Roundtable Q’s: Have You Ever Seen A Hawkeye Dance?

Yes, but not in a long time.

This weeks roundtable is going to cover strictly the NCAA Tournament.  The Iowa Hawkeyes haven’t been to the tourney in the last 8 years, so it has been a long time coming.

Now some people aren’t too thrilled about this because of what took place over the final month of the season.  An 11 seed in a play-in game isn’t ideal considering this teams talent, but hey, beggers can’t be choosers.

Lets talk some Hawkeyes.

1. Iowa gets an 11 seeded play in game, is this what they deserved?

Jeremy: This is absolutely what the Hawkeyes deserved. I’ve been suggesting in my last couple of posts that this team was on the brink of disaster and being one of the last four in the tournament shows how close Iowa came to seeing that reality. The recent slide was impossible to ignore, and their seed should make Hawkeye fans grateful the field expanded to 68 a couple of years ago.

Alex: Iowa absolutely deserves this. They have lost six of their last seven with one signature win on their resume, Michigan. They are very fortunate to be in the NCAA tournament.

Dylan: Yeah, 100%.  They played so poorly that Lunardi dropped them 5 whole spots in his bracketology over the final month of the season.  There was talk of a four seed earlier in the year and now they’re lucky just being in.

2. I know play in games are a part of the tourney, but as fans do you guys feel like Iowa isn’t actually in the dance?

Jeremy: When the NCAA changed the wording to “first-round” from “Play-in”, they wanted it to feel like the 68 team field was apart of the bracket. But let’s face it: it isn’t. Iowa needs to win to gain the footing that the rest of the field has received. They are at the doorstep of the true tournament, but must beat Tennessee to actually be involved in it.

Alex: It isn’t because of the play-in game, that I don’t feel like Iowa is in the dance. It has been the complete demise of this team down the stretch. Having said that, Iowa is in the NCAA tournament for the first time in 8 years, and it will be nice to watch them play in Dayton and potentially Raleigh.

Dylan: I 100% feel like Iowa isn’t actually a part of the dance and if they lose in the “first round” it’ll seem like they never even took part in it.  They have to win one game before the actual tournament starts in my mind, it’s a disappointment.

3. Who is the one player that has to produce for Iowa to make a run?

Jeremy: I think Gabe Olaseni needs to be fantastic for Iowa to do any damage in this tournament. When the Hawkeyes struggle offensively, part of their lulls have been an inability to consistently get the ball in the post. Considering the importance of being a solid rebounder, explosive dunker and conscious shot-blocker, his presence could help propel Iowa on the defensive end, leading to offensive transition opportunities. Iowa needs to be “all hands on deck” to revive their defense, and Olaseni could be a huge part of that.

Alex: I don’t think it’s one player. I think that it’s a team effort. We all know that Devyn Marble is capable of scoring 30 points. What we don’t know is who is going to be the second scorer on any given night. What also needs to improve is the defense. It has been atrocious in every way over the past month. If that doesn’t improve, the Iowa Hawkeyes will be flying back from Dayton on Wednesday night.

Dylan: Jeez I don’t know, take your pick.  Iowa is so deep that it could be a different player every single game if they do manage to play multiple games in the tournament.  Olaseni, Uthoff, McCabe, Gesell, and the list goes on and on, Iowa has a lot of talent, they just need to put it all together.

Iowa is going to open up the tournament in Dayton, Ohio in first round action against the Tennessee Volunteers. The game will tip at 8:10 p.m. CT and will televised on TruTV.