I was wrong.
In a year where the football team lost a couple of close games and quit on the end of the regular season, in a week where this basketball team was obliterated by Michigan State, on a day where Purdue was playing for a share of the Big Ten regular season championship, it was Jarryd Cole and Matt Gatens and Bryce Cartwright's bad knee and a mature, controlled, gutsy performance by a team that hadn't found a way to do that too often that won the day. Iowa has beaten Purdue. Rejoice and be glad.
So here's to Jarryd Cole, one of the all-time great character Hawkeyes, a kid who played for three different coaches, never played in the postseason -- hell, never finished above .500 -- and blew out a knee, and who never said a word bad about the experience. He played the game of his life today, and he deserves every bit of the accolades he'll receive today.
Here's to the rest of this team, who could have mailed it in without anyone really blaming them. To Bryce Cartwright, who was clearly playing hurt, and to Devyn Marble who played well beyond his years while Cartwright was recouperating. To Gatens, who received criticism from me and many others. To Basabe, who missed an open dunk in the first half and turned it into a second half to remember. To Fran McCaffery, who is still arguing with officials like it's November, and who coaches with more enthusiasm and creativity than anyone we've seen in 15 years.
To these Hawkeyes, congratulations. You deserved a win like that, and we're all proud of you for getting it.
I was wrong, and I couldn't be happier.
Everybody move your feet and feel united. Threads (plural) open for postgame gloating and in-progress grappling. Pick your poison.