The Conference Season from Hell Begins Tonight

by Oops Pow Surprise on Jan 2, 2008 7:56 PM CST in News

Just because Freeman's foot healed doesn't make him any less gimpy.

Sado-masochistic Hawkeye fans, take heed: tonight is the first of many where you will find yourself watching the Big Ten Network, sobbing from the pain of jumper cables attached to your nipples, and fully aroused. The ambience will be complemented perfectly by the Iowa basketball team, who are set to begin an 18-game stretch of futility never before seen in program history.

For as unremarkable as Iowa's program history is, they've never, ever lost more than 16 games in a season. Sure, they didn't start playing 25 games a year until the mid-70's, but about the worst season you'll ever find is '89-'90, when they went 12-16 (4-14). This year will, um, probably sink below that.

Yes, the conference season starts tonight, and that includes the Hawkeyes hosting #13 Indiana at 8:05 on the BTN.

The Hoosier Report has a nice writeup on the game as well as on the state of the Iowa program (which is about as grisly as the last half of Hostel, but you knew that), so give them a quick perusal.

Any predictions? I'm thinking Indiana wins by about 300 points.

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I'll take

tied at half.

by chitownhawkeye on Jan 2, 2008 9:06 PM CST 0 recs

How about leading with 15 minutes to go?

Would you take that?

This is stunning. Iowa's traditionally fierce at home, but pulling this upset off would be up there with the Miracle On Ice and the last game from Little Giants. Run the "Annexation of Puerto Rico," Gorney! You can do it!

by Oops Pow Surprise on Jan 2, 2008 9:30 PM CST up 0 recs

Okay...

Indiana's starting to pull away. Gordon just made an incredible underneath move for a score and a foul.

But what kept Iowa in this one, and may bode well for the future, is the great spacing the offense has had. It's something that, if disciplined, can allow average players succeed.

Iowa 10-19 from the line with 7 minutes to play.

Peterson and Looby just hooked up for a strangely smooth alley-oop.

by Snacky Boy on Jan 2, 2008 9:51 PM CST 0 recs

They're playing their asses off!

Justin Johnson has just hit four AMAZING threes in the last two minutes of the game!!!

It's as loud as I've heard Carver in a while.

Wait until you see the highlights.

by Snacky Boy on Jan 2, 2008 10:18 PM CST 0 recs

Building Blocks

That's exactly what this game was. A few more bodies, and Iowa may have well won this game. It looks like Indiana just wore them down in the last 8 minutes or so of the ball game. I'm not a fan of moral victories, but hanging with Indiana for the most part is a HUGE step forward for this team.

Here's hoping they can build on this for Saturday because that is going to be an absolute massacre if we don't play as well as we did tonight.

Black and Gold Blood: Cubbie Blue Heart

by MissouriHawk on Jan 2, 2008 10:47 PM CST 0 recs

Didn't see it

Mostly because I'm back at school and don't get BTN here, but I also didn't put a whole lot of effort into trying to see it. After Cole (my favorite player on the team and a guy who was looking to be one of the few bright spots of the season) went down, I couldn't bring myself to go out of my way to find a spot to watch the game, because I figured it would just be depressing, and sports are supposed to be fun, ya know? Then they went out and made a game of it. Guess I learned my lesson. I don't know if this was a fluke or if this team might actually put up a fight this season, but I know I'll be watching from now on.

by Adam on Jan 2, 2008 11:07 PM CST 0 recs

I didn't either...

In fact, I texted one of my buddies before the game saying something to the effect of Gordon could score 50 in this game. The Hawks came to play, and while there is still a TON of stuff to work on, they showed tonight that they won't just lay down and take a beating. I'm excited to see what they do against Wisconsin on Saturday.

Black and Gold Blood: Cubbie Blue Heart

by MissouriHawk on Jan 3, 2008 8:27 AM CST up 0 recs

I am damn proud of this team

They shouldn't have been in this game, almost weren't at the end and still fought like hell to scare the crap out of the hoosiers.
I'm not a big fan of moral victories either, but this is a game that shows the potential.

by chitownhawkeye on Jan 2, 2008 11:12 PM CST 0 recs