Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Iowa beats IU

Yeah, well, not so good, eh? I've not watched the game yet (I have it taped).

If I had known Strickland would be out, I would have put our chances at almost nil.

Hansen & Brunner combine for 28 points, 11 rebounds & 6 blocked shots (before this they were averaging 21 pts, 14.6 rbs, 3.7 blks). Good numbers indeed. And a salute to Adam Haluska for his 20-10 effort.

Marco sees only 25 minutes, but due to effort, not foul trouble. But good for Mike Davis in sitting him, as I've been worried lately that Davis is too beholden to Marco's whims.

Davis does start Ratliff, who then fouls out in 9 minutes. I pat myself on the back with exaggerated sarcasm. Ah well.

Iowa students swarm the court? That makes even less sense than IU fans storming the court after the Illinois game. At least it had been a while since we had beaten Illinois at home.

The only silver lining is that Robert Vaden is one hell of a player. With him & DJ (barring any stupid NBA jumps) back next year, IU could be pretty decent again, especially if AJ, Ben Allen, and Calloway get their games evened out. IF.

Still, seriously. Erik Hansen blow-by dunk? I don't want to see that...

Hmm. Quick top 5 of NBA early entry losses the Big Ten might suffer:

1. Robert Vaden (Indiana) Confidence growing, but overall Rebs too low and TOs still too many.
2. Alando Tucker (Wisconsin) Should not go. A Tweener of the first order
3. Shannon Brown (Michigan State) Perhaps most likely, but also a 'tweener. 6'4" my butt.
4. Carl Landry (Purdue) Injury, being undersized a combo to make scouts wary.
5. Courtney Sims (Michigan) You can't teach height, so someone might take him being fooled by size and decent numbers, but they would be fools, indeed. Not ready for the Prime-Time in college, let alone the next level.
5A. DJ White (Indiana) Injury may keep him here, but not too undersized. Hasn't shown a NBA-type "4" game, 'tho.

Hopefully, all these guys will make the smart move, but if Brown or Tucker show more to their games in a run to the Final Four, then they are gone. The same is probably true for Vaden, but who knows?

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