Game Info

Iowa (10-21, 4-14) vs. Michigan (14-16, 7-11)
POMEROY RATINGS: Iowa – 164, Michigan – 65
March 11, 2010 • 1:30 p.m. (CST)
Indianapolis, IN • Conseco Fieldhouse
TV: ESPN2 (HD) • Live Stats: hawkeyesports.com
Series Record: Michigan leads 86-57 (Last Meeting, Michigan, 80-78 – OT, Feb. 16, 2010)

Probable Starting Lineups

Michigan
Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. Statistical Summary
G 4 Darius Morris 6-4 180 Fr. 4.7 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 2.7 apg, .413 FG%, .644 FT%
G 1 Stu Douglass 6-3 185 So. 6.5 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 2.5 apg, .324 FG%, .783 FT%
G 3 Manny Harris 6-5 185 Jr. 17.7 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 4.1 apg, .416 FG%, .791 FT%
F 0 Zack Novak 6-5 210 So. 7.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.6 apg, .381 FG%, .667 FT%
C 34 DeShawn Sims 6-8 235 Sr. 16.9 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 1.1 spg, .492 FG%, .667 FT%

Iowa
Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. Statistical Summary
G 3 Cully Payne 6-1 190 Fr. 8.1 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.9 apg, .354 FG%, .627 FT%
G 5 Matt Gatens 6-5 215 So. 12.4 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.3 apg, .372 FG%, .830 FT%
F 25 Eric May 6-5 225 Fr. 9.1 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 1.4 apg, .410 FG%, .667 FT%
F 24 Aaron Fuller 6-6 230 So. 9.7 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 0.7 apg, .476 FG%, .676 FT%
C 50 Jarryd Cole 6-7 250 Jr. 8.2 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 0.5 apg, .571 FG%, .649 FT%

VanLaere Notes

No VLOG for this game.
Live Chat may or may not happen.  Check the site closer to game time to find out.

Alright, clean slate.  Everyone starts out 0-0 right?  Well, not quite… but for Iowa that’s the only way they can look at this thing.  After coming off one of the worst regular seasons in Iowa Basketball history, the Hawkeyes have nothing to lose in this tournament.  This used to BE Iowa’s tournament, for Christ’s sake.  Other than beating the pants out of Iowa, Michigan really hasn’t been that good under Beilein in the Big Ten Tournament.  So for the third straight year… whoopie…. Iowa gets Michigan again.  Stupid karma.

If you’ve been watching Iowa basketball the past few weeks (I wouldn’t blame you if you haven’t), it feels like Iowa has mailed it in.  The Hawkeyes were absolutely annihilated in their two roads games at Wisconsin and at Minnesota.  Iowa lost by a combined 62 points in those two games, and couldn’t break 20 in the first halves of either of them.  I want to believe that the reason Iowa looked so bad was because Iowa is just a bad road team.  Well, that much can’t be disputed. The Hawkeyes are 1-10 on the road.  They are a bad, bad road team.  Conversely, they are 9-9 at home (still awful, but better nonetheless).  Iowa is 0-2 at neutral sites (losing to NCAA Bubble team Wichita State and NCAA team Texas).  Michigan, on the other hand, is 1-2 at neutral sites (beating a 16 win Creighton team, losing to NCAA team Marquette and 17 win Alabama team).  It’s safe to say neither of these team really play worth a crap away from their home arenas.

Michigan has lost 4 out of 5, with their lone win coming over Minnesota at home.  Iowa has lost 5 out 6, with their lone win coming over Indiana at home.  Beside Illinois (whom Iowa has yet to play), Michigan remains the only team Iowa has not beaten in the Big Ten Tournament.  The Hawkeyes are 0-4 all-time against the Wolverines.

PLAYERS TO WATCH FOR:

Sims and Harris.  At this point in the season, if you haven’t seen what these two are capable of against Iowa, you haven’t been watching Iowa Basketball.  Let Douglass or Novak beat you.  Iowa just needs to stop one of these two to win the game.  Problem is, I don’t know if they can.

KEYS TO THE GAME:

• FRUSTRATE SIMS.  The key to Sims’ game is he starts to get on a roll early on and his confidence soars.  Hell, why not put in Andrew Brommer to start the game with the express role of bodying up Sims and annoying him?  I like the idea, save Cole for mid-first half assuming (and it’s a big assumption) that Brommer wouldn’t pile up 2 or 3 fouls in that time period.
• EXTRA POSSESSIONS.  Biggest key for Iowa is that they haven’t been shooting the ball well lately.  They need as many possessions as they can get.  Offensive rebounds, limiting turnovers is huge.
• GET GATENS GOING.  When Gatens looks good, Iowa looks good.  If he can get a game together remotely like the game he had going at home vs. Indiana, good things will happen.  The potential is there, Iowa needs to see it realized.

PREDICTION: Of all the predictions I’ve made this year, this one I have struggled with the most.  Let’s face it, Iowa just does not matchup with Michigan very well at all.  Beilein has a simply outcoached Lickliter nearly every single time their teams meet.  Even in games where Iowa had the win in hand (their last meeting in Carver), Iowa found a way to allow the Wolverines to leave with the win.  It does feel like Iowa has given up on the season.  I have a little voice in my head that keeps reminding of the force that is DeShawn Sims and what he has done to Iowa in his career.  There’s also this place in my heart that just does not want to give up on this Hawkeye squad regardless of how poorly they’ve played these past few weeks.  Iowa showed they have what it takes to beat UM last time they played (even though they couldn’t close it out), and I can’t see Conseco Fieldhouse being any more pro-Michigan than Carver was.  It’s also very, very tough to beat a team three times in one season unless you are leaps and bounds better as a team.  I don’t think Michigan is that far ahead of Iowa to make them immune to that rule of thumb.  Michigan will come into the game an 8 point favorite according to the guys out West.  I think we’ll see either Iowa win/lose a highly contested match or we’ll see Michigan pull away with a blowout win.  I’m throwing up a Hail Mary here with this prediction, and I realize it’s with the heart more than the head, but it is what it is at this point in the season.  Iowa’s not ready to mail it in.    Iowa 66,  Michigan 65

Seniors Daniel Dennis (133), Brent Metcalf (149) and Jay Borschel (174) are each seeded second at their respective weight classes, while redshirt freshman Matt McDonough is seeded third at 125. Hawkeye senior Dan Erekson (Hwt.) is seeded fifth, sophomore Montell Marion (141) is seeded sixth and seniors Phillip Keddy (184) and Chad Beatty (197) are each seeded ninth. Iowa’s 10 NCAA qualifiers have combined for one national title, eight all-America honors and 24 NCAA appearances. McDonough, Marion and Kerr will be competing at their first NCAA tournament.

Iowa enters the tournament as the two-time defending team champion. The Hawkeyes have put together a series of title streaks, placing first nine straight times from 1978-86, six times from 1995-2000, three times from 1991-93 and two times twice (1975-76, 2008-09).

Hawkeye fans can follow competition at the NCAA tournament via radio, internet and television broadcasts. Steven Grace and two-time Hawkeye NCAA champion and four-time all-American Mark Ironside will call the action live on AM-800, KXIC and www.hawkeyesports.com. Web audio broadcasts are available using the XXL All-Access subscription ($14.95 per month or $119.95 per year). NCAA Sessions III, IV and V will be aired live on ESPNU HD, and the championship finals will be aired live on ESPN HD. Matches from Sessions I and II will be broadcast on NCAA.com, and wrestling from sessions III and VI will be available on ESPN360.com.

IOWA’S FIRST ROUND NCAA MATCH-UPS (Numbers indicate tournament seeds)

125 – #3 Matt McDonough (Iowa) vs. winner of Eric Morrill (Edinboro)/Jason Lara (Oregon State)

133 – #2 Daniel Dennis (Iowa) vs. Kevin Smith (Buffalo)

141 – #6 Montell Marion (Iowa) vs. Cole VonOhlen (Air Force)

149 – #2 Brent Metcalf (Iowa) vs. Trenton Washington (Northern Iowa)

157 – Jake Kerr (Iowa) vs. Tejovan Edwards (Arizona State)

165 – #7 Ryan Morningstar (Iowa) vs. Donald Jones (West Virginia)

174 – #2 Jay Borschel (Iowa) vs. Scott Giffin (Pennsylvania)

184 – #9 Phillip Keddy (Iowa) vs. Michael Salopek (Virginia)

197 – #9 Chad Beatty (Iowa) vs. Alan Gelogaev (Oklahoma State)

Hwt. – #5 Dan Erekson (Iowa) vs. Clayton Jack (Oregon State)

I don’t want to see Texas come into the Big Ten for selfish reasons; that means their little brother Texas A&M comes along with them, and Iowa would likely be in their division, displaced from so many historical rivals, that it would be a shock to the system.

I am OK with Rutgers joining the league, and I think they are a high probability for expansion.  I think Missouri and Nebraska would join the league ten seconds after the phone rang and the voice on the other line said ‘Hello, this is Jim Delaney…”  “WE’LL TAKE IT!!!!” would be the response before he could utter another sentence.

However, I remain hopeful that Notre Dame is a part of any Big Ten expansion.  I’d be fine if it were just them.  And I believe they are going to get invited one more time.

There was an article on ESPN today where Notre Dame’s AD talked about the possible changing landscape of college football and their place in it.

AD Jack Swarbrick, saying in part, that it will be up for him and Notre Dame’s brass to  “evaluate the landscape” if realignment happens. “You can  come up with a scenario that would force our hand.”

THAT’S what I have been talking about!

I don’t think the Big Ten has given up on Notre Dame, despite what Barry Alvarez said a few weeks back: ““From having been there, I understand their way of doing things. Unless you’ve been there, you can’t comprehend what it means to go coast-to-coast at Notre Dame. This is a national school. I can understand why they would want to stay national in football.  I’d love for them to be interested in (joining the Big Ten), but it’s hard for me to see that.”

Now, Alvarez could have meant what he said at face value.  Or he could have meant what he said, while also delivering a public message to Notre Dame: ‘Hey, we get that you want to remain as an independent.  Great.  However, we are still willing to talk with you ONE….LAST….TIME.  And you know how to reach us…plus, you had better hurry, because the clock is ticking…do you know where you seat will be once the music stops playing?’

As it relates to the clock ticking, there have been quotes from Delaney in recent weeks saying he may have recommendations to submit to the University Presidents by late spring or early summer…TICK…TICK…TICK.

And those recommendations are likely going to include some Big East schools…and some Big 12 schools…we are talking about seismic shifts coming to college athletics because of this, plus the strong possibility that Colorado will may close heed to overtures from the Pac 10 who is also interested in expanding.

We may be on the verge of seeing the biggest shift in the balance of power in college athletics of our lifetime, or possibly ever.  The Big Ten is in a position of power.  I think several schools have been thrown out there as straw men for Notre Dame to sharpen its pencil and get serious about where it thinks it’s going to be after the Big Ten changes the game.

You could be with us, or you could be a’gin us…what’ll it be?

Fuller (6-6, 230) and Gatens (6-5, 225) were both named honorable mention all-Big Ten by the league coaches. May (6-5, 225) was named to the league’s five-member all-freshman team, which is selected by the conference coaches.

“I’m proud of the recognition that Matt, Aaron and Eric received,” said Iowa Head Coach Todd Lickliter. “All three played major roles for our basketball team this season. We are a better team because of their approach and development. All three are underclassmen and have improved from the start of the season. I’m excited about the future.”

Fuller played in 29 games with 21 starts, including starting all 18 Big Ten contests. He was slowed by an ankle injury early in the 2009-10 campaign, but regained his form once conference play began in December. Fuller was Iowa’s leading scorer (12.3 ppg) and rebounder (7.6 rpg) during league play. The native of Mesa, AZ, ranked first in Big Ten offensive rebounding (3.4) and fifth in rebounding (7.6). Fuller ranks third in the nation in rebounding improvement (+4.3) from non-conference to play to league play.

Gatens is one of three Hawkeyes to start all 31 games. The Iowa City native is Iowa’s leading overall scorer (12.4), 3-point (58-of-172) and free throw (83-of-100) shooter. He also ranks second in team assists (101) and steals (27). Gatens ranks third in Big Ten minutes played (36.7) and free throw percentage (.830), ninth in 3-pointers (1.9), and 12th in assists (3.3) and assist/turnover ratio (1.2).

May has started 22 of the last 24 games, including the last 19 as a rookie. The native of Dubuque, IA, ranked first amongst his Big Ten classmates in steals (19), blocks (17) and minutes (34.2), second in rebounding (4.6) and fourth in scoring (9.2), in conference games only. May was Iowa’s third leading scorer and led the team in blocks and steals in 18 Big Ten games. In all games, May ranks second in team 3-pointers made (41). The 41 triples rank fourth-best by an Iowa freshman in a single season.

The league coaches named Illinois’ D.J. Richardson Freshman of the Year, while the media panel selected Northwestern’s Drew Crawford. Richardson, Crawford and May are joined on the all-freshman team by Indiana’s Christian Watford and Purdue’s Kelsey Barlow. Richardson, Watford and Crawford were unanimous selections.

Junior center Jarryd Cole (6-7, 250) was also honored as part of the Big Ten all-conference teams, earning Iowa’s Big Ten Sportsmanship Award. One member of each Big Ten team is recognized with the Sportsmanship Award at the conclusion of each season. Cole started all 31 games, averaging 8.2 points and 5.1 rebounds per contest.

Ohio State’s Evan Turner was selected by the coaches and media as the Player of the Year (unanimously by the media). The coaches named Purdue’s Matt Painter Coach of the Year, while the media voted the award to Thad Matta of Ohio State.

Conference coaches selected Purdue’s Chris Kramer as Defensive Player of the Year and Draymond Green of Michigan State was a unanimous choice as Sixth Man of the Year.

The coaches and media agreed on the all-Big Ten first and second teams. Representing the first team is Illinois’ Demetri McCamey, Michigan State’s Kalin Lucas, Evan Turner of Ohio State and Purdue’s Robbie Hummel and E’Twaun Moore. The second team featured Michigan’s DeShawn Sims, Northwestern’s John Shurna, Penn State’s Talor Battle, Purdue’s JaJuan Johnson and Trevon Hughes of Wisconsin.

The coaches’ third team consisted of Michigan’s Manny Harris, Draymond Green and Raymar Morgan of Michigan State, Ohio State’s William Buford and Wisconsin’s Jason Bohannon. The media honored Harris, Green, Buford, Bohannon and Ohio State’s David Lighty on its third team.

The coaches’ all-defensive team featured Northwestern’s Jeremy Nash, Ohio State’s Dallas Lauderdale, Wisconsin’s Trevon Hughes and JaJuan Johnson and Chris Kramer of Purdue.

Iowa begins play at the Big Ten Tournament Thursday against Michigan. Tip-off is 1:30 p.m. (CST) at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN. The game will be televised to a national cable audience by ESPN2 (HD).

First, the Iowa Women’s team lost a heartbreaker to Ohio State in the Championship game of the Big Ten Tournament. It was a remarkable run for Iowa to even get to this point, as the team began Big Ten play with a record of 1-6, the worst start to a Big Ten season for them in nearly three decades. They would rally and close strong around a very young team, as they were down three starters who were lost to injury very early in the season. They also dealt with significant injuries during the middle portion of the season.

This game will leave a bittersweet taste in their mouth, as they led by 16 points with 18:25 to play in the game and lost on a last second free throw. Iowa sits with a record of 19-13 and likely earned a trip to the NCAA tournament, a feat that seemed highly unlikely in mid-January. It’s fair to say this was the best coaching job of Lisa Bluder’s career that has been marked with excellent work, and Iowa has a solid team returning next year.

On to the mats where the Iowa wrestlers wrapped up the 34th Big Ten title in school history before the finals round began. That’s a good thing because Iowa crowned just two champions even though they began the day with six finalists. While the Hawks were favored to win just two titles if you looked at the pre-meet rankings, how they got to their two was a bit surprising.

First off, Matt McDonough suffered his first defeat of the year to Angel Escobedo of Indiana. Escobedo is a former NCAA champion and entered the finals match with an undefeated 32-0 record and ranked #2 in the nation. McDonough, a freshman, had the same record and was ranked #4. McDonough lost the match 6-4, but he proved to be Escobedo’s equal in this match, the first meeting between the two. The kid proved to himself that he can hang with anyone, and I was very encouraged by the way he fought.

Next up was 133-pounder Daniel Dennis, and he was beaten by Minnesota’s Jayson Ness, who has not lost this season. Dennis really didn’t muster much of an offensive fight in this one, which was disappointing.

The shocker of the tournament was #1 ranked Brent Metcalf losing to #2 ranked Lance Palmer of Ohio State. The fact that #2 beat #1 might not be that big of a deal to some people, but up to that point, Palmer had never beaten Metcalf, and Metcalf had just two losses in his college career, both coming at the hands of Darrion Caldwell of North Carolina State. Palmer showed signs of breaking through the Metcalf wall back in Iowa City in February, losing a 3-1 decision. Palmer scored a first period takedown on Sunday and put on an impressive ride against Metcalf, and once the third period came around, Metcalf looked a little winded, something you just have not seen during his Iowa career. Palmer survived a Metcalf gramby roll and did not let go of Metcalf’s ankle, and he won the final scramble and also got back points, much to the delight of everyone not wearing black and gold inside Michigan’s arena.

It’s just so odd seeing Metcalf lose…his loss in the National Finals last year was one of the most shocking outcomes I have ever witnessed in any sporting event. This loss was shocking as well, due to the legacy that Metcalf has created. He will have two weeks to stew on this result, and I expect for him to be back on the finals stand the Saturday night of nationals looking for revenge. Both Metcalf and Palmer should be on opposite sides of the draw.

Jay Borschel scored the first championship of the day for Iowa, and the first of his career. He is undefeated this year and has really perfected his craft. Iowa scored another title with Dan Ereckson at heavyweight. He knocked off highly rated and previously unbeaten Nate Everhart of Indiana. Erekson hit him with a takedown right off the whistle and converted that into a cradle that scored him three nearfall points.

Tom Brands was named the Coach of the Year for the third straight year, something that oddly has never been done before. I find it odd because Dan Gable was coach at Iowa for so long. McDonough was named the Freshman of the Year, the fifth Hawkeye to ever earn that honor. Iowa qualified all 10 wrestlers for the first time in the Brands era, but Ryan Morningstar had to injury default in his 3rd place match with a bad knee, something to keep an eye on.

Finally, the Iowa Men’s Basketball team closed out the regular season with an 88-53 loss at Minnesota. In keeping with their recent road woes, they were down 42-20 at halftime, marking the fourth straight league road game where they did not score more than 20 points. Iowa hit just 4-17 from three point range. Aaron Fuller led Iowa with 16 points.

Iowa will face Michigan on Thursday in the first round of the Big Ten tournament, for the third straight year. Michigan swept a pair of games against Iowa this year. Iowa’s record stands at 10-21, the most losses ever in one season by an Iowa basketball team. They finished conference play at 4-14.

Game Info

Iowa (10-20, 4-13) at Minnesota (17-12, 8-9)
RPI:  Iowa 193, Minnesota77
POMEROY:  Iowa 151, Minnesota 40
March 7, 2010 • 5:06 p.m.
Minneapolis, MN • Williams Arena
TV: BTN (HD) • Live Stats: hawkeyesports.com • Satellite Radio: XM 143, Sirius 122
Series Record: Minnesota leads 97-88 (Last Meeting, Minnesota, 86-74, Jan. 2, 2010)

Probable Starting Lineups

Iowa
Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. Statistical Summary
G 3 Cully Payne 6-1 190 Fr. 8.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.8 apg, .355 FG%, .627 FT%
G 5 Matt Gatens 6-5 215 So. 12.5 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 3.3 apg, .373 FG%, .827 FT%
F 25 Eric May 6-5 225 Fr. 9.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.1 spg, .407 FG%, .667 FT%
F 24 Aaron Fuller 6-6 230 So. 9.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 0.7 apg, .472 FG%, .683 FT%
C 50 Jarryd Cole 6-7 250 Jr. 8.2 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 0.5 apg, .573 FG%, .640 FT%

Minnesota
Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. Statistical Summary
G 5 Devoe Joseph 6-3 179 So. 8.7 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 3.0 apg, .381 FG%, .672 FT%
G 20 Lawrence Westbrook 6-0 193 Sr. 12.6 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.2 apg, .478 FG%, .839 FT%
G 24 Blake Hoffarber 6-4 210 Jr. 10.8 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 1.9 apg, .510 FG%, .833 FT%
F 34 Damian Johnson 6-7 205 Sr. 10.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.9 bpg, .538 FG%, .733 FT%
C 50 Ralph Sampson III 6-11 241 So. 8.7 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.8 bpg, .530 FG%, .641 FT%

VanLaere Notes

No VLOG for this game.
No Live Chat for this game, but here’s the GAME THREAD.

Call it the luck of the draw, but Iowa gets to finish the season with back-to-back roadies, both being Senior Nights for the opposing team.  Tonight, the Gopher fans with bid adieu to three seniors – Westbrook, Johnson, and Bostick.  If the Gophers’ on-court intensity wasn’t enough for the Hawkeyes to handle, they will now have to deal with that element, as well.

Last time these two teams faced off back in January, the game was decided well within the first five minutes of the game.  After Gatens’ bucket under the basket just 90 seconds into the game to put the score 3-2 in favor of the Gophers, Iowa succumbed to Tubby’s pressure D.  The Hawkeyes went on a 5 for 5 run, by that I mean Iowa turned the ball over five straight possessions.  The Gophers got up by double-digits and never looked back.  Don’t expect Minnesota to dial down the pressure in the rematch, either.  And while I highly, highly doubt we will see Blake Hoffarbor do what he did against Iowa again (I recall he made about 35 three pointers and ended up with something like 105 points in that game), the Hawkeyes didn’t have to guard Ralph Sampson’s boy either.

Some folks look at the Gophers and say they are tanking it, going 5-5 in their last 10 games, after seemingly having an NCAA Tournament bid in hand.  The thing is, besides the blowout loss in Ann Arbor, Minnesota has been alright.  They’ve beat Wisconsin and Illinois in that span, and lost to Purdue by a single point at home.  Seeing where their Pomeroy and RPI ratings are right now, if they can get to the Big Ten Championship game, they would most definitely be back on the bubble and could possibly sneak in with a 21-13 record and an RPI around 50ish. If anything, I see this game as a fork in the road for the Gophers, either they mail it in and end up in a lower postseason tourney or they get going, make a run, and get back on the bubble.

PLAYERS TO WATCH FOR:

Blake Hoffarbor. During the game back in Carver, Iowa thought it’d be ok to leave a nearly 50% 3 point shooter open.  Time and time again, Hoffarbor had open looks from downtown and put 8 of those 11 three pointers in the hole.  I don’t see that happening again, I would hope the coaching staff would make adjustments… however, he’s still a guy to watch at all times.

Iverson/Sampson.  I was unimpressed with Colton the last time these two played, but with Sampson also on the court Minnesota is a big more potent down low.  Both these guys are widely inconsistent on the offensive side of the court, but they bring a terrific inside presence on the defensive side of the court.

Westbrook.  For a guy that can go off at any point during a game, Lawrence doesn’t do it enough for Minnesota.  With this being his last game in The Barn, I expect a huge game from Westbrook, especially on the defensive end.

KEYS TO THE GAME:

• SHOOT THREES, MAKE THREES.   Although Fuller is resourceful down low, we saw last game vs. Wisconsin what happens when Aaron has to go up against a couple trees in the paint.  Iowa will have no choice in this game but to jack up a ton of treys, and they will need to be hitting them.
• PLAY UNDER CONTROL.   Minnesota is going to be inside the jocks of the Hawkeye players.  Iowa’s inexperienced team cannot let this pressure get the best of them, especially on the road on Senior Night.
• GET THE BOARDS AND 2ND CHANCE POINTS.  Iowa will be limited in possessions more than they normally are, as I project them to have at least 16-18 turnovers in this game.  Therefore, Iowa has to hit the boards with a purpose, they’ll need as many extra possessions as they can get.

PREDICTION: Minnesota has been underwhelming this year, with Iowa falling into that same category, as well.  The full court pressure from the experienced backcourt of the Gophers should and will reek havoc on the Hawkeyes.  Turnovers will give Minnesota extra possessions, fast breaks, and a lot of momentum in this one.    Iowa 51,  Minnesota 67

McDonough vs Sanders

Borchsell vs Blanton

Dennis vs Gomez

Tom Brands

“When you put six guys in the finals – that is what you are after, getting six automatic (NCAA) qualifiers,” said Iowa Head Coach Tom Brands. “But we’ve got work to do. There are certain things that happened out there tonight that cannot ever happen, like lack of hustle or putting your head down on the mat. Across the board, those are things that we have to iron out during that year, and at this point in the year you have to have conversations because that’s not how you get yourself where you want to be. You get yourself where you want to be by hitting spectacular holds, and when you are down you have to keep hitting those spectacular holds and fighting. If you are behind and you think the lead is insurmountable, anything can happen in this sport. You cannot let up. You have to put yourself in the best position.”

Hawkeye senior Brent Metcalf (149) will be making his third-straight trip to the Big Ten finals, while seniors Phillip Keddy (184) and Dan Erekson (Hwt.) are each making their second conference finals appearance. Redshirt freshman Matt McDonough (125) and seniors Daniel Dennis (133) and Jay Borschel (174) are each competing in the Big Ten finals for the first time in their Hawkeye careers.

McDonough improved to 32-0 on the season with his 8-0 major decision over #3 seed Zach Sanders of Minnesota in the semifinals. The #2 seed, McDonough led the match 3-0 after two periods. After a neutral start to the third period, the Hawkeye redshirt freshman scored a takedown, two late nearfall points and a riding time point for the major decision. McDonough will face #1 seed Angel Escobedo of Indiana in the finals. Escobedo is the two-time defending Big Ten champion and also enters the match with a 32-0 record. It will be the pair’s first collegiate meeting.

Dennis collected his 65th career win with a 5-4 thriller over #3 Franklin Gomez of Michigan State in the semifinals. Tied at 2-2 in the third period, Dennis scored a takedown with 14 seconds left to take a 4-2 lead. Gomez reversed him to tie the score at 4-4, but a locked hands penalty was called on Gomez as time expired to give Dennis the 5-4 win. The Hawkeye senior will face top seed Jayson Ness of Minnesota in the finals. The #2 seed, Dennis holds a 2-1 career record against Ness, winning two two-point decisions (6-4, 9-7) last season, but Ness won the most recent meeting (8-4) at the dual in Minneapolis last month. Ness is a three-time Big Ten finalist and brings an undefeated season record of 24-0 to the match.

Metcalf earned his third straight trip to the Big Ten finals with a 12-3 major decision over #4 seed Frank Molinaro of Penn State Saturday night. The Hawkeye senior, who is the two-time defending Big Ten champion and seeded #1 at 149, scored three takedowns and two nearfall points in the third period to remain undefeated at 31-0 this season. He will face #2 seed Lance Palmer of Ohio State in the finals. Metcalf has a 4-0 career collegiate record against Palmer, winning the most recent decision (3-1) at the dual last month. Palmer is 23-2 this season and is making his first trip to the Big Ten finals.

Borschel held #5 seed Jordan Blanton of Illinois scoreless in the semifinal bout, posting a 6-0 win to remain undefeated at 31-0 this season. The top-seeded Hawkeye senior will face #3 seed Scott Glasser of Minnesota in the finals. Borschel is 2-0 against Glasser, winning an 11-3 major decision at the National Duals in January and a 14-2 major decision at the dual in Minneapolis last month. Glasser is 24-5 this season and is making his first conference finals appearance.

Keddy, who is seeded third, avenged an earlier season loss to #2 seed Dave Erwin of Penn State with a 4-1 semifinals victory. The Hawkeye senior scored a first-period takedown, a second-period escape and added a point for riding time in the win. Keddy will face top seed John Dergo of Illinois in the finals. Dergo, who has never wrestled Keddy in collegiate competition, is 22-2 this season and competing in his first Big Ten finals.

Erekson improved to 11-0 on the season with his 6-2 victory over #3 seed Cameron Wade of Penn State in the semifinals. After a scoreless first period, Erekson rode Wade the entire second period to bank two minutes of riding time and keep the score tied at 0-0. The #2 seeded Hawkeye senior opened up his offense in the third period, scoring two takedowns, a penalty point for Wade’s locked hands and a point for riding time. Erekson will face top seed Nate Everhart of Indiana in the finals. Everhart, who is making his first Big Ten finals appearance, is undefeated at 35-0 this season. It will be the first career meeting between the Hawkeye and the Hoosier.

Seniors Ryan Morningstar (165) and Chad Beatty (197), junior Jake Kerr (157) and sophomore Montell Marion (141) all lost their semifinal bouts, and all but Beatty will have to wrestle back through the consolation bracket to earn an automatic NCAA bid. Beatty’s weight class – 197 pounds – will automatically take seven qualifiers and he can place no lower than sixth. Morningstar, who is seeded second, lost a close 3-1 decision to #3 seed Colt Sponseller of Ohio State. The top-seeded Beatty fought back from a 4-1 first-period deficit against #5 seed Sonny Yohn of Minnesota, scoring a takedown as time expired to force the match into overtime. Neither wrestler scored during the sudden victory period, but Yohn was awarded a point during the first tiebreak period for Beatty’s locked hands and won the match, 7-6.

Sunday’s consolation semifinals and seventh-place matches are scheduled to start at 11 a.m. (CT) at Michigan’s Crisler Arena, with the championship finals, third-place and fifth-place matches getting underway at approximately 1 p.m. The Big Ten Network will air a live broadcast of the championships finals, with Tim Johnson, Jim Gibbons and former Hawkeye Head Coach Dan Gable calling the action. Hawkeye fans can listen to Steven Grace and former Hawkeye two-time NCAA champion and four-time all-American Mark Ironside call the action live on AM-800 KXIC Radio in Iowa City or www.hawkeyesports.com using the XXL All-Access Subscription. Live results and updated tournament brackets will be available at www.bigten.org and www.mgoblue.com.

BIG TEN TEAM STANDINGS AFTER SESSION TWO

Place Team – Points

1. Iowa – 137

2. Minnesota – 104.5

3. Ohio State – 86

4. Wisconsin – 82

5. Penn State – 66

6. Purdue – 65

7. Michigan State – 58.5

8. Indiana – 55

9. Illinois – 48.5

10. Michigan – 46.5

11. Northwestern – 17

IOWA’S BIG TEN SESSION TWO RESULTS

Championship Semifinals

125 – #2 Matt McDonough (Iowa) maj. dec. #3 Zach Sanders (Minnesota), 8-0

133 – #2 Daniel Dennis (I) dec. #3 Franklin Gomez (Michigan State), 5-4

141 – #2 Mike Thorn (Minnesota) maj. dec. #3 Montell Marion (I), 12-3

149 – #1 Brent Metcalf (I) maj. dec. #4 Frank Molinaro (Penn State), 12-3

157 – #1 Colton Salazar (Purdue) dec. #4 Jake Kerr (I), 6-2

165 – #3 Colt Sponseller (Ohio State) dec. #2 Ryan Morningstar (I), 3-1

174 – #1 Jay Borschel (I) dec. #5 Jordan Blanton (Illinois), 6-0

184 – #3 Phillip Keddy (I) dec. #2 Dave Erwin (Penn State), 4-1

197 – #5 Sonny Yohn (Minnesota) dec. #1 Chad Beatty (I), 7-6 TB-1

Hwt. – #2 Dan Erekson (I) dec. #3 Cameron Wade (Penn State), 5-2

IOWA’S BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS MATCH-UPS

125 – #2 Matt McDonough (I) vs. #1 Angel Escobedo (Indiana)

133 – #2 Daniel Dennis (I) vs. #1 Jayson Ness (Minnesota)

149 – #1 Brent Metcalf (I) vs. #2 Lance Palmer (Ohio State)

174 – #1 Jay Borschel (I) vs. #3 Scott Glasser (Minnesota)

184 – #3 Phillip Keddy (I) vs. #1 John Dergo (Illinois)

Hwt. – #2 Dan Erekson (I) vs. #1 Nate Everhart (Indiana)

To see more videos than just what we have embedded below, go to the Hawkeye Wrestling Forum here on the site…thanks to all of the great contributors who are up at the Big Ten’s bringing this type of action to Hawkeye Wrestling fans. Thanks to USAFHawk for shooting and uploading these videos, and all that are involved in keeping us informed.

Metcalf Gets Revenge & an early Pin:

Dan Erekson Match

Mat McDonough

The Tribune also published another article that listed a few more of the likely names the Big Ten is considering.

Rutgers is not a new name, as myself and others have been bandying them about for the better part of the last decade as a logical choice for future Big Ten expansion, and this was back when Rutgers football was still a joke.

It’s not a joke any more, and the first link above sheds light on a few key aspects that you should file away, including this snippet:

“During Rutgers’ football nirvana season of 2006, its game against Louisville on ESPN drew an 8.1 rating in the New York market, a “phenomenal number,” according to one TV executive. That night, the Empire State Building was lit up in scarlet.”

That is a ‘Yo!’ right there.  It’s a huge number for that market and that sport.  New York is a college basketball and professional sports town.  But there are a lot of Rutgers grads, and everybody loves a local story about a winner.  See the Des Moines area two years ago when Drake was having its miracle season in basketball.

Another key point from the article:  “Why Rutgers? It doesn’t hurt that the New Brunswick, N.J., campus is less than 40 miles from midtown Manhattan. Or that the state of New Jersey alone would be the nation’s fourth-largest television market — after New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.  The New York market has 7.5 million TV homes, and the Big Ten Network would love to get them on expanded basic cable rather than forcing subscribers to pay extra via a sports tier.“

Add to this Rutger’s inclusion in the Academic Research Fraternity known as the Association of American Universities, upgrades to its football stadium that now seats over 52,000, the new Meadowlands nearby that can host games against Penn State or other huge draws from the Big Ten, the upgrades that are taking place to their basketball facility…you get the picture.

That, and they would not say no.  No how, no way.  Rutgers would be given a chance to buy in to $20+ million dollars per year in television revenues from the Big Ten Network, and they would be bringing something to the party.

Rutgers is probably strong enough and brings enough to the table financially and academically to be the LONE school the Big Ten would bring in, making it 12 teams.  Unless Notre Dame or Texas wants to join the league, and there are no indications they want to do that, I really believe Rutgers will become the 12th member of the Big Ten conference sometime by the middle portion of this decade.

The bigger question to me is this:  will they be the only addition?

If the Big Ten looks to expand by 3 schools, with Rutgers being one, then I think Missouri is the next school on the list.  You bring in the state of Missouir and their TV markets in Kansas City and St. Louis, the second largest TV market the Big 12 has, plus the state borders Iowa and Illinois.  You have built in natural rivalries there, and Missouri has a stadium that seats over 60,000, a new basketball facility and a good program as well as a wrestling program, baseball and more. They are also a part of the academic consortium cited above.

The third school?  Well, since you have added two schools with solid financial television & academic appeal to the league, you might be able to take a selfish flier here…and go for a school that would bring a big historical pop on the football field.  Let’s be honest here; as it relates to the financial impact of the Big Ten Network, football is the bell cow by a large margin.

There is another football school that borders two current Big Ten states, and that is Nebraska.  They are a traditional power with a national name and draw.  If you have Rutgers and Missouri on board, you can have the luxury of inviting the Cornhuskers to the party.

Below is a hypothetical set of division the Big Ten might look at given the scenarios I have outlined.  Steve Deace and I put these together.  Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

A few points before the debate begins…one question you might have is geography..don’t sweat that.  All of the current Big Ten teams travel to play the other teams, even though Iowa is over 800 miles away from State College, Pa.

It will be easier to fly into Rutgers than it is to State College…and Rutgers is 45 minutes from Manhattan. There doesn’t have to be a geographical alignment here, and the Big Ten will not make the same mistake the Big 12 made by breaking up the Nebraska-Oklahoma rivalry.  Thus, Michigan, Oiho State and Michigan State are going to be the same division.  Book that one.  Why?  The Michigan schools will want to stay together and neither Michigan nor Ohio State will want the prospect of playing against one another in the regular season as a hypothetical out of division rivalry game and possibly play again in the Big Ten title game.

Penn State will be in the opposite division, as will the next two strongest football programs in the league, which are Iowa, Wisconsin, in addition to being in the same division as Rutgers.

ADDED NOTE:  Nebraska is also a member of the Association of American Universities