Wouldn't every team in America like it if you could just "take out" their worst performance of the year? If that game happened uin November then it could be ignored but it JUST HAPPENED.
ESPN Article
- Thread starter cyowan
- Start date
This is why I thought we were slumping. Obviously getting the W matters most, but I haven't been impressed with our overall effort since OSU.
Kansas had a bunch of guys play poorly against Kansas State and they lost. The worst part was their lackadaisical defensive intensity. The article you linked to simply stated that numerous KU players performed much worse than they normally do, which is an accurate statement. Isn't that how most ISU fans feel about ISU @ West Virginia thrashing?
And sometimes a good team loses a game where it doesn't play well. Such as Michigan State losing at home yesterday to Nebraska. Some astute analyst could probably study the stats and write a piece today about the Spartans' slump and how they don't compare favorably to lesser teams. Yet if this is like most any season since the mid 1990s, the Spartans have a very good shot of making the Sweet 16 (at least) next month. Tom Izzo is one of the all-time greats.
I'm not suggesting ISU equals MSU, or that Hoiberg equals Izzo. I am suggesting that you can do a lot of analysis and hand-wringing with statistics, but all of that is overshadowed by what happens on the court. I also think a lot of us believe ISU's stats are skewed a bit by last week's debacle at Morgantown - where the Jayhawks will finish the regular season.
Good article. Sure ISU has won, but they haven't looked good in awhile. Will have to pick it up starting tomorrow.
We are last in the B12 in 3pt shooting%, and attempt a lot of them in a game. I feel it's the only part of our game that really hurts the team.
Also, OU hurt us with their put-backs and offensive rebounds.
"....The Longhorns rebound more of their own misses (40 percent) than any team in the Big 12".
Also, OU hurt us with their put-backs and offensive rebounds.
"....The Longhorns rebound more of their own misses (40 percent) than any team in the Big 12".
I don't think the article downgrades what ISU has done; it merely points oput that while they are still winning games, their performances at both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor have not been up to their previous high levels. Based on what I read on other threads, many ISU fans agree with this statement. Some may be linked to being physically and mentally drained after such a tough, front loaded conference schedule. A lot more is simply that conference teams are getting a good look at plenty of game film at this time of year and have enough time to really create a good plan to combat what they'll see. It gets even harder as teams face each other for a 2nd time in the season.
First ten minutes of the game in Austin looked like it would be an ISU blowout win. Turning a 2 or 3 point thunder dunk into foul trouble for Ejim changed the game on the spot. Part of that is on our team to play through horrendous calls on the road, but the result of that call would have been radically different in Hilton and ISU likely would have led the entire game.
Lazy, click-bait article designed to rile up a specific fan base and get this guy some page views. It's not difficult to cherry pick a select few statistics and write a hasty article inferring that the sky is falling, but sadly, that's what drives clicks (and revenue).
Brennan asks whether we're slumping; that would imply some sort of decline, yet he doesn't discuss trends at all and focuses his article on snapshot statistics. So we're 6th in the conference...is that better or worse than where we were a few weeks ago? Are the absolute numbers changing, or just our ranking relative to the other members of our conference? Are we "slumping" because we're on the decline, or just because other teams in our conference have gotten better? These are all questions that a decent analyst would ask (and a good analyst would answer), but Brennan doesn't bother because his sole concern is getting you, the internet user, to click the link, drive up the page views, and enable ESPN to demand more revenue from their advertisers. That's all that matters anymore.
It's a troubling trend plaguing journalism overall, and the examples are everywhere. Since this is a sports site, just take a look at how it's impacted college basketball coverage. There are dozens of guys just like Brennan who have come on to the scene in the past couple of years. You know the type...under 30 with no playing/coaching experience whatsoever, but know how to use Twitter and other social media to spread their message far and wide. Granted, ESPN and CBS aren't as bad as Bleacher Report or BuzzFeed (yet), but the ratio of quality analysis to drivel like this has plummeted.
We need fewer guys like Eammon Brennan and more guys who are either seasoned journalists (Andy Katz), have extensive playing or coaching experience (Fran Fraschilla), or both (Jay Bilas).
Brennan asks whether we're slumping; that would imply some sort of decline, yet he doesn't discuss trends at all and focuses his article on snapshot statistics. So we're 6th in the conference...is that better or worse than where we were a few weeks ago? Are the absolute numbers changing, or just our ranking relative to the other members of our conference? Are we "slumping" because we're on the decline, or just because other teams in our conference have gotten better? These are all questions that a decent analyst would ask (and a good analyst would answer), but Brennan doesn't bother because his sole concern is getting you, the internet user, to click the link, drive up the page views, and enable ESPN to demand more revenue from their advertisers. That's all that matters anymore.
It's a troubling trend plaguing journalism overall, and the examples are everywhere. Since this is a sports site, just take a look at how it's impacted college basketball coverage. There are dozens of guys just like Brennan who have come on to the scene in the past couple of years. You know the type...under 30 with no playing/coaching experience whatsoever, but know how to use Twitter and other social media to spread their message far and wide. Granted, ESPN and CBS aren't as bad as Bleacher Report or BuzzFeed (yet), but the ratio of quality analysis to drivel like this has plummeted.
We need fewer guys like Eammon Brennan and more guys who are either seasoned journalists (Andy Katz), have extensive playing or coaching experience (Fran Fraschilla), or both (Jay Bilas).
Michigan State has lost four of their last seven games and ARE slumping and I would bet money that as their Feb. 23rd game @ Michigan (who has lost 3 of 5 themselves) nears that there will be an article pointing this out.
So, just curious, is this the type of article you show your team to give them a 'chip on their shoulder', or just the opposite as to not plant negative vibes in their heads? Secondly, I know some don't agree on the degree of influence on the amount of depth, some even think it's overrated. But isn't it possible that all the minutes these guy have to log is taking it's toll? Not that we really have alot of options.
Hey look, twocoach critiquing an ISU fan's opinion on the ISU board, which will lead to the inevitable derailing of an interesting thread. That's new...
Someone from Kansas who can't read. That fits the stereotype exactly. There's a best selling book about how dumb your state is.
Exactly. This team is a top 25 team, but not an elite team. No big deal. We can still make a great run in the NCAA Tournament if we get the right match-ups or get hot. Final Four, though extremely unlikely, is possible. Enjoy the run with this team and enjoy the last month of basketball watching Melvin Ejim and DeAndre Kane run the floor as Cyclones!
You're right. It does happen. It's happened to ISU for going on three weeks now.
They're more than capable of playing for 40 minutes. They haven't in a long time, though. You'd think Ejim and Kane would recognize the need for some urgency with this being their last go-round. But three times in the last month Ive seen this team allow an 8-0 run or worse within a 45-second span. That just cannot happen this late in the season. Period.
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