Iowa 100, Quincy 54
Hey, Hawkeye fans: do the woes of the football team gotcha down? Of course they do. Well, here’s good news: basketball season has unofficially begun.
I say unofficially because today’s double-header against Quincy University were exhibition games. Bluder’s Bunch cruised to a 86-51 victory and the men opened the post-Gatens era with a 100-54 beat down.
Needless to say, Quincy was way overmatched in both games. (I only attended the men’s game, but will try to make it to a women’s game this season. I have not gone to an Iowa women’s game in a long time.) The men were up 22-0 before Quincy notched a free throw. At halftime the score was 48-19. It was so one-sided and boring that people around me were yawning. It also did not help that for most of the first half Quincy had more fouls than points. One Quincy player hit the bench with four fouls before halftime. Four fouls before halftime? Wow.
Anyway, the Hawks looked okay. They obviously had the talent advantage and that was the major difference in the game. With the loss of Matt Gatens, the team no longer has a go-to leader. People can talk as much smack as they want about Gatens, but the man was a leader for four years. And he was clutch. He has left a huge hole to fill not only in regards to leadership but also scoring, so I was very eager to see how the team would adjust.
Eric May and Josh Ogelsby both scored fifteen points, but freshman point guard Mike Gesell led all scorers with 18 points. He made a hell of a first impression and the usual plaudits were passed among the fans. (“Oh. He’s gooood.”)
The Hawks set the defensive tempo by pressing after their first bucket; they forced thirty-one turnovers, notched nineteen steals, and seven blocks. However, they also committed seventeen turnovers of their own and were sloppy and out of sync at times. A lot of work needs to be done but I think they will make a lot of improvement and noise in the coming weeks. The first official game is Friday against Texas-Pan American.
I say unofficially because today’s double-header against Quincy University were exhibition games. Bluder’s Bunch cruised to a 86-51 victory and the men opened the post-Gatens era with a 100-54 beat down.
Needless to say, Quincy was way overmatched in both games. (I only attended the men’s game, but will try to make it to a women’s game this season. I have not gone to an Iowa women’s game in a long time.) The men were up 22-0 before Quincy notched a free throw. At halftime the score was 48-19. It was so one-sided and boring that people around me were yawning. It also did not help that for most of the first half Quincy had more fouls than points. One Quincy player hit the bench with four fouls before halftime. Four fouls before halftime? Wow.
Anyway, the Hawks looked okay. They obviously had the talent advantage and that was the major difference in the game. With the loss of Matt Gatens, the team no longer has a go-to leader. People can talk as much smack as they want about Gatens, but the man was a leader for four years. And he was clutch. He has left a huge hole to fill not only in regards to leadership but also scoring, so I was very eager to see how the team would adjust.
Eric May and Josh Ogelsby both scored fifteen points, but freshman point guard Mike Gesell led all scorers with 18 points. He made a hell of a first impression and the usual plaudits were passed among the fans. (“Oh. He’s gooood.”)
The Hawks set the defensive tempo by pressing after their first bucket; they forced thirty-one turnovers, notched nineteen steals, and seven blocks. However, they also committed seventeen turnovers of their own and were sloppy and out of sync at times. A lot of work needs to be done but I think they will make a lot of improvement and noise in the coming weeks. The first official game is Friday against Texas-Pan American.
