*** Official Selection Sunday Thread 2023 ***

[mjhavlo76]

5.) Iowa State vs. 12.) Drake in Albany. Friday 11:50 am tip.

 

[cyclones500]

Too soon...

But seriously, I still have no idea just how exactly we p!ssed that game down our legs like that. I do remember we got off to a good start and a double digit lead and then....derp.

It was almost like the team collectively thought, "Well, this'll be a cakewalk, just have to go through the motions" and got stagnant -- and maybe UAB didn't have much confidence at first, then realized it could go toe-to-toe and was determined to scratch & claw - was able to muck it up the rest of the way and it worked.

 

[trevn]

I’d like to play any high flying offensive team that doesn’t play elite defense and is soft.

 

[cyclones500]

clearly I don’t keep up on small conf realignment haha!

Heh! I wouldn't have known without research --- If I had to guess I woulda said something like 2018-19.

 

[CoachHines3]

Charleston would be best. I watched their title game the other day. They’re solid on both sides of the ball, but they don’t scare me as much as Oral Roberts or Drake.

This is what I’m thinking, too.

VCUs defense would scare me a bit but their offense is horrible.

 

[mjhavlo76]

Oral Roberts should scare anyone like the dentist…

 

[jsb]

How often have they played in that time frame in the NCAA tourney?

2015 was the one but for once ISU actually got off to a good start that day.

Then the next 30 minutes happened.

I think in general teams come out flat in that game. Not just Iowa State.

 

[CoachHines3]

I’d like to play any high flying offensive team that doesn’t play elite defense and is soft.

KenPom AdjO and AdjD

Oral Roberts- 23/106
Charleston- 70/75
Drake- 98/44
VCU- 149/17

Other possibilities
Kent State- 110/38
Iona- 80/67
Dayton- 94/56

 

[exCYtable]

Yep. No idea why people are scared of Drake.

In-state rival with added incentive to beat us and they are a veteran team

 

[madguy30]

Ok... hear me out.

I would MUCH rather play a mid-major conference champ than a middle of the pack power conference team. Reasons as follows.

1. P5 teams will have competed many times against athletes at our level. No "shock and awe" if you will.
2, We have already lost multiple times to P5 teams seeded lower than us already this year.
3. We have more playable, capable, depth than pretty much all mid-major "hot" teams.
4. To cap it off. No mid-major has seen our intensity and defense.

The 'ISU plays in the Big 12 so other P6 conference teams won't know what hit them' has a bit of 'Well they won't lose to Kansas at least' for football season.

Goes into the 'Kiss of Death' bucket this year along with:
-'they're bad on defense'
-'they've been shooting horribly from 3 the last two games, won't be a problem'.
-'X player is out so shouldn't have to worry about them scoring much'.

What the fans say has no bearing on how things actually go but there certainly was a thing this year haha.

 

[Yellow Snow]

The 'ISU plays in the Big 12 so other P6 conference teams won't know what hit them' has a bit of 'Well they won't lose to Kansas at least' for football season.

Goes into the 'Kiss of Death' bucket this year along with:
-'they're bad on defense'
-'they've been shooting horribly from 3 the last two games, won't be a problem'.
-'X player is out so shouldn't have to worry about them scoring much'.

What the fans say has no bearing on how things actually go but there certainly was a thing this year haha.

I guess we'll find out.

 

[Cyburbbalz]

My I'm a Cyclone lunatic prediction is clones are 4 seed in Des Moines and Marquette goes to next closest site as a 2.

 

[cmjh10]

Can we call Oral Roberts Blowjob Bob from this day forward?

 

[CoachHines3]

The 'ISU plays in the Big 12 so other P6 conference teams won't know what hit them' has a bit of 'Well they won't lose to Kansas at least' for football season.

Goes into the 'Kiss of Death' bucket this year along with:
-'they're bad on defense'
-'they've been shooting horribly from 3 the last two games, won't be a problem'.
-'X player is out so shouldn't have to worry about them scoring much'.

What the fans say has no bearing on how things actually go but there certainly was a thing this year haha.

I tend to agree with the bolder part- these 12 seeds aren’t bad teams and are very dangerous.

Playing in the big 12 helps, yes but it’s a whole different type of matchup with teams your aren’t familiar with.

12 seeds get a lot of hype and the general college basketball fans rally around these types of teams and they can get a lot of momentum going into the tourney.

 

[cyclones500]

The 'ISU plays in the Big 12 so other P6 conference teams won't know what hit them' has a bit of 'Well they won't lose to Kansas at least' for football season.

Goes into the 'Kiss of Death' bucket this year along with:
-'they're bad on defense'
-'they've been shooting horribly from 3 the last two games, won't be a problem'.
-'X player is out so shouldn't have to worry about them scoring much'.

What the fans say has no bearing on how things actually go but there certainly was a thing this year haha.

I'll add another for bball ... at least it was my thought process, can't speak for others.

"We won at OU, so of course we'll complete the season sweep at Hilton!"

 

[Cyburbbalz]

I also think texas could get a 1 seed due to finishing I game behind Kansas in regular season and destroying them in championship yesterday. I know no one likes them but they have a very strong resume.

 

[dahliaclone]

I also think texas could get a 1 seed due to finishing I game behind Kansas in regular season and destroying them in championship yesterday. I know no one likes them but they have a very strong resume.

They’re playing like a 1 but won’t get one.

 

[ISUChippewa]

It was almost like the team collectively thought, "Well, this'll be a cakewalk, just have to go through the motions" and got stagnant -- and maybe UAB didn't have much confidence at first, then realized it could go toe-to-toe and was determined to scratch & claw - was able to muck it up the rest of the way and it worked.

I took a look at KenPom and T-Rank and found the data on the exact game to get a better feel for how it transpired. As it turns out our double-digit first half lead was exactly 10 points for maybe a possession or two, and we were actually down by 3 at halftime. So MadGuy is right in that the last 30+ minutes were just a struggle, and we never quite got over the hump.

Still one of the most perplexing and frustrating losses in ISU history across all sports IMO. Looking back to '01 in hindsight you can see the Hampton loss coming with how poorly we played towards the end of the season and in the Big 12 tournament. In '15 however we came back against Kansas to win the Big 12 and were one of the hottest teams in the whole country. I remember all of the metrics sites gave us a 90+% chance to win that game. Still inexcusable even 8 years later, and it's a damn shame that ended up being Fred's last game as head coach.

 

[madguy30]

I tend to agree with the bolder part- these 12 seeds aren’t bad teams and are very dangerous.

Playing in the big 12 helps, yes but it’s a whole different type of matchup with teams your aren’t familiar with.

12 seeds get a lot of hype and the general college basketball fans rally around these types of teams and they can get a lot of momentum going into the tourney.

The Big 12 collectively had a very good two first months of the season so the NET was super strong compared to anyone else.

Nothing is a given though and an isolated game with two teams in survival mode wipes out any metrics. Imo even the adjusted stats/trends can be thrown out the window for the first two rounds.

I think back to 10 years ago when ISU was pretty hodge podge on the season and didn't defend real well but came out and got after Notre Dame for a game.

Then the statistical trends tend to take hold over the last 3 rounds like how teams with real deep runs typically are rated fairly high in adjusted D etc.

 

[dahliaclone]

I hope whoever we are matched up against is a team all the pundits say will beat us. Going in with a chip on our shoulder not getting any love while the other team everyone is saying this years Cinderella.