Iowa Hawkeyes (9-2, 0-0) AT Drake Bulldogs (8-3, 0-0)

Wow, I'm real late with getting this post up. Well, I'll take some comfort in the fact that the Des Moines Register is taking the point of view that this game is not really happening. How is there not a huge preview and buildup? 3:05 PM today marks a big game for BOTH teams. This is the chance for Drake to show that Stephen F. Austin was merely an abberation, more than trumped by three non-conference wins against solid teams (IA, ISU, NM). For Iowa, they have the chance for retribution for two straight losses to the Drakies. Plus, it would definitely give them yet another decent win to build their NCAA tournament resume.

I'm not going to quote RPI figures, because I personally don' t believe they're any good until we are significantly into conference season and there are a fair amount of in-conference matchups. But I think Iowa has a real good shot to be a tournament team this year. They have an impressive neutral court win over Kansas State, a strong showing at BC, and they have more than taken care of business in state against ISU and UNI. It's tough to tell how the Big10 will go, but this team is playing much older than they are and they're playing Lickliter ball

What do I expect today? Well a few things:

• Pace. I expect Iowa to slow down the tempo. Iowa plays at a raw pace of 57.5 posessions per 40 minutes. This is virtually at the bottom of D1. Their recipe is to be patient, yet calculated and playing towards their strength (good shots) on the offensive end. Drake has been pretty similar playing at a slower pace -- but it seems like more of that was due to some slower games at the earlier portion of the season when everyone was still feeling things out on the offensive end. I fully expect Drake to try to force the tempo and get Iowa playing an up and down game -- it fits JY and Bucky's strengths and might get the Hawkeyes into something they're not used to.
• Tucker. I expect him to play today. I don't know if there's been the most amount of backlash from Lickliter's decision to announce that he "might" play. While it's surely possible that he's just trying to confuse Drake with his announcement, I just feel like once you start hearing that players might return from suspensions, they generally do unless they screw up again. Barring some sort of meltdown at practice on Friday, I'd expect him to be in uniform -- and most likely coming off the bench. This bodes well for the Hawkeyes because he's been their leading scorer this year, and he provides another outside scoring threat that can tackle Drake's 3-2 matchup zone.
• JY goes off. Josh has found his shot recently, averaging 22.3 PPG over his last three games, shooting 53% over that span. Seems like he's definitely getting out of that funk that he was in, and the Bulldogs will need him to continue that pace. It will be key for him to shoot well and score 20+ today.
• Off Day. Drake needs either an off day or to force Iowa to poorer shooting. Over their last three wins, they've been hovering near the 50% FG% range as a team, which is incredible. If you look back to the BC game, they were shooting more at the 42% range. Either way, this team is going to make shots, but if we can force some more misses than usual, it opens up a lot more opportunities for Drake to push tempo and play their style of game.

Prediction: Drake 63, Iowa 59. I think they're going to pull off a shocker today -- in a bit of a chess match they just make more plays down the stretch. I do think Tucker will get in off the bench but will be a bit off, and Iowa will have a few runs but not be consistent. Meanwhile, JY and Bucky Cox will come up big, as well as an unexpected contributor (Josh Parker, anyone?) to just make more plays. Man, I am excited, could be a great game.