Gophers 86, Hawkeyes 74

...and speaking of poundings- Iowa lost and lost badly yesterday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, with Minnesota generally dominating the whole game and scoring an incredible 45 points off 25 (count them) 25 turnovers. I wasn't working the game, but I watched a bit on the Big Ten Network and listened a bit on the radio as I ran down to Hy-Vee for a few bits and bobs-- dismal doesn't even begin to describe the performance.

I'll admit to this: I'm new at the whole basketball thing- I'm sort of learning how it works, getting a feel for it- I still couldn't tell you what's a foul and what's not, but I'm trying. Working all these sporting events is making me enjoy sports (whether basketball or football) a lot more than I ever have before so when I say this, I'll freely admit that I am not a balla pundit extraordinaire, so to speak.

From what I've seen so far, I can say the following:

1. Iowa is a young team: they're going to get experience and get better with age. Re-building takes time.

2. They show flashes of real potential: with or without (leading scorer Anthony) Tucker, they've blown hot and cold for most of the season- losing to UT-San Antonio, crushing Prairie View A & M-- playing Purdue tough in a valiant loss, yet looking completely lost and clueless against Minnesota.

3. Do they have the luxury of time? College basketball is especially unfair, in many respects- players can leave ridiculously early for the pros, so it's the one sport at the collegiate level that really does demand instant results, especially from a lot of the elite programs. Did Lickliter inherit one heckuva mess? Yes he did. Does he deserve at least one, two more years to get something going? Yes he does. But he made his name at Butler championing a style of play which relies on outside shooting- which seems almost alien to the 'no-holds barred' physical style of ball that the rest of the Big 10 plays. It also demands that Iowa shoots 3's consistently- and to win games, you should have more than just a one-dimensional offense.

I never thought I'd say this, but I miss the days of Dr. Tom Davis. Maybe Lickliter can reach those heights- I sure hope he can, but after yesterday's performance, Iowa fans should dig deep and hunker down: it's gonna be a long road back.