your 81% free throw shooter misses five free throws, where you give up a 12 point lead in the second half, and you still find a way to win. It's a great day to be a Hawkeye. It's always great to be a Hawkeye, and thanks for being with us. Again, if you are an everyday listener and you want to join our ad-free episodes of every program that we do here for you, just go to lockdown hawkeyes dot supercast.com.

Starting point is 00:31:37 That is where you can go to join the everydayer club and appreciate each and every one of you. If you're watching us on YouTube, make sure you hit subscribe, lets you know every day when we go live with you. You can also join us over on the audio side. Five star reviews, all that helps us get in front of more Hawkeye fans.

Starting point is 00:31:53 We'll be back with you. We will recap more of this game. I'll watch it for a second time. We got an instant reaction podcast coming your way as well. After the Iowa women go final in their matchup against Virginia. and tons of content come your way as we get ready for the Sweet 16. Thanks for being with us as always. We'll talk to you again tomorrow.

Starting point is 00:32:11 Until then, go Hawks.

Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - UNSTOPPABLE: Tavion Banks and Alvaro Folgueiras POWER Iowa Hawkeyes Past Florida for Sweet 16 Berth

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