[Herky] Hawkeyes have five big, big, big, big, big games left

[Dennis v]

I think a 4-1 finish would give Iowa the conference championship OUTRIGHT.

Dennis v.

From: Sue Bailey 
Sent: Monday, February 15, 2016 7:10 PM
To: herky at lists.herky.net 
Subject: [Herky] Hawkeyes have five big, big, big, big, big games left

Hawkeyes have five big, big, big, big, big games left
No easy path to Big Ten championship
     Mike Hlas 

      The Gazette

      More stories from Mike 
     

Feb 15, 2016 at 3:11 pm | 
So you’re Iowa, and you’re up by one game in the Big Ten standings with five games left to play.

It’s like leading the Masters by one shot with five holes remaining. It’s the best place to be out of everyone in the tournament, but if you don’t finish strong you’re not likely to prevail.

Of course, there are no double-bogeys in basketball. The most you can lose in one game is one game. But not every comparison is perfect.

Iowa is 11-2 in the Big Ten, Indiana and Maryland are 10-3, Michigan is 9-4, Wisconsin 8-4.

Here are the Hawkeyes’ final five games:

Wednesday: At Penn State.

Potential trouble? Of course. Penn State is a lackluster 3-9 in the Big Ten, but beat Indiana in State College in the Nittany Lions’ most-recent home game.

Feb. 24: Wisconsin

Potential trouble? Of course. The Badgers have won their last seven games, the latest a 70-57 decision at then-No. 2 Maryland. That was despite using the Terrapins’ Under Armour basketball.

Feb. 28: At Ohio State

Potential trouble? Of course. It’s Ohio State. The Buckeyes are 8-5 in the conference. They might be 8-8 when the Hawkeyes get to Columbus, but you never assume a win at OSU.

March 1: Indiana

Potential trouble? Of course. You saw the Hoosiers’ win over Iowa last Thursday, right?

Yes, Indiana got waxed at Michigan State Sunday. But this is a good team, a team that could very well be 13-3 in the conference when it gets to Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

March 5: At Michigan

Potential trouble? Of course. Caris LeVert, the Wolverines’ best player, returned to action last Saturday after a long layoff with a leg injury. He isn’t the player he was, but he helps, and it will be a Seniors Night sendoff for him.

All that said, the remaining schedules of Indiana, Maryland, Michigan and Wisconsin are just as hard as Iowa’s, if not harder.

Maryland and Indiana close the season facing each other in Bloomington, so one of those two gets a loss. Indiana still plays Purdue at home, Maryland plays at Purdue, Michigan is at Ohio State, Maryland and Wisconsin, and Wisconsin’s next game is at Michigan State. Four of Wisconsin’s final six games are on the road.

Iowa has the upper hand right now. But that “one game at a time” maxim has seldom been truer. The Hawkeyes need to beat Penn State on the road Wednesday. A loss there, and it’s a week between games. That’s a long time to stew.




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