Bill Belichick (before he was a joke) popularized the importance of winning the "middle 8" minutes of the football game just before and after halftime. The middle 8 minutes of the CyHawk game were a huge swing with a 22-3 run for the good guys. Looking at high major opponents this year and using the media timeouts as the guide for those minutes:
Miss State: 29-10 (+10 ... extended lead to 17)
St Johns: 19-12 (+7 ... from down 5 to up 2)
Creighton: 17-19 (-2 ... lead decreased from 10 to 8)
Syracuse: 25-11 (+14 ... from tie game to up 14)
Purdue: 20-9 (+11 ... extended lead to 12)
Iowa: 22-3 (+19 ... from down 13 to up 6)
Cyclones are +9.8 on average during the middle 8 this season.
Miss State: 29-10 (+10 ... extended lead to 17)
St Johns: 19-12 (+7 ... from down 5 to up 2)
Creighton: 17-19 (-2 ... lead decreased from 10 to 8)
Syracuse: 25-11 (+14 ... from tie game to up 14)
Purdue: 20-9 (+11 ... extended lead to 12)
Iowa: 22-3 (+19 ... from down 13 to up 6)
Cyclones are +9.8 on average during the middle 8 this season.
