IOWA CITY, Iowa – You’d be hard pressed to find one individual, one aspect, or one play that changed the course of Tuesday night’s game.

Both Iowa and Minnesota have been reeling this season. One of these teams needed to come away with a win. The injury-laden Gophers hoped they were in line for a dire victory.

Instead, it was a collective effort from the Hawkeyes that led to a 94-80 Iowa win.

Collective and cohesive. Two words to best describe Iowa on this night. How’d the Hawkeyes manage to play what is quite possibly their cleanest game of the season?

To start, there are the individuals.

Jordan Bohannon dazzled yet again with a double-double of 20 points and 10 assists. The Iowa point guard played 48 minutes and only committed one foul and two turnovers. He also went 4-of-4 from the free throw line, putting his consecutive makes streak up to 30, just four behind Chris Street’s Iowa record.

Opposing teams throw everything they can at Bohannon, and it doesn’t seem to faze him. Bohannon is often the guy to stop the bleeding with a big, timely shot. No moment seems too large.

“He has supreme confidence in his ability to make that shot,” Fran McCaffery said. “The situation is sort of irrelevant to him, and that’s what you want.”

There’s also Tyler Cook, also with a double-double. Cook’s 17 points and 10 rebounds were huge factors that led to Jordan Murphy getting into foul trouble, trying to body up Iowa’s big man.

Okay, but what about Isaiah Moss? The streaky shooting guard was confident on Tuesday, shooting 5-of-10 from the floor and 4-of-6 from three, notching 16 points.

Yeah, it’s great to get Moss going, but there’s also Luka Garza, Nicholas Baer, and Cordell Pemsl. Each of them had 10 points as well.

Jack Nunge also brought some energy. He had six points, three rebounds, and even two big blocks.

Who sparked this Iowa win? Tough to say when the entire team is on their respective games.

Clearly, the offense was solid, but so too was the defensive aspect of the game. Iowa has played some of the worst defense in Division I this season, but managed to get enough stops Tuesday night.

“We were better defensively, but I think we need to be even better than we were tonight,” McCaffery said. “There are still some areas that need improvement so that we can be better connected. But we were better than we’ve been.”

Iowa still gave up 80 points while Minnesota was without one of their top scorers in Amir Coffey, but the effort on defense was clear and present. There have been moments this season in which that wasn’t the case.

Finally, the big plays. While Moss’s steal and breakaway dunk with 1:34 was the ultimate dagger, it wasn’t what led to the win. 94-80 sounds like Iowa controlled the game, but the two sides were pretty evenly matched.

The Hawkeyes had to weather multiple storms from the Golden Gophers, who had three separate scoring runs of seven, eight, and nine points throughout the game. Iowa stayed composed and didn’t let those turn into 15-0 runs that have plagued them multiple times this season.

Iowa also turned the ball over just eight times and made 12 three-pointers, the teams most in a Big Ten game this season.

Controlling the big moments helped Iowa earn its third conference victory.

The win was Fran McCaffery’s 400^th win as a head coach, but he didn’t put much stock in himself after the game.

“All it does for me in remind me of the great players I’ve coached, the great athletic directors I’ve had,” McCaffery said. “You don’t get to 400 wins being a great coach. You get 400 wins when you have great players who are committed to one another.”

McCaffery wasn’t concerned with the distant future either. The Hawkeyes are still trying to play their way out of the bottom four of the conference to avoid having to play a Wednesday game at the Big Ten Tournament, but McCaffery is merely evaluating this team one game at a time.

“We were better tonight than we were on Saturday. That means we had some maturity,” McCaffery said. “Now we have to play a team that beat us already… let’s see if we can do that on the road. That would be a big step for us to play better than we’ve been playing before on the road.”

Iowa (12-12, 3-8 Big Ten) travels to University Park, Pennsylvania on Saturday for a rematch with the Penn State Nittany Lions (15-8, 5-5 Big Ten). Tipoff is set for 5:00pm CST on Big Ten Network. Penn State beat Iowa 77-73 in Iowa City on December 2 to open Big Ten play.

Penn State plays at No. 5 Michigan State on Wednesday night at 5:30pm CST on Big Ten Network.

The post Hawkeyes Run Over Gophers for Much-Needed Victory appeared first on KRUI Radio.

As you would expect, Iowa and Minnesota slugged it out all night long, but the Hawkeyes took command early and never looked back.

Iowa retained possession of the coveted Floyd of Rosedale Trophy with a 17-10 win over Minnesota on Saturday, the 13^th Iowa win in the last 17 meetings.

Coming off a lackluster offensive performance last week in Evanston, the Hawkeyes came out firing on their first possession. Going against the grain, the Hawkeyes elected to receive first after winning the coin toss.

The Hawkeyes started the first drive with three consecutive completions to three different receivers and moved all the way to the Minnesota 28. Akrum Wadley capped off the drive with a 12-yard touchdown run to give Iowa an early 7-0. Just 2:23 had come off the clock.

Then, as quickly as it had showed up, the Iowa offense disappeared.

Seven more drives ensured for Iowa in the first half. They resulted in five punts, four three-and-outs, an interception on the first play of a drive, and a fumble with 44 seconds left in the half.

After going 80 yards on the opening drive, the Iowa offense totaled just 86 yards of offense the rest of the half.

“It just comes back to execution stuff,” Nate Stanley said. “It just tailed off a little bit.”

On the other side of the ball, the Hawkeye defense showed up yet again. They bent, but refused to break for the eighth straight game.

Minnesota’s offense worked a couple of decent drives and got to within striking distance just twice. The Gophers attempted a fake run on fourth-and-goal from the Iowa seven, but Demry Croft overthrew his tight end Nate Wozniak and the defense forced a turnover on downs.

Later, Josh Jackson tipped a pass intended for Rashad Still, and Jake Gervase came down with an interception in the end zone.

The Hawkeyes got close to scoring again before halftime, but a James Butler fumble at the Minnesota 21-yard line halted the drive.

At halftime, the score was a 7-0 Hawkeyes. Aside from the first five Iowa plays, the teams could not possibly have been more evenly matched.

Even though the offense stumbled in the first half, the Hawkeyes came out of the locker room and put together another good drive to start the third quarter.

Stanley led the Hawkeyes on a 67-yard drive and capped it with a 45-yard touchdown pass to Noah Fant. The deep ball nearly reached press box heights.

“I think we got a call from the FAA on that one,” Kirk Ferentz joked after the game.” We didn’t have clearance.”

Many fans could finally let out a deep sigh of relief after Stanley connected with Fant. At least once a week, Stanley seems to overshoot the big tight end on a deep route, but this time was different.

“You give yourself some more room for error on a ball like that,” Stanley said. “Especially with the struggles that we’ve had early in the year, it’s something we’ve worked on in practice, and it transferred over to the game. “

Much like the first half, the Hawkeyes failed to get much else rolling after the first drive of the half. The next three drives resulted in three-and-outs.

The Gophers finally found the end zone in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter on a one-yard touchdown run from Kobe McCrary. The score pulled the Gophers to within a touchdown.

Miguel Recinos added a field goal for the Hawkeyes two drives later, narrowly connecting on a 32-yard field goal to make it 17-7 in favor of the Hawkeyes.

On the next Gophers drive, Emmit Carpenter hit a 33-yarder to make it 17-10.

The Gophers had one last shot with 1:21 on the clock, but Croft was sacked by Anthony Nelson on fourth down to secure the trophy game victory.

Defense made the difference for the Hawkeyes yet again. The Gervase interception and two turnovers on downs stand out, but so too does the play of corner back Josh Jackson.

Jackson entered the game with a Big Ten-leading 11 pass breakups and added four more in the victory. Jackson was targeted seven times and only allowed one catch for nine yards.

On offense, the return of James Butler seemed to open up options for the offense as well. Butler rushed for just 28 yards on 11 carries, but having him allowed Wadley to stay fresh. Wadley finished with 70 rushing yards and a touchdown.

“Having James back in there is big for us, especially on those tough yardage downs,” Stanley said. “He can get up in there and make some hard yards.”

Moving forward with a little bit of momentum, the Hawkeyes (5-3, 2-3) will have tough tasks each of the next two weeks.

First, Ohio State will come to Kinnick, fresh off an impressive, comeback victory over second-ranked Penn State. Then, the Hawkeyes will travel to Camp Randall to play a likely 9-0 Wisconsin team in the Heartland Trophy game.

Game time for next week’s game against the Buckeyes (7-1, 5-0) is set for 2:30pm and can be seen on ESPN networks.

The post Hawkeyes Top Gophers, Retain Floyd of Rosedale Trophy appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Another lackluster performance on the road means trouble for the Hawkeyes, who dropped today’s contest against Northwestern by a score of 17-10 in overtime.

Despite early success, the offense sputtered in the second half, and the injury-filled defense could not hold on the whole time.

The Hawkeyes got into Northwestern territory on each of their firs two drives, but came away empty each time. Neither team managed to get points on the board in the first quarter.

It looked as though a scoreless first half was a possibility until just 40 seconds remained in the first half. That’s when Nate Stanley found a wide-open Noah Fant for a six-yard touchdown pass. The Hawkeyes took the 7-0 lead into halftime.

At the half, Iowa had outgained Northwestern 238 yards to 107 yards. Northwestern’s star running back Justin Jackson had carried the ball nine times for just 30 yards.

But that was just the first half.

In the second half, Iowa’s offense did not move the same way it did before intermission. Each of the first three possessions resulted in punts, two of which were three-and-outs.

“I don’t know. I don’t have the answer to that right this second,” Iowa Head Coach Kirk Ferentz said when asked about the differences from first half offense to the second half. “First half we moved the ball pretty well…the second half was clearly something different. It comes down to details.”

The Hawkeyes finished the game with 312 yards of total offense. That’s means they produced just 74 yards in the second half and overtime.

All the momentum shifted to the Wildcats. While the Hawkeyes were going three-and-out, the Wildcats tied the game on a Jeremy Larkin six-yard touchdown run with 7:19 to go in the third quarter.

The Wildcats would get a field goal from Charlie Kuhbander two possessions later to take a 10-7 lead with just over eight minutes to play.

Looking to get something moving a couple drives later, Stanley fired a deep ball to Ihmir Smith-Marsette, but the freshman receiver had cut his route off short. The miscommunication led to an easy interception for JR Pace. But again, the Iowa defense stopped the Wildcats on fourth down.

The Hawkeyes marched on the next drive and found themselves facing a fourth-and-inches situation at the Northwestern 26-yard line. A false start from three Hawkeyes forced the field goal unit to come on instead, and Miguel Recinos knocked in a 48-yarder to tie the game with 1:30 on the clock. Northwestern ran it out and went to overtime.

In overtime, the Wildcats scored on their first possession. Quarterback Clayton Thorson rushed up the middle for a one-yard touchdown to go up 17-10. The play was set up by a 23-yard catch and run from Justin Jackson, in which he made four Hawkeyes miss tackles. Jackson would finish the game with 132 all-purpose yards (93 rushing, 38 receiving).

Iowa gained just seven yards on its first three plays in overtime and was forced to go for it on fourth down. Stanley targeted Fant on the same play as their first half touchdown.

This pass hit Fant square in the numbers, but he couldn’t bring it in. The drop ended the game and dropped Iowa to 1-3 in the Big Ten.

The defense put up another great fight in this one, and did so most impressively without their two main signal callers. Josey Jewell and Brandon Snyder each missed the game due to injuries sustained during the Illinois game two weeks ago.

Jewell injured his right shoulder during the Illinois game and was not cleared to play today’s game. Snyder’s knee saw swelling after getting his first action since tearing his ACL, so he also was unable to go.

Instead, senior linebacker Kevin Ward got the start on the outside as Ben Niemann moved into Jewell’s middle linebacker spot. Jake Gervase started in Snyder’s place at free safety.

The defense picked up their missing teammates. Linebackers Bo Bower and Niemann were first and second on the team in tackles with 12 and 11 respectively. Gervase added six tackles, while Ward had four in his first career start.

“It’s just something that Iowa football has always been proud of, that ‘next man in’ philosophy,” said Gervase. “A couple guys had to step up. I think we had a pretty good game as a defense, we just gave up a couple crucial downs that cost us.”

The defense rose to occasion again, engaging the Wildcats in your traditional, smash-mouth, grit-filled Big Ten football game. In the end, it wasn’t enough as the offense had its struggles.

Stanley was 13-for-19 in the first half, but finished the game just 19-for-33 passing. Akrum Wadley was bottled up for much of the game too. On 26 carries, he still managed to find his way to 90 yards, his longest run being good for 22 yards.

“We’re a better football team when we can run the ball efficiently, it’s always been that way,” Ferentz said. “That is our plan, and it will continue to be our plan, so we have to do a better job there.”

For whatever reasons, the offense wasn’t ready coming out of the bye week. The offensive line wasn’t able to get a push like it did two weeks ago against Illinois. Apparently, there is still work to be done on that front.

Next week, the Hawkeyes (4-3, 1-3) return home next week to take on Minnesota in the Floyd of Rosedale trophy game. Start time is 5:30pm CST on FS1.

The post Offense Fades in Second Half, Hawkeyes Fall to Wildcats in OT appeared first on KRUI Radio.

According to ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi, seven Big Ten teams are currently in the field of 68 for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. That is second only to the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) who boasts ten as of Feb. 23.

For much of the season, the Big Ten has not been given a whole lot of national respect.

On Feb. 11, the NCAA Selection Committee released their first ever mid-season top-16 bracket to give fans a sneak peak of where teams were stacking up. Not one team from the Big Ten was listed in the bracket, despite having two teams (Wisconsin and Purdue) in the top 16 of the AP poll at the time.

Leaving out Wisconsin, a team ranked seventh in the AP poll, was a message to every team in the conference. The committee did not respect the best team in the conference, which meant they didn’t respect the conference as a whole.

Since then, conference play has picked up and upsets are becoming more likely. Minnesota has almost single-handedly brought the Big Ten back into the picture thanks to their current six-game winning streak. They are now one of three Big Ten teams listed as locks for the tournament, this according to ESPN’s Eamonn Brennan.

That means that for four of the seven teams currently in the field, and one that is still on the outside looking in, there is some work yet to be done.

Here’s a guide for how the Big Ten fairs as of now and what teams not considered locks need to do to find their way into the dance:

LOCKS: Wisconsin, Purdue, Minnesota

CURRENTLY IN:

MARYLAND – current 7-seed, 22-6 overall, 10-5 Big Ten (3^rd), SOS: 36, RPI: 22

It seems kind of absurd that a team who has been in the AP Top-25 for the last six weeks isn’t a lock to make the tournament, but that’s just how it is. The Terps have been hanging around the top of the league without ever really getting that statement win needed to solidify themselves as being legit. Their best two wins have both come on the road. One was at Minnesota before the Gophers caught fire, and the other at Northwestern who was without leading-scorer Scottie Lindsey. Currently on a two-game losing streak, they’ve lost four of their last six and are slowing down at the wrong time. However, their final three games of the regular season (vs. Iowa, @ Rutgers, vs. Michigan State) should result in wins. If Melo Trimble keeps shooting like he has been recently and the Terps win out, they should find themselves comfortably in the NCAA Tournament.

NORTHWESTERN – current 9-seed, 20-8 overall, 9-6 Big Ten (5^th), SOS: 66, RPI: 44

The boys in purple are eyeing the school’s first ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament, but the team has hit a rough patch as the season winds down.  After starting conference play 7-2, the Wildcats have lost four of their last six, and were without their leading scorer Scottie Lindsey for a significant chunk of that skid. They did beat Wisconsin in Madison during that time without Lindsey, and that win alone may be enough to elicit them getting an at-large bid. Two of their final three games are at home (Michigan, Purdue), and their one road game is at Indiana, who has lost seven of their last eight. Not the easiest schedule for the Wildcats to finish the regular season, but if they can win one of them and finish above .500 in conference play, that should be enough to punch their first ticket to the big dance.

MICHIGAN STATE – current 10-seed, 17-11 overall, 9-6 Big Ten (6^th), SOS: 14, RPI: 43

This season hasn’t gone as smoothly for the Spartans as they might have liked, but they’re still clinging to seat at the tournament table. Currently listed as one of Joe Lunardi’s “Last Four Byes,” there is little room for Sparty to falter as the season closes. Their tough non-conference schedule they always play is a plus for them, but they have very few good wins outside of East Lansing. In conference play, their longest winning streak was three games, which is true for their longest losing streak as well. You know what you’re going to get each night from Miles Bridges and his counterparts, and that eliminates any uncertainty the committee may have about the Spartans. Two of their final three games are against ranked opponents, including a home game against Wisconsin this weekend. If Sparty can find a way to beat the Badgers or win in College Park, Maryland in the season finale, that should be enough to give them the nod in the tournament.

MICHIGAN – current 9-seed, 18-10 overall, 8-7 Big Ten (7^th), SOS: 41, RPI: 52

The Wolverines have flown under the radar for most of this Big Ten season, but they’ve managed to do enough to be in the tournament as of now. Only one loss on the season to teams outside the RPI top 100, and that was an overtime defeat in Iowa City to the Hawkeyes (RPI: 112) in the Wolverines’ conference opener. Michigan sits just outside the top 50 in RPI, and has only gone 3-7 against the top 50 this season. But like their in-state rivals, the difficult schedule gives them brownie points for trying to compete with some of the top teams in the country. Five of their seven RPI top-50 losses came on the road, too. Derrick Walton, Jr. and company have struggled when away from Ann Arbor this season, and they will have to play two road games to finish out the season at Northwestern and Nebraska. This weekend, they host Purdue, which is a tough way to spend your final day in the Crisler Center before packing for the road. The Wolverines need to finish with at least one win in the stretch to maintain their positioning in the tournament, but a three-game skid could put them on the wrong side of the bubble.

IN THE HUNT:

INDIANA – currently not seeded, 15-13 overall, 5-10 Big Ten (13^th), SOS: 43, RPI: 101

Even though they’ve lost seven of their last eight and are second to last in the conference, the Hoosiers remain one of Joe Lunardi’s “Next Four Out” teams. Injuries have plagued Indiana after their season started out with so much promise. They beat Kansas in the season opener and North Carolina just a few games later. Both of those teams have legitimate chances of being 1-seeds in the tournament. However, the season shifted when they lost OG Anunoby for the season after knee surgery and missing James Blackmon, Jr. for an important four-game stretch didn’t help either. Playing 11 games versus the RPI top-50 helps their cause, but losing eight of them hurts. They also have two losses to teams outside of the RPI top-100 in Iowa and Indiana University-Purdue University For Wayne (RPI: 176). Despite the downward trend, the early success has been enough to keep them on the bubble. They likely will need to win at least two of their final three regular season games (vs. Northwestern, @ Purdue, @ Ohio State) and win at least one Big Ten tournament game if they want any chance of sneaking into the field of 68.

The post Big Ten Basketball Bubble Watch appeared first on KRUI Radio.

The Minnesota offensive attack was lead by sophomore quarterback Mitch Leidner, who finished with 10 completions on 13 attempts for 138 yards and 4 touchdowns. He also led his team in rushing with 77 yards on 11 carries.

Leidner’s tight end Maxx Williams was clearly the go to guy when attacking through the air. Williams hauled in 5 receptions including 3 touchdowns. Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said Williams is a “Heck of a player.”

After a tie game heading into the second quarter, Minnesota quickly pulled away scoring 28 unanswered points. Leidner threw for over 100 yards and 3 touchdowns in the second quarter alone.

The Hawkeyes dug their own hole turning the ball over 3 times in the first half. When Kirk Ferentz was asked about the loss he responded, “Our special teams did nothing to help us. They were bad.”

Iowa’s junior quarterback Jake Rudock struggled to find his rhythm after the first quarter. Rudock finished the afternoon with 10 completions on 19 attempts, and two turnovers.

When asked what changed after their first offensive drive, Rudock responded, “I can’t put a finger on it.”

Sophomore quarterback C.J. Beathard later replaced Rudock in the fourth quarter.Beathard also struggled, but managed to connect with senior receiver Andrew Stone for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

The Minnesota Golden Gophers started right where they had left off to begin the second half. They held Iowa to just one score in the second half.

The Iowa offense was able to scrap out only 205 net yards on the day. It was a different story for the Minnesota offense as they netted 429 total yards on the day. The Iowa defense struggled in the trenches allowing 291 yards on the ground. Coach Ferentz said, “They controlled both lines.”

This leaves the Hawkeyes in a tough position for the remainder of the 2014 season, as they would need to run the table to have a shot at the Big Ten Championship game. When asked if his team has mental toughness, Kirk Ferentz responded, “We’ll find out.”

Iowa will travel to Champaign, Illinois next week to take on a 4-5 Illini team who is coming off a bye. Iowa will finish the season out with two home games, as they will host both Wisconsin and Nebraska.

The Minnesota Golden Gophers will be tied with Wisconsin for second place in the Big Ten West heading into the final three games of the season, and will face three strong teams to finish.

The Gophers will host Ohio State next week and finish up on the road against Nebraska and Wisconsin. Despite the tough schedule ahead, the Gophers are in full control of their own destiny.

The post Iowa Collapses Against Minnesota appeared first on KRUI Radio.

They let their bats do the talking. Down 5-0 entering the bottom of the second inning, Iowa scored 11 unanswered runs to take the second game of the series 11-5.

Sasha Kuebel had his struggles early on, but after giving up the five early runs he settled down beautifully and picked up his fifth win of the season. The southpaw allowed 5 runs on 10 hits in 7 innings. The five runs and seven of the ten hits Kuebel gave up were in the first two innings. After that, the Hawkeye pitcher allowed just three hits in his final four innings. Reliever Blake Hickman pitched an inning and two-thirds allowing 1 hit and 2 walks, but he struggled with his control in the ninth and that forced coach Rick Heller to go lefty Jared Mandel to get the last out of the game.

Sophomore catcher Jimmy Frankos, who went 4-5 and drove in 2 runs in the victory, led Iowa’s offense.

The Hawkeyes got on the board in the second inning courtesy of Jake Mangler after a pitch from Gopher starter Ben Meyer hit him to make it 5-1.

The fourth inning saw Iowa score their second run of the game on an RBI groundout from Mangler as he picked up his second RBI of the game to cut the deficit to three.

Next inning, Iowa put up their first crooked number of the game scoring and capitalized on some Minnesota miscues. Hawkeye shortstop Jake Yacinich led off the inning with a walk and advanced to second on an error by Gopher right fielder Jordan Smith. Another walk from Hawkeye right fielder Taylor Zeutenhorst loaded the bases for Iowa. Left fielder Kris Goodman grounded into a double play scoring Yacinich from third to make it 5-3 Gophers. The very next batter, Jimmy Frankos, lined a sharp single to center field scoring designated hitter Dan Potempa to put the Hawks only one run back.

The sixth inning, however, gave the Hawkeyes four huge runs to take an 8-5 lead over Minnesota. The onslaught started with a two run triple from Yacinich, who picked up his third and fourth RBI’s of the contest scoring first basemen Tyler Peyton and center fielder Eric Toole. Yacinich later came around to score on a sacrifice fly by Dan Potempa. Taylor Zeutenhorst concluded the run scoring in the sixth with a bang when he hit a 400-foot bomb to straight away center field for a solo home run. All four runs were charged to Gopher reliever Brian Glowicki.

Iowa added two more runs in the seventh inning, once again taking advantage of Gopher mistakes. An error by Minnesota third baseman Matt Fiedler off the bat of Jake Mangler allowed Jimmy Frankos to score from third base. Tyler Peyton then hit into a fielder’s choice scoring third baseman Nick Day to make the score 10-5 Hawkeyes.

The Hawkeyes scored their final run of Saturday’s contest on an RBI single from Jimmy Frankos scoring Taylor Zeutenhorst in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Coach Heller has to be pleased with the effort of his team over the weekend, which also saw Iowa take the series finale by a score of 7-6 on Sunday. He has injected new life into a program that desperately needed something to get back on its feet. With his track record, coach Heller will have this team being a contender in the Big Ten sooner rather than later.

Iowa will return to Duane Banks Field on Friday, April 25 against the South Dakota State Jackrabbits. Like the game this past Saturday, we will have the series opener live on 89.7 KRUI. First pitch is set for 6:00 P.M.

The post Iowa uses bats to get by Gophers appeared first on KRUI Radio.

The Hawkeyes arrived in Louisville, KY last Monday prepared to take on the 24^th ranked North Carolina Tar Heels and the Cardinals of Ball State, but the rain clouds had other plans for the day and all games at the tournament that day were cancelled.

Tuesday morning brought better weather and another game with Ball State.  The streak of scoreless innings that the Hawkeye pitching staff had going was broken along with the winning streak, and Ball State emerged victorious 7-5.

A few hours later the Hawkeyes were set to face the host school, #11 Louisville, on their own field.  The Hawkeyes took flight early, scoring three runs in the first inning, and took a 6-2 victory over Louisville back to the hotel that night.  The loss was Louisville’s first at home in 37 games and 11 games overall.  It was also the Hawkeyes’ fourth over a ranked opponent this spring.

A rematch with Louisville was first on the docket for the Hawkeyes on Wednesday and Louisville was determined not to lose consecutive games on their home field.  After giving up six runs to Louisville and having their bats silenced for most of the game by Louisville pitcher Rachel LeCoq, the Hawkeyes managed to push four runs across in their final two at-bats, but it wasn’t enough and Louisville earned the split, 6-4.

The next morning the Hawkeyes left Louisville and headed down the interstate to Lexington to face #21 Kentucky on their home field.  Kayla Massey allowed one run on four hits in the complete game, and the Hawkeyes finished their road trip with a 3-1 win over the Wildcats.  The Hawkeyes were looking forward to getting to finally play at home but the results wouldn’t be as they desired.

The Hawkeyes opened up their first series at home in the 2013 spring season against conference foe Minnesota.  The Gophers outscored the Hawkeyes 21-5 in the three games, winning all three and sending the Hawkeyes to their first three game losing streak of the season.

The Hawkeyes are back in action for a three game set against Wisconsin starting this Friday.  All three games will be played at Bob Pearl Field. Friday’s game starts at 4 pm, and then Saturday’s double header begins at 1 pm.

The post Hawkeyes Get Rained Out, Then Fizzle Out appeared first on KRUI Radio.

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The Weight Classes:

125
NCAA Qualifiers: 6
1. #1 Matt McDonough (Iowa)
2. #2 Zach Sanders (Minnesota)
3. #8 Nico Megaludis (Penn State)
4. #6 Jesse Delgado (Illinois)
5. #10 Levi Mele (Northwestern)
6. #17 Johnni DiJulius (Ohio State)
7. Camden Eppert (Purdue)
8. Brenan Lyon (Michigan State)

Tournament Seeds:
Favorite: McDonough (Iowa)
Sleeper: Delgado (Illinois)
Probable NCAA Qualifiers: All ranked wrestlers listed
The 125 weight class is McDonough’s to lose in this tournament. He boasts a 27-1 record, with his only loss coming to Illinois’ Delgado in early December. McDonough consistently wrestles Sanders (Minnesota) very well and he should be the favorite to win this weight class. Beyond that, Sanders (Minnesota) should be the favorite to get 2nd, as he wrestled very well against the other top opponents over the year. He should have a 3rd shot this year at McDonough in the finals on Sunday.

133
NCAA Qualifiers: 7
1. #2 Logan Stieber (Ohio State)
2. #3 Tony Ramos (Iowa)
3. #4 B.J. Futrell (Illinois)
4. #7 Chris Dardanes (Minnesota)
5. #8 Cashe Quiroga (Purdue)
6. #14 Zac Stevens (Michigan)
7. #18 Ridge Kiley (Nebraska
8. Frank Martelotti (Penn State)

Favorite: Stieber (OSU)
Sleeper: Dardanes (Minnesota)
Probable NCAA Qualifiers: All previously mentioned ranked wrestlers
At 133 the top 3 spots should be the most competitive for a B1G title with Futrell, Ramos, and Stieber. Stieber defeated Ramos convincingly in the dual where Ohio State dominated the Hawkeyes, but Ramos has been very hot winning his last 7 matches over quality opponents and will look to capture a Big Ten title for himself. Dardanes has come on strong at this weight class toward the end of the year and the redshirt freshman could make an appearance a lot higher on the podium than expected.

141
NCAA Qualifiers: 5
1. #1 Kellen Russell (Michigan)
2. #4 Hunter Stieber (Ohio State)
3. #5 Montell Marion (Iowa)
4. #8 Nick Dardanes (Minnesota)
5. #9 Jake Sueflohn (Nebraska)
6. Daryl Thomas (Illinois)
7. Matt Ortega (Indiana)
8. Bryan Pearsall (Penn State)

Favorite: Russell (Michigan)
Sleeper: Marion (Iowa)
Probably NCAA Qualifiers: All previously mentioned ranked wrestlers
Russell boasts a 25-1 record, his only loss coming on a 5-6 decision to Stieber early in the season. The only real downfall for Russell is that he has not wrestled a lot of close matches down the stretch, so his conditioning and ability to score in close matches could be tested, but he still remains the favorite because of he is able to dismantle opponents. This weight class could be interesting because Marion and Russell did not wrestling during the regular season, so the grappler from Des Moines could make some noise in this bracket as he will probably get the #3 seed and will face Russell early on in the tournament.

149
NCAA Qualifiers: 9
1. #1 Frank Molinaro (Penn State)
2. #7 Eric Grajales (Michigan)
3. #9 Dylan Ness (Minnesota)
4. #12 Ivan Lopuchanski (Purdue)
5. #16 Cam Tessari (Ohio State)
6. #18 Taylor Walsh (Indiana)
7. #19 Eric Terrazas (Illinois)
8. Kaleb Friedley (Northwestern)
9. Dan Osterman (Michigan State)
10. Mike Kelly (Iowa)
11. Skylar Galloway (Nebraska)
12. Frank Baer (Wisconsin)

Favorite: Molinaro (PSU)
SleeperL Grajales (Michigan)
Probable NCAA Qualfifiers: Molinaro, Grajales, Ness, Lopuchanski, Tessari, Walsh, Terrazas, Friedley (Northwestern) Osterman (Michigan State)
Molinaro should win this bracket and punch his ticket to St. Louis easily. He is 25-0 and has been about as dominant as any wrestler at thier weight class this season. He has a great ability to score bonus points and Penn State will need those bonus points in the team score. Beyond Molinaro, there is a nice cluster of talented guys that could make a push for an NCAA tournament bid. The 149 weight class will qualify 9 wrestlers for nationals and that should take some pressure off a lot of these guys, but there will be a fight in wrestle-backs to try and get in, as well as score bonus points for the team score.

157
NCAA Qualifiers: 6
1. #2 Jason Welch (Northwestern)
2. #5 Dylan Alton (Penn State)
3. #8 James Green (Nebraska)
4. #9 Anthony Jones (Michigan State)
5. #18 Josh Demas (Ohio State)
6. #20 Derek St John (Iowa)
7. Tommy Churchard (Purdue)
8. Jackson Morse (Illinois)

Favorite: Welch (Northwestern)
Sleeper: Jones (MSU)
Probable NCAA Qualifiers: All the ranked wrestlers previously mentioned
Welch has not lost this year and has been elite at this weight class over all opponents. The undefeated Junior should not have a problem winning this tournament and getting some much needed points for Northwestern, but a solid sleeper pick at this weight is Anthony Jones because he wrestled Welch extremely tough the first time they faced each other. If Jones can get an upset early, we could see these two face off in the championship bout for a B1G title. Another interesting storyline is Derek St John who battled injury for a good chunk of the season, but is back and has been wrestling very well for the Hawkeyes. He will need to score some big time points as the Hawkeyes look to get ahead in the team scores. Keep an eye on Alton as well. He wrestled Kyle Dake from Cornell (#1) very well, only losing 3-0.

165
NCAA Qualifiers: 8
1. #1 David Taylor (Penn State)
2. #6 Mike Evans (Iowa)
3. #7 Robert Kokesh (Nebraska)
4. #11 Ben Jordan (Wisconsin)
5. #12 Conrad Polz (Illinois)
6. #13 Dan Yates (Michigan)
7. #14 Cody Yohn (Minnesota)
8. Derek Garcia (Ohio State)

Favorite: David Taylor (PSU)
Sleeper: Mike Evans (Iowa)
Probable NCAA Qualifiers: Taylor, Evans, Jordan, Kokesh, Polz, Yates, Yohn, Derek Garcia (Ohio State
This weight class will showcase some great match-ups for qualifying spots. Evans should have the #2 seed which opens up a great opportunity for him to run through the first couple rounds as Jordan from Wisconsin will probably be the #4 seed and Evans has beaten the Badger twice this year already. Harger from Northwestern has been wrestling very well down the stretch and should be able to compete strongly for the final NCAA berth.

174
NCAA Qualifiers: 9
Ranked Wrestlers:
1. #2 Ed Ruth (Penn State)
2. #6 Logan Storley (Minnesota)
3. #5 Ethen Lofthouse (Iowa)
4. #8 Justin Zeerip (Michigan)
5. #10 Nick Heflin (Ohio State)
6. #18 Curran Jacobs (Michigan State)
7. #17 Tyler Koehn (Nebraska)
8. #9 Nick Blanton (Illinois)
9. #14 Lee Munster (Northwestern)

Favorite: Ed Ruth (PSU)
Sleeper: Ethen Lofthouse (Iowa)
Probable NCAA Qualifiers: All previously mentioned ranked wrestlers
This bracket will be fun to watch because these wrestlers, with the exception of Ruth really beat up on each other this year. Ruth will be the favorite, after plowing through the competition en route to an undefeated regular season, picking up bonus points for Coach Sanderson and his team. The Nittany Lions will need Ruth to get a lot of extra points over the course of the weekend for the team score. This could be a huge bracket for team score, with the top teams, all having very competitive wrestlers in the upper echelon of the weight class.

184
NCAA Qualfiers: 7
1. #6 Kevin Steinhaus (Minnesota)
2. #2. Quentin Wright (Penn State)
3. #7 Josh Ihnen (Nebraska)
4. #11 Grant Gambrall (Iowa)
5. #9 C.J. Magrum (Ohio State)
6. #20 Braden Atwood (Purdue)
7. Tony Dallago (Illinois)
8. Ian Hamilton (Michigan State)

Favorite: Wright (PSU)
Sleeper: Gambrall (Iowa)
Probable NCAA Tournament Qualifiers: Wright, Steinhaus, Ihnen, Magrum, Gambrall, Atwood, Lucas Sheridon (Indiana)
This weight class is interesting because after a disappointing season for Gambrall plagued with injuries and struggles on the mat he is in a good position to get a low seed, upset some wrestlers and get some momentum going. Gambrall faced off against Steinhaus in the dual and it was a huge match, which Grant ultimately lost. Wright is the favorite in this bracket, but Steinhaus gave the Nittany Lion one of his two losses, and will be chomping at the bit to get at him again.

197
NCAA Qualifiers: 7
1. #7 Sonny Yohn (Minnesota)
2. #3 Matt Powless (Indiana)
3. #12 Morgan McIntosh (Penn State)
4. #14 Max Huntley (Michigan)
5. #18 Mario Gonzalez (Illinois)
6. Andrew Campolattano (Ohio State
7. James Nakashima (Nebraska)
8. A.J. Kissel (Purdue)

Favorite: Powless (IN)
Sleeper: Huntley (PSU)
Probable NCAA Qualifiers: Yohn, Powless, McIntosh, Huntley, Gonzalez, Campolattano, Kissel
The 197 weight class at the top is very balanced between Yohn, Powless, McIntosh, and Huntley. These guys have beaten up on each other. Yohn beat Powless this year so he grabbed the #1 seed, but he will need to prove his worth in this tournament.

HWT
NCAA Qualifiers: 10
1. #3 Tony Nelson (Minnesota)
2. #5 Cameron Wade (Penn State)
3. #11 Ben Apland (Michigan)
4. #8 Tucker Lane (Nebraska)
5. #12 Mike McMullan (Northwestern)
6. #13 Bobby Telford (Iowa)
7. Adam Chalfant (Indiana)
8. Roger Vukobratovich (Purdue)
9. Peter Capone (Ohio State)
10. Steve Andrus (Michigan state)
11. Pat Walker (Illinois)
12. Cole Tobin (Wisconsin)

Favorite: Nelson (Minnesota)
Sleeper: Capone (Ohio State)
Probable NCAA Qualifiers: Nelson, Wade, Apland, Lane, McMullan, Telford, Chalfant, Vukobratovich, Capone, Andrus
The big boys should be a fun bracket to watch because there is a lot of chance for upsets. Capone from Ohio State was the closest in the Big Ten to beating Nelson, but at the same time, Capone went 12-13 on the season. This should be a fun one to watch, especially since it will qualify 10 of the 12 competitors for the NCAA’s

Team
Seed, National Rank (Number of Ranked Wrestlers)
1. #1 Penn State Nittany Lions (8)
2. #2 Minnesota Golden Gophers (9)
3. #3 Iowa Hawkeyes (8)
4. #6 Michigan Wolverines (7)
5. #T-8 Ohio State Buckeyes (7)
6. #14 Nebraska Cornhuskers (7)
7. #16 Illinois Fighting Illini (6)
8. #T19 Northwestern Wildcats (4)
9. #31 Indiana Hoosiers (2)
10.#35 Purdue Boiler Makers (3)
11.#T-42 Michigan State Spartans (2)
12.#T-45 Wisconsin Badgers (1)

The Big Ten is the strongest conference in the College Wrestling world and that plays a large part in the 74 automatic qualifiers for the NCAA tournament, with a good chance of getting another few in with at-large bids. The team title will be interesting. #1 Penn State won last season because of a lot of bonus points by underdogs, like Quentin Wright, who ended up winning the tournament after coming in as the #8 seed and unranked on Intermat. Cael Sanderson said in his post tournament interview that he was extremely proud of his guys for scoring extra points when they needed to. One of the biggest stressed for the Hawkeyes and Gophers, in order to overthrow the Nittany Lions, is to score when they should score and get bonus points when possible. The top spots in nearly all weight classes will belong to Penn State, Iowa, or Minnesota, and that will supply each team with a good number of points to build a nice foundation for a good score on. The key is in the wrestle-backs and in the late-round, NCAA qualifying matches. The winners of those matches will end up giving their team the points to be in the hunt at the end.

All 4 sessions of the tournament will be covered on The Big Ten Network. ALL sessions will be streaming live Here  Live Television coverage will begin 3PM Eastern on Saturday on BTN and online as well.

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Be Sure to tune in to B1G talk Monday March 5 from 11am-12am on 89.7 in Iowa City for a full analysis and recap of the tournament

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