Hawkeye Hoops

Despite a loss at B1G-undefeated Michigan last week, a case can be made the Iowa Hawkeyes are the class of the B1G this season. They have two losses in conference. The first was at Wisconsin where Fran McCaffery decided to meltdown on the sideline and then the aforementioned lost at Crisler. Tomorrow, they get a dinged Sparty at home. They may not win the conference, but they are as talented as any team in it and certainly capable of going as far as any come March.

As of today, Iowa ranks 4th in adjusted O and 19th in adjusted d. On offense, they play at the 16th fastest tempo in the nation. They're a menace with the ball. They'r solid with the ball. Their offensive turnover rate is 16.5%, 61st best and have an effective fg% of 52.6%, 55th best. They get second chance points. The Hawkeyes are 15th in the nation in offensive rebounding%, 38.6%. On top of that, they get to the line. Their FTA/FGA is 48.9%, 39th best. They shoot 37.7% from deep but don't overly rely on the long ball. ABout 21% of the offense is generated from beyond the arc. They get a larger % of the offense from the free throw line. This is a solid offensive group.

They're almost as good on defense and could be better. Teams have an effective fg% of 42.9% against the Hawkeyes. That's 8th best. The turnover % is average but the rest is very good. Their defensive rebounding % is 28.4%, 56th best and they don't foul often. Teams only shoot 28% from deep against them. That's 10th best in the land. They are not a one-sided team. They play both sides of the ball.

They are also as deep as anyone in the nation. Only 13 teams get more minutes from their bench than the Hawkeyes. The leader is SR. Roy Devyn Marble. Marble scores 16.1 ppg. Marble has seen the lean years and appears headed out on a high note. JR. F Aaron White is probably their second best player, maybe their best. He scores 13.7 ppg and grabs 6.5 rpg. He has the nations 19th best effective fg%, 64.6%. He shoots nearly 70% in the paint. Former Badger and Bo Ryan favorite, Jarrod Uthoff adds 9 & 5. JR. G Josh Oglesby is working himself back from injury and only adds to the Hawkeyes depth and weapons. This is just a brief glimpse. They have 7 other solid contibutors

I'm probably biased about the Hawkeyes because I saw this coming before last season. They were a few breaks away from dancing last seasonbut are leaving no doubt this year. Fran McCaffrey is one of the more underappreciated coaches in the nation and he did a good job building this team to play like he wants and the administration and fans accepted his rebuilding job. It's paying off. Even with 3 seniors, this team is built for winning now and won't slip very far, if at all going forward. A Final Four is not out of the question with this club and a sustained period of success is in its future.