FanPost

Iowa vs Texas


(2-0) #10 Texas vs. (2-0) #28 Iowa

Texas and Iowa will be squaring off Thursday night as the first true test for both of these teams. It’s early in the season, but both teams want to show what they are made of before conference play, and especially against a foe that should be dancing come March. Texas and Iowa have blown out their opponents thus far by nearly an identical average margin of victory at 33.5 and 32.5 points per game respectively. These opponents weren’t exactly B12 or B10 teams, but still showed they have very talented squads with high hopes.

The Breakdown

Texas is a very deep team with 9 players logging 16 minutes or more in their first two games. With being this deep Texas loves to run the court and outlet whenever possible. The outlets come fast and often especially when they are out rebounding their opponents by 19 per game. Their offense is run by their leading scoring sophomore guard Isaiah Taylor. Taylor is great at creating plays, whether it be by driving to the hoop, or hitting the 3 ball. The Horns rotate 3 big men down low: Cameron Ridley (6’9), Connor Lammert (6-9), and Myles Turner (6’11). Ridley and Lammert have been starting so far this year. Turner the future starter and star for the Horns has been coming in off the bench. Turner was considered the 2nd best high school prospect from last year’s class. His strengths are his scoring ability, rebounding, and blocking ability. Turner loves the fade away shot, and is 12th in the NCAA for blocks at 4 bpg in only 20mpg. The outcome of this game will have a lot to do with the play of Isaiah Taylor and the next star in Texas Myles Turner.

Iowa is coming off a disappointing season with an early exit in the big dance. Roy Marble was a huge loss for the Hawkeyes, but like Texas, they are very deep, and arguably deeper. Iowa has 10 players getting major minutes in their first two contests. Senior Aaron White (6’9) is getting the most minutes thus far and deservingly so. White is Iowa’s best all-around player averaging nearly 15 ppg, 7.5 rpg, and leading the team in assists at 5.5apg. Iowa is a well-rounded team that can put up points quick and make stops at the other end. Junior Adam Woodbury (7’1), Senior Gabriel Olaseni (6’10), and Junior Jared Uthoff (6’9) will play many minutes and big roles in this matchup. Woodbury and Olaseni need to crash the boards and Uthoff needs to continue his three point success. The other emphasis for the Hawkeyes is there back court. The Hawks rotate four players through the guard positions: Mike Gesell, Anthony Clemmons, Peter Jok, and Trey Dickerson. The Hawkeyes backcourt needs slow down the major threat of Isaiah Taylor if they want the best chance at winning. With so many guards I expect Mccaffrey to put much emphasis on aggressive and stingy defense to disrupt his flow.

The Hawk’s Focus

Rebounding- The hawks need to control the boards and limit second chance opportunities for the Horns. This means getting a body on the bigs of Texas and making them work. Texas has dominated their opponents so far this year by out rebounding them by 19 per game.

Start out fast- The Horns have outscored their opponents by a combined 27-1 in the first five minutes of their first two games. This is a crazy stat that shows the Horns have not even been close to tested mentally in a close game. The Hawks need to put that pressure on them early.

Get Back on D- The Hawkeyes need to focus on getting back on defense, and stopping the outlet passes from Texas. Fran McCaffery might have some tricks up his sleeve to slow down their pace. Whether that’s switching up the defense, or full court man to man we shall see.

Hey…What’s the Spread?

This game originally opened up as Texas 1 point favorites over Iowa. Texas is currently 5 point favorites vs the Hawkeyes. I personally believe Iowa will pull off the upset and win in a close one 78-74.

Video of the Day

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceLlz7dOOvY



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