Been watching non Big 12 basketball lately...

[Cyinthenorth]

I do agree with that, that usually to advance past the sweet 16 you typically need at least one stud on offense who can take over. And very very difficult to make it to a Final Four without that.

Our team 2 years ago had Brockington. Last years team did not. The difference was advancing two rounds further in the NCAA Tournament. I know Brockington didn't stand out in either the LSU or Wisconsin game, but having the threat of him on the floor freed up guys like Hunter against LSU and Kalscheur against Wisconsin to pop off.

This years team, while amazing, still does not have a Brockington IMO. Maybe Gilbert transcends over the next couple weeks and into next season, but he isn't there currently.

 

[FOREVERTRUE]

Our team 2 years ago had Brockington. Last years team did not. The difference was advancing two rounds further in the NCAA Tournament. I know Brockington didn't stand out in either the LSU or Wisconsin game, but having the threat of him on the floor freed up guys like Hunter against LSU and Kalscheur against Wisconsin to pop off.

This years team, while amazing, still does not have a Brockington IMO. Maybe Gilbert transcends over the next couple weeks and into next season, but he isn't there currently.

Question- Why do you think opposing teams are trying to deny Milan the ball? It's because he can be that guy and having him on the floor frees up the other guys because they are paying such close attention to him.

Yes he isn't going to drive in past others but he will back them down and hit that sweet fade away or hit a quick release 3 if he even gets a little space.

He just needs to work on while he is getting into his range for the fade away and the defense collapses he needs to see the open teammate and pass out.

 

[madguy30]

Our team 2 years ago had Brockington. Last years team did not. The difference was advancing two rounds further in the NCAA Tournament. I know Brockington didn't stand out in either the LSU or Wisconsin game, but having the threat of him on the floor freed up guys like Hunter against LSU and Kalscheur against Wisconsin to pop off.

This years team, while amazing, still does not have a Brockington IMO. Maybe Gilbert transcends over the next couple weeks and into next season, but he isn't there currently.

Hunter's game vs. LSU was a complete anomaly and had very little to do with Brockington, who really had faded at the end of the season (shooting wise--he still found 19 vs. LSU). I was there and a handful of Hunter's 3 point makes were from way deep because nothing else was going.

And Gabe didn't 'pop off' against WI; they didn't play defense so he was simply able to drive to the hoop practically at will compared to about every game for 2 months prior to that.

 

[madguy30]

Question- Why do you think opposing teams are trying to deny Milan the ball? It's because he can be that guy and having him on the floor frees up the other guys because they are paying such close attention to him.

Yes he isn't going to drive in past others but he will back them down and hit that sweet fade away or hit a quick release 3 if he even gets a little space.

He just needs to work on while he is getting into his range for the fade away and the defense collapses he needs to see the open teammate and pass out.

Milan + two guys on the floor at all times (mix of Gilbert, Cujo and Tamin) that can drive to the hoop are about the polar opposite of what ISU's teams the last two years had. Sometimes it's a mess as Tamin or Gilbert don't get a good look but it still gets the defense moving.

Add in that Tre is a legit threat from almost everywhere and ISU is much harder to guard even if the offense isn't at some Hoiball level that apparently is the expectation now in addition to a Top 10 defense.

 

[Texbudman]

Our team 2 years ago had Brockington. Last years team did not. The difference was advancing two rounds further in the NCAA Tournament. I know Brockington didn't stand out in either the LSU or Wisconsin game, but having the threat of him on the floor freed up guys like Hunter against LSU and Kalscheur against Wisconsin to pop off.

This years team, while amazing, still does not have a Brockington IMO. Maybe Gilbert transcends over the next couple weeks and into next season, but he isn't there currently.

I just think we’ve had multiple players make cluth

Our team 2 years ago had Brockington. Last years team did not. The difference was advancing two rounds further in the NCAA Tournament. I know Brockington didn't stand out in either the LSU or Wisconsin game, but having the threat of him on the floor freed up guys like Hunter against LSU and Kalscheur against Wisconsin to pop off.

This years team, while amazing, still does not have a Brockington IMO. Maybe Gilbert transcends over the next couple weeks and into next season, but he isn't there currently.

We would all love to have a first team All American but I just think we’ve had multiple players get us clutch buckets and make big plays late in games. Sometimes balance is better and makes us harder to guard. And we could get knocked out early-upsets happen every year. Guess we’ll all find out soon enough

 

[TitanClone]

Kenpom agrees that the Big12 is far and away the top dog

 

[CascadeClone]

I do agree on some level that Iowa State lacks a clear go-to guy. But I also think that's part of what makes the team so good and raises their floor quite a bit. At various points, we've seen clutch scoring plays from Gilbert, Lipsey, Jones, Momcilovic, and even King. Maybe the lack of that consistent go-to guy keeps this team from being a title contender, but there's no reason a team with that profile can't make the Elite Eight or Final Four.

Milan is the intentional go-to guy. They set stuff up for him all the time when its crunch time, end of half, etc. e.g. Houston in Ames, the 0.1 second late at Baylor shot, etc.

However, when teams cover Milan and the play breaks down... then its time for the unintentional go-to guy. Our very own Leroy Jenkins aka Keyshon Gilbert. He's the guy driving into 3 guys in the paint with 4 seconds on the shot clock, and trying to make something out of nothing. It works far more often than you would expect!

 

[bosco]

Kenpom agrees that the Big12 is far and away the top dog View attachment 124969

Surprised that SEC is 4th. More surprised that they are behind the B10.

 

[cyclone1209]

I'll go with teams I think can make a FF:

B12:
UH
ISU
Baylor
BYU
BE:
Uconn
Marquette
Creighton
B1G:
Purdue
IL
SEC:
TN
Bama
Auburn
ACC:
Carolina
Duke
P12:
Zona

I think the difference is I wouldn't be shocked to see KU, TT, TCU, or even TX in the Sweet 16.
Our next tier of teams is better than the other conferences.

Good analysis. I think the SEC is under the radar in hoops this year. Auburn and TN are really good.

I think WE can also go really far. But boy watch out if we get a hot shooting 3 pt team in the second game, and we struggle from 3. We have to shoot better from 3 soon. Everything else looks perfect right now with this group. Hoping Milan, Lipsey, Cujo, and King are able to hit 3's in the dance. I have zero care about big 12 tourney this year. In fact i hope we get some rest.

 

[CascadeClone]

We’ve all seen our offense struggle lately but it’s against good defenses. When we play poor defenses our offense is fine. I think it’s that the original poster keeps bringing up Iowa and claiming they have better playmakers which just isn't true

I'd love to have our guys get like 5 days off at some point to heal and rest for the stretch run. I think the pure exhaustion of the season is impacting their offense too.

Really would like the friday/sunday rather than thursday/friday in the NCAA for that reason.

 

[CascadeClone]

Our team 2 years ago had Brockington. Last years team did not. The difference was advancing two rounds further in the NCAA Tournament. I know Brockington didn't stand out in either the LSU or Wisconsin game, but having the threat of him on the floor freed up guys like Hunter against LSU and Kalscheur against Wisconsin to pop off.

This years team, while amazing, still does not have a Brockington IMO. Maybe Gilbert transcends over the next couple weeks and into next season, but he isn't there currently.

No Brockington, but it does have 5 guys that are ALL better offensively than the 5 guys from last year. The dropoff isn't so steep or sudden.

Like last year, if Gabe or Holmes wasn't shooting well, there just was no threat to score, inside or out. It was hopeless.

This year, CJ and KG are better than both those 2 offensively, and Tamin 2 is better than Tamin 1 since he learned to shoot. Ward is better than Osun, and both King and BRE are improved as well around the basket. All those guys CAN score the ball, and few teams are able to defend so well as a team that all of them can be taken out of the game. They aren't going to average 100 ppg, but they are competent, and that is a long ways better than last year.

I just hope that when they run into a long athletic team that makes scoring inside difficult, that they shoot well from 3 that night. That will be what enables a deep run in the tourney.

 

[twincyties]

I would take the older Sandfort on this ISU team, bug eyes and all. That is where I'd draw the line though.

If there is a Hawkeye that would play in this team it would be him for his shooting. That said, at 37% and high volume it’s difficult to say whether that success would be replicated against Big 12 defenses. And he’s not really known for defense. Which - the way we play it - having one poor defender breaks the whole thing down.

We have 6 players averaging more than 8 points and 4 in double figures. I don’t know that his 16 points a game - which you have to take into account shot volume, pace, and quality of defenses being faced - would really do much for us.

 

[TitanClone]

Surprised that SEC is 4th. More surprised that they are behind the B10.

SEC has Vanderbilt down at 208 compared to Michigan being the bottom of the B10 at 125. That probably skews the .5 difference between the 2.

 

[cayin]

The only time we’ve been upset since the Hampton loss in 2001 was UAB. Even then, that team in 2015 had some real chemistry/team issues at the end of the year that was starting to show up on the court.

that team had chemistry issues? they won the Big 12 tournament, they were together enough to come back from 17 down against KU. That UAB game was just weird. They went from playing in a full venue that was a great atmosphere to an empty gym at 11 am on a Thursday. We went up 12-2, our guys probably figured this was to easy and fell asleep at the wheel. UAB was making hay on the offensive glass, if Hoiberg would have brought Odozie in that would solved the issue, but Hoiberg was stubborn with just keeping a 7 man rotation. Not sure why Dejean-Jones freaked out at halftime, truly weird. 6 NBA guys on that team, bounced in the first round. Brutal.

 

[danvillecyclone]

Defense and an efficient backcourt go a long way in high leverage tournament possessions.

 

[Hammerschlagen]

They ought to have a big nationwide tournament at the end of the season to settle all of this debate

 

[CascadeClone]

that team had chemistry issues? they won the Big 12 tournament, they were together enough to come back from 17 down against KU. That UAB game was just weird. They went from playing in a full venue that was a great atmosphere to an empty gym at 11 am on a Thursday. We went up 12-2, our guys probably figured this was to easy and fell asleep at the wheel. UAB was making hay on the offensive glass, if Hoiberg would have brought Odozie in that would solved the issue, but Hoiberg was stubborn with just keeping a 7 man rotation. Not sure why Dejean-Jones freaked out at halftime, truly weird. 6 NBA guys on that team, bounced in the first round. Brutal.

The 2001 team was running on fumes, they had all just had enough of ball and Larry and everything.

UAB they were getting outhustled, and then BDJ went off at half (attempt to get everyone's attention? that would be the kind assumption of motive) and everyone lost their focus entirely. And Fred utterly failed to get them back on track.

 

[alarson]

SEC has Vanderbilt down at 208 compared to Michigan being the bottom of the B10 at 125. That probably skews the .5 difference between the 2.

Not to mention Arkansas at 116, and missouri at 145. There's more dead weight at the bottom of the SEC

 

[coolerifyoudid]

Not to mention Arkansas at 116, and missouri at 145. There's more dead weight at the bottom of the SEC

Missouri makes a magnificent conference anchor

 

[Gunnerclone]

that team had chemistry issues? they won the Big 12 tournament, they were together enough to come back from 17 down against KU. That UAB game was just weird. They went from playing in a full venue that was a great atmosphere to an empty gym at 11 am on a Thursday. We went up 12-2, our guys probably figured this was to easy and fell asleep at the wheel. UAB was making hay on the offensive glass, if Hoiberg would have brought Odozie in that would solved the issue, but Hoiberg was stubborn with just keeping a 7 man rotation. Not sure why Dejean-Jones freaked out at halftime, truly weird. 6 NBA guys on that team, bounced in the first round. Brutal.

I will shout this from the rooftops of every campus and on every website:

DATE/TIME MATTERS

Avoiding the first set of games on Thursday is worth 1 seed line for me. Maybe 2. Anything on Friday is better than anything on Thursday. These are my truths lol.