Question for the Cognescenti

Many of the talking heads see Iowa as the team derailing our dance. I don't know anything about the Hawkeyes other than they finished 4th in the Big 10 and are ranked #16. Anybody know what it is about the Hawkeyes that would cause them to be picked to knock off our boys? Thanks in advance.

They have a Bryson Williams type of player in Keegan Murry and they shoot a good percentage from 3. I have not seen enough of their games to say how good they are.

Iowa is cut in a very similar mold to Kansas. They are Kansas “lite” if you will. This KU team is Uber offensively dependent. Our defense is one of the weakest under Self and our offense ranks in the top 5. As per my DPPI KU currently is ranked 3rd in offense in the country but 25th in defense, we have occasionally had some good defensive moments and even a few game long defensive stretches (think Baylor in Lawrence). But by and large we have struggled on defense such that when our offense falters, we are bereft and at risk of losing. Iowa is that same model only worse. Iowa is ranked right behind Kansas with the 4th best offense in the land. They are truly a great offensive team. But they are ranked an abysmal 46th in defense. They really struggle to defense far more than Kansas does, but that in itself is not the only factor. Iowa is ranked 222nd in consistency of performance. They are ranked lower than KU in defense and they are less dependable. You know at this level any team can win on any given night. But if we played Iowa 100 times we would defeat them 55 or so says the DPPI. I would not view Iowa as a particularly unique threat. They are a really good team ranked 12th in the DPPI to KU’s 7th. We should be a slight favorite but I see KU having the advantage in the matchup by a slight amount. I would be a lot more nervous of the matchup with Houston or Auburn.

One heck of an answer Corpus !!

I look forward to that game now !

Wow, great analysis. I wouldn't want to go up against you in a bracket contest!