Iowa is a small state. I think the population is around three million. But small or not, Iowans enjoy basketball. Tonight, many Iowans’ eyes and some others (on the Big Ten Network) will watch Iowa host Iowa State in the big rivalry game.
The Iowa State-Iowa games are friendly rivalries. Sure, there is some trash talk going back-and-forth, but nobody sets fires to the other team’s cars.
The 2012 men’s basketball portion should offer a competitive game. Both have two losses each. All the losses have come against quality opponents. Nearly all of the two team’s victories have come again non-quality opponents so it’s difficult to measure the real strengths and weaknesses of each team.
This game should be a type of measuring stick particularly for the road team—Iowa State. The Cyclones are looking for their third straight win against Iowa and maybe a resume builder for the NCAA tournament.
Iowa basketball coach Fran McCaffrey has awoken Hawkeye fans from their basketball slumber. McCaffrey has brought an up tempo style back to Iowa City and some solid recruits. He’s building a program and the Iowa faithful would enjoy earning a NCAA bid this year after going to the NIT last season.
With Fred Hoiberg at the Iowa State helm and McCaffrey at Iowa, this rivalry should be in good shape for a number of years.
No comments:
Post a Comment