The Iowa Hawkeyes open the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis tomorrow morning against Michigan.The Hawkeyes enter as the number eight seed after a 13-18 regular season and for the Hawks and teams in similar situation it’s all or nothing to get into the NCAA Tournament. For teams on the bubble, how far they go in the tournament might determine their post season fate.
Iowa coach Todd Lickliter says when selection Sunday is over they are going to point to half a dozen of ten teams that could be in the tournament. He says the committee does a great job, it’s just the nature of the game. The Hawkeyes won at Michigan during the regular season and Lickliter was asked if that will provide his team some confidence.
Lickliter says he feels that knowing something and doing something are different things, as he says Michigan beat them at home. He says you have to be better than the other team on that particular day. The Wolverines are 9-21 and coach John Beilein’s team avenged that loss to the Hawkeyes by winning in Iowa City.
Beilein says because of the strange nature of the regular season matchups he is not sure what can be learned from those games.