Next Up...UNI

Thought it was time to switch gears here and start talking about on the court info. UNI is up next (Monday) and they are quite the interesting team. They've had a brutal schedule to date. Far more agressive than Iowa State's so I would say they are probably a stronger vetted team. Does that mean they are better? Far from it. As I've researched this team they have shown to be up and down all season. Early on they played our nemesis Wisconsin Green Bay (although a very different team than we played last year) at home and lost by 1. Sounds pretty good to me. They've also played Arizona State (a close loss) and Florida (a blowout) before beating NCState. That's some pretty decent competition as all have winning records. They followed that up with a blowout loss to Iowa (in Iowa City) before coming back and putting a licking on Chicago State. Last game out? They reverted again and lost to an ok South Dakota State squad at home. Obviously this team is up and down and is very capable of staying with our ladies if we let them.

The Panthers are led by Jacqui Kalin who averages a bit over 17 points and 4 boards while shooting 97% from the line. That's pretty impressive. As a team, UNI is hitting about 8 threes per game and this comes from a variety of shooters. Its not just Kalin as she is only averaging 2 per outing. Based on statistics alone, UNI doesn't appear to have an outstanding defensive presence. They are scoring 62 points per game while giving up 60. Compare that to Iowa State's scoring 66 and giving up 45. That could be the critical aspect of this game. If Iowa State can put up those numbers we win. If Iowa State struggles from the field it could be interesting. Yet, the only time the Sisters have struggled from the field this year was against Iowa who had a far stronger defensive presence than what UNI puts up.

The game is in Cedar Falls so that tips the scales slightly in UNI's favor although they've lost a couple at home this year. I'm calling this game based solely on Iowa State's offense. I firmly believe the defense will be there as it usually is. They will limit UNI's offensive production. BUT, our offense has to do something besides shoot the three. Take advantage of our size in the middle and...most importantly...get to the line and hit your free throws. Unfortunately, as a team we are only hitting at a 73% clip and our starters (Pop, Prins, Moody, Williamson, and Hal) are only hitting 81%. This needs to get closer to 90% and the improvement has to start with Moody (68%) and Prins (73%). Moody is getting her chances and missing while Anna needs to get to the line more and then make them. This is going to be a critical aspect of Iowa State winning games as we move into Big 12 play.

UNI by 12.

This may have been mentioned somewhere else before, but I noticed the game is on ESPN3.com if anyone is interested.

I kind of see this as our game up there 2 years ago. Slow going with tons of missed shots but ISU wins by 8-10 only scoring 60ish. Moody has a big game.

Should be intersting to see how the team reponses to the mini-drama this week. Hope to see them come out all fired up. I am assuming we will see good defense but will be interesting to see if the offense can get going in a road game.

Partially disagree on the free throws point. It's not our shooting percentage (we are third in the league), it's the number we shoot or in our case do not shoot. We are essentailly in last place in the league in free throw attempts and are 50% below most of the league. Even accounting for the disparity in games played the difference is striking and not even close to the better teams. So I obviously agree with you on the getting to the line more.

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Originally Posted by BoxsterCy

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Partially disagree on the free throws point. It's not our shooting percentage (we are third in the league), it's the number we shoot or in our case do not shoot. We are essentailly in last place in the league in free throw attempts and are 50% below most of the league. Even accounting for the disparity in games played the difference is striking and not even close to the better teams. So I obviously agree with you on the getting to the line more.

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Likewise, I'd say our attempts have been affected by Moody's absence early and then Pop's absence. Those are two who are likely to go to the line most based on their games. I hope Brynn gets there too. Halie should get there alot, but both she and Anna tend to try to avoid contact. Unfortunately for Anna, she gets fouled, but it's often lower on the body and doesn't get called.

Here are the Big 12 stats. I know it is early and everyone has played schedules of varying strength but still interesting to kill some time browsing them. Our good defense ranks well as expected and shows you don't have to play basketbrawl to be effective.

Big 12 Women's Basketball Stats - Big 12 Conference - Official Athletic Site

We may learn a lot from this game. If the team comes in focused, ready to execute the scouting report, ready to make shots, it could mean they are committed and re-energized to looking forward and working together to make the most of the season.

In other news, Drake is up 7 on Iowa in the first half. Basketball can be a crazy game.

didn't last long, but Drake is putting up a good fight!

For those of you who think we have a light schedule...go look at who OSU has played...all at home. Their schedule is so light I'm not sure if I've even heard of all those teams!

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Originally Posted by cydney

Likewise, I'd say our attempts have been affected by Moody's absence early and then Pop's absence. Those are two who are likely to go to the line most based on their games. I hope Brynn gets there too. Halie should get there alot, but both she and Anna tend to try to avoid contact. Unfortunately for Anna, she gets fouled, but it's often lower on the body and doesn't get called.

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Have you ever noticed that they pop her lower arm when she shoots to try to throw off her shot. I haven't seen it called yet.

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Originally Posted by mitten1975

Have you ever noticed that they pop her lower arm when she shoots to try to throw off her shot. I haven't seen it called yet.

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RE: Anna -- Now that you mention it, yes. Maybe it's in the scouting report on her, or maybe it's unintentional due to the height difference. Either way, it should be called.

Once again you set totally unrealistic expectations for the team from the charity stripe. According to the NCAA's own stats there are only 29 women in all of college BB who are shooting 90% or better and only 50 at 87.5% or better, yet you expect ISU's entire starting lineup to be there?

Free-Throw Percentage - NCAA.com

You do realize that there is only one team in the country that is hitting better than the 81% you mention our starters are hitting, right? One.

I realize that practically every fan thinks BB players should hit every single free throw, but it just isn't going to happen.

ISU's 73% is third in the league. As Boxster mentioned the real problem is ISU getting to the line 50+ fewer times than OU, TCU and UT in the same number of games.

You generally have pretty fair writeups on the team, but please try to be a little more realistic about the free throw shooting.

I think they get away with it because she is so tall, the ref tends to look at the point of release and misses the foul because there is so much distance between the two. That is why I have always thought Anna should develop a jump hook, it would make it impossible for them to do that. She has developed it, but doesn't use it very well yet. I would try to use it on almost all interior shots so that the shot is controlled by the hand and arm that the defender can't reach. It would completely neutralize this tactic.