The Beatings Will Continue Until Morale Improves

by Jordan Loperena

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - In one of the least inspiring efforts I have seen a Hawkeye athletic team put up in quite some time, Iowa took a beating this afternoon, falling - scratch that - plummetting to the Michigan Wolverines. The Hawkeyes showed no sign of the effort they put up against the Wolverines just a couple of weeks ago when they were able to take down the Maize and Blue in an overtime victory inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Apparently, that is the only court Iowa decided to play on a level even close to Division-I NCAA Basketball this season. They had stretches of hope within individual games, but failed to finish on many occassions. However, I will cut them some slack - they at least put up impressive efforts in almost every one of their games during the last half of the Big Ten season.

After the trouncing Michigan State handed to them inside Carver on a night in which the students finally decided to pack the Hawk's Nest, the Hawkeyes seemed to turn things, well - not completely around - but at least in the right direction. This is what makes the Hawkeyes' 73-45 defeat to the Michigan Wolverines at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis this afternoon so disappointing. The signs of hope, the stretches of improvement, the admirable effort all disappeared. It looked as if the Hawkeyes decided to give up on a season they had fought so hard to repair during the last half of conference play. At this point, the beatings will continue until morale improves. Call it cliche - call it stupid if you want, but it puts things in perspective for the Hawkeyes. If they can improve their morale by keeping this bad taste in their mouth they can become a dangerously hungry and fresh team for next season. If they look at this as just another Big Ten loss on a court besides their own - if they even use that as another excuse - the beatings will indeed continue. Keep your heads up Hawk fans, it's the small things that count - and the small things that we can improve to prevent another disappointing finish next season.