Hawkeye Report Podcast

Iowa fans, it happened. The long nightmare is over and the Iowa men's basketball team has advanced to the Sweet 16! Tom Kakert and Matt Randazzo are back on the podcast to look back at this historic night in the history of Hawkeye basketball as Iowa knocked off #1 seed and defending national champion, Florida to advance to the Sweet 16 on Thursday in Houston against Nebraska.

We look back at how the Hawkeyes did it. How they pulled off the upset as 10 point underdogs in what was basically a road environment. We discuss the huge plays made by Tavion Banks, who led the team with 20 points, even though he struggled from the foul line. We go in detail about the incredible clutch shot in the final seconds by Alvaro Folgueiras to give the Hawkeyes the lead and the even more incredible and emotional scenes afterwards involving Alvaro and his mom, along with Cooper Koch and his dad, J.R. who played on Iowa's last Sweet 16 team. We also spend some time talking about Cooper and his huge three pointers in the second half and how every time Florida made a push, Iowa was there to respond and keep fighting. Plus the great deal of toughness that this team showed, which is going to be a hallmark of Ben McCollum's teams moving forward.

In the month of March in college basketball it is about surviving and advancing. The Iowa men's basketball team did just that on Friday evening as they survived and advanced by beating Clemson 67-60 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Tampa.

Tom Kakert and Matt Randazzo were ready to talk about the game following the victory and had plenty to discuss. We looked back at some of the keys to the game from an Iowa pespective and how they played out exactly how they needed to for Iowa to win. It was the first to 60 would win and that was Iowa and also how the Hawkeyes won the rebounding battle and shot more free throws than their opponent.

We discuss the overall pace of the game how it was played just about exactly how we expected going into it. We talks about the standout performances from Kael Combs and Alvaro Folgueiras and how they are x-factors in the games. We also talk about the upcoming game against Florida and the massive challenge that they will present to the Hawkeyes.

It's a huge wrestling podcast to get you ready for the NCAA Championships in Cleveland later this week. There will be nine Hawkeyes hitting the mat in Cleveland and our wrestling expert, Tanner Lafever joins the pod to break it all down. We look at all nine weight classes for the Hawkeyes and he gives his predictions for the finish for each wrestler.

Can any Hawkeyes continue the programs streak of putting a wrestler in a title match? Will the Hawkeyes finish in the top four this weekend and bring home a trophy? What do the preseeds say about Iowa's chances of achieving that goal?

Then we talk a little basketball....specifically Florida basketball and a potential match-up with the Gators since Tanner is a follower of their program.

It's Selection Sunday and that means time to talk about both the Iowa men's and women's teams in the NCAA Tournament this year. We have plenty to discuss and Tom Kakert, Matt Randazzo, and Kyle Huesmann are there to get you up to speed on both Hawkeye teams and their initial path in the NCAA Tournament.

First we open with the Iowa men. They made the Hawkeyes wait, but they landed an 8 seed and will be headed to a place where the Hawkeyes just won a bowl game, Tampa. We breakdown the Iowa vs. Clemson game and take an early look at the key players for the Tigers and Iowa's reaction to the matchup. Plus we get a health update on Bennett Stirtz, who was nursing a bruised quad in the Big Ten Tournament.

Then we move over to the women's draw. Iowa was a two seed, which was suspected they would be heading into Sunday. We also got a health update from Iowa head coach Jan Jensen that seemed to be positive. Kyle Huesmann gives his thoughts on the Hawkeyes draw this week , including their first and second round opponents, plus the Hawkeyes also also hosting a first four game this year that will lead into a 7/10 matchup with Georgia.

Good to have post season basketball to discuss on the podcast. Thanks for listening.

The run for the Iowa men's basketball team in the Big Ten Tournament has come to a close. After picking up one win over Maryland, Iowa dropped a close one on Thursday to Ohio State at the United Center in Chicago. Tom Kakert and Matt Randazzo take a look back at the short run for the Hawkeyes in the Windy City.

First, we look back to the initial win over Maryland and how Iowa came back from trailing by 11 in the first half to going on a 21-0 run to basically salt away a victory. We discuss the strong performance and continued hot shooting from forward Cooper Koch and how he has gotten in a groove from three point range in the last two weeks.

Second, we look at the loss today to Ohio State and how the Hawkeyes rallied late in the game to have a chance to tie before falling by three points. Our real focus is on some of the interesting comments regarding settling for good versus being great from Ben McCollum and what he meant by those comments. We also talk about the questions we have with some of the decisions made by McCollum, like sideline out of bounds play and calling timeouts when you are on a run on offense.

Finally, we look at where the Hawkeyes likely sit heading into Selection Sunday. What seed seems likely right now for Iowa? Who are some possible opponents? Could they face a familiar face in the first round? What locations could Iowa be headed for the first round game?

Last week we previewed a very busy weekend for Iowa athletics. Now we open the week by reviewing what happened on the basketball court and on the wrestling mat. We are joined by Tom Kakert, Kyle Huesmann, and Tanner Lafever to look back at what happened, both good and not so good for the Hawkeyes.

We start with women's basketball where the Hawkeyes made it to the title game in the Big Ten Tournament with a pair of impressive wins over Illinois and Michigan that certainly secured Iowa a two seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. We also have to discuss the blowout loss at the hands of UCLA in the conference title game on Sunday. We look at what went right in those games this past weekend and the impressive play of Taylor Stremlow and company in their run to the title game.

Then we look at the potential two seed options for the Iowa team and why we think that will be where they land and discuss some of the other two and three seeds that Iowa could see in the NCAA Tournament.

After that we move on to men's basketball and the Hawkeyes losing in overtime to Nebraska in Lincoln on Sunday afternoon. What happened in this game? Why was Iowa able to rally from down ten late in the second half to tie the game and send it to overtime? What about the performance of Kael Combs and Cooper Koch, who both scored 18 points in the loss. How did the game get away from Iowa in overtime?

After that we discuss the men's team and the NCAA Tournament. Is Iowa in the Big Dance? How good should they feel going into the Big Ten Tournament and do they have more work to do in Chicago? What seed could they be looking at?

Then we head to the mat and get Tanner Lafever's view of the first NCAA women's wrestling championships that took place this past weekend in Coralville. Iowa ended up finishing a close second in the event. What matches swung the event away from the Hawkeyes and we take an early look at the Iowa team next year, which should be very strong.

Finally we wrap up discussing the Iowa men's wrestling team, which took fourth in the Big Ten meet in State College this past weekend. Who impressed for Iowa and wrestled above their seed? We rundown how Iowa's nine NCAA qualifers performed in the event this weekend.

As promised, we have a whole lot of Hawkeye Wrestling to discuss this week on the podcast and no one better to do that with than Tanner Lafever, our great wrestling writer.

This weekend the Iowa women's wrestling team will be looking for their third straight national title, but it will also be the first NCAA championship in the history in the history of the sport. It might come as a suprise to some folks to know that Iowa is actually not favored this weekend.

We break down the key weight classes heading into the event that takes place in Coralville this weekend. Who are the main competitors with the Hawkeyes in the team title race? Which weight classes might swing the team title race? Do the Hawkeyes have a significant advantage with the two best wrestlers in this event on their side?

Then we move over the Big Ten Wrestling championships, which will be held in State College, PA because Penn State needs more of an edge in this event. Kidding....kind of. We discuss the strange seeding that took place this week in the preseed and why it has created quite a controversy heading into the event that takes place Saturday and Sunday. Is Iowa really projected to finish seventh? How many wrestlers will the Hawkeyes qualify for nationals and will this be a complete runaway for Penn State?

We are headed into conference tournament season on the podcast and that means we have plenty to discuss. We open the week with an in-depth discussion with Kyle Huesmann about Iowa women's basketball as they look to win the Big Ten Tournament championship later this week in Indianapolis.

Before we preview the games on the court, there was news off the court for the Iowa women on Tuesday as Ava Heiden was named first team All Big Ten. Forward Hannah Stuelke repeated as a second team selection and Chit Chat Wright landed on third team honors. Senior Kylie Feuerbach was named to the all defense team and Addie Deal was named to the all freshman squad. We discuss all of those players and their honors on the show.

Then we move on to the actual games and Iowa's draw for the event in Indianapolis. How far with the Hawkeyes advance? How incredibly deep is the field of teams in this event? Can anyone touch UCLA?

After that we look at Iowa's potential NCAA Tournament seed. This past weekend the Hawkeyes were named as a two seed and #6 overall by the selection committee. Are they pretty much locked into the two seed line heading into conference tournament play? Could they potentially reach a one seed? Which teams could be headed to Iowa City for NCAA Tourament play?

Welcome to the month of March! That can mean only one thing, a whole lot of talk about Iowa men's and women's basketball. Tom Kakert and Matt Randazzo recorded the pod on Sunday night and the primary focus is on the men's basketball team.

We open discussing the bad loss on Satruday to Penn State. Iowa had a five point lead with 4:30 left in the game and only scored two points the rest of the way. What led to the struggles of the Iowa offense late in the game? What do we think of the lineup choices made by the Iowa coaches in the final minutes, along with Ben McCollum saying his assistant coaches handle substitutions during the game?

Then we discuss the Hawkeyes struggles on defense on Saturday, allowing Penn State to shoot 64% for the game and 72% in the second half of the contest. Why have they tended to struggle on defense at times?

After that we discuss Iowa and the Big Ten Tournament. Are the Hawkeyes now out on getting the double bye in Chicago? What would the path look like? We also look at the Hawkeyes NCAA Tournament chances. Obviously they took a hit, but is Iowa still in the field of 68?

We move on to the Iowa women's hoops team, who wrapped up their regular season on Sunday with a convincing win at Wisconsin. We talk about the strong play on Sunday from Chit Chat Wright and particularly Taylor Stremlow. We also quickly looked ahead to the Big Ten Tournament and is Iowa locked into a two seed in the NCAA Tournament?

Finally we wrap up the show with a few notes from the NFL Combine in Indy and the strong performances from several Iowa players.

Following a busy weekend of Iowa sports, we have a whole lot to discuss on this edition of the Hawkeye Report Podcast. Tom Kakert, Kyle Huesmann, and Tanner LaFever are on the show to start the week covering everything from men's and women's basketball to women's wrestling and a little Iowa baseball.

We open the show with the biggest win of the weekend by the Iowa women's basketball team. It was the Ava Heiden show on Sunday at Carver-Hawkeye as the Hawkeyes knocked off highly ranked Michigan by double figures. Kyle Huesmann was there and gives his thoughts on the victory on Senior Day for the Hawkeyes. We also look at where the Iowa women will be seeded in the Big Ten Tournament and could they be trending towards a two seed in the NCAA Tournament?

Then we move to the wrestling mat and start with the Iowa women winning their regional this past weekend and advancing all ten of their wrestlers to the NCAA championship meet, which will be held next weekend in Coralville. Tanner LaFever was matside for the event and gives us his in-depth rundown of the action and what the national meet might look like in less than two weeks time.

We also discuss the Iowa men's wrestling team and their loss down in Stillwater, Oklahoma on Sunday evening. It was a one-sided affair going against the Hawkeyes. What is the state of this Iowa team right now heading into Big Ten's in State College in less than two weeks? What will the Iowa lineup look like at that point?

Then we move on to Iowa men's basketball. The Hawkeyes lost a tough one on the road on Sunday at Wisconsin. Iowa led at half, but then struggled to score and get stops in the second half of action. We discuss why this is a massive week for the Iowa men's team facing Ohio State and traveling to Penn State. We also look at how Iowa needs to play if they are going to have a shot against the better teams in the conference.

Finally we wrap up with Kyle Huesmann looking back at Iowa's baseball team taking two of three over Florida Atlantic, but potentially losing one of their top pitchers in the process.