Conspiracy Theorists...

WindsorHawk

Well-Known Member
Zags best 4 wins are Iowa, Kansas, Virginia and West Virginia...the 2, 3 and 4 seeds in their region. They probably wanted to get WV in there as well but couldn’t justify making them a 5.

And to take it a step further... Louisville would end up being the 3 seed if Kansas can’t play. Colorado State would slide in as the 4 for Virginia.

Don’t take this as a complaint. I’m happy the Selection Committee tried to clear the path for Gonzaga. It’s going to make our path easier.

And please correct me if I’m wrong. Did I hear that the #1 overall seed hasn’t won the championship since 2013? I know an undefeated team hasn’t won it since 1976.

Zags beware your 2nd opponent. Oklahoma and Missouri have some impressive wins. Personally, I prefer VCU or Oregon.

Side Note - I do pretty well with my brackets every year...except in the West. The West always seems to be total chaos. It probably doesn’t help that I don’t watch many west coast games.
 
Gonzaga is the only team in the tournament I am positive we have no chance against. I’ve never seen so many layups in a game before.
Iowa shot 4-26 from three in that game, played mostly zone and lost by 11. Of course the Zags were just coming off a covid quarantine as well. Iowa played mostly zone and now is playing fairly stingy man. There are too many variables to just say Iowa has no chance.
 
Iowa shot 4-26 from three in that game, played mostly zone and lost by 11. Of course the Zags were just coming off a covid quarantine as well. Iowa played mostly zone and now is playing fairly stingy man. There are too many variables to just say Iowa has no chance.

I get the argument that shooting 4-26 killed us, but at what point does that argument not up? It was Iowa that continued to shoot the 3 and not attack the basket, so while I understand that its' considerably below average and we most likely wouldn't shoot that poorly again, I also think at some point we should have stopped firing 3s and looked to get inside. IMO our mindset to live and die by the 3 shouldn't be considered a variable, because the fact is if, and when, we aren't hitting them we don't stop shooting them. That seems more like a constant to me.
 
I would rather face the Zags than Illinois again. We played an atrocious game against them and still hung around. Since then, they have been beating up on community college competition while we have been banging heads with the best in the country. I have no heartburn if the Zags are the foe we must defeat to get to the Final 4. We can beat them.

I am much more worried about getting to that game than that game.
 
I get the argument that shooting 4-26 killed us, but at what point does that argument not up? It was Iowa that continued to shoot the 3 and not attack the basket, so while I understand that its' considerably below average and we most likely wouldn't shoot that poorly again, I also think at some point we should have stopped firing 3s and looked to get inside. IMO our mindset to live and die by the 3 shouldn't be considered a variable, because the fact is if, and when, we aren't hitting them we don't stop shooting them. That seems more like a constant to me.
We have the best post scorer in the nation. We aren't a live by the 3 die by the 2 team. But even if we were, all that means is we died by the 3 that game. It doesn't mean we will the next time. If they allow us to shoot 26 3s again, that's a good thing for us.
 
Keegan Murray and Patrick Mac barely played against the ZAGS. After a year in the B10, Murray will be able to defend the ZAG forwards and hold his own. Once again, it hurts not having Nunge...but we will be better defending Gonzaga.

Remember, Suggs was unconscious from 3. He shoots it well...but not that good. If we defend the three better...that's going to cause some issues for them.

Let's beat Grand Canyon first though.
 
I really look forward to having another crack at the Zags. We shot like garbage against them. Missed a lot of open looks. Their defense isn't all that great. And our defense has improved leaps and bounds since we played them. I think we matchup well enough that on our best day we can beat em. It'll take that to happen but it's not impossible. That'll mess up so many peoples brackets too.
 
I get the argument that shooting 4-26 killed us, but at what point does that argument not up? It was Iowa that continued to shoot the 3 and not attack the basket, so while I understand that its' considerably below average and we most likely wouldn't shoot that poorly again, I also think at some point we should have stopped firing 3s and looked to get inside. IMO our mindset to live and die by the 3 shouldn't be considered a variable, because the fact is if, and when, we aren't hitting them we don't stop shooting them. That seems more like a constant to me.
OK. But we are a vastly different team from the Iowa players who lost to Gonzaga. Defense, drives to the basket, experience, tough schedule, better passing. Would be an interesting re-match.
 
Gonzaga is the only team in the tournament I am positive we have no chance against. I’ve never seen so many layups in a game before.
Suggs hit something like six threes in a row...I mean, the kid can definitely play, but that's a little ridiculous to think he does that every night. I believe, if he shoots his season percentage in Sioux Falls, the game goes down to the wire...and that's with the Hawks going 4-26 from deep. So, I say there's definitely a chance...
 
We have the best post scorer in the nation. We aren't a live by the 3 die by the 2 team. But even if we were, all that means is we died by the 3 that game. It doesn't mean we will the next time. If they allow us to shoot 26 3s again, that's a good thing for us.

Unless we start chucking them up and forget how to attack the basket.
 
OK. But we are a vastly different team from the Iowa players who lost to Gonzaga. Defense, drives to the basket, experience, tough schedule, better passing. Would be an interesting re-match.

I'm not saying by any means that we aren't a better team then we were when we saw them last and agree we've grown exponentially. I'm pointing out that the games we lose we seem to revert back to forgetting how to keep other teams from scoring in the paint and tend to rely heavily on the 3 when it isn't falling for us.

Honestly I'd love a rematch I just often find myself question our ability to minimize points in the paint and shot selection.
 
Unless we start chucking them up and forget how to attack the basket.
What if we are making them tho? I just hate the saying "live by the 3 die by the 3". You can literally replace "by the 3" with anything else and it still works. You win when you do it well and you lose when you don't. "Live by attacking the rim, die by attacking the rim". "Live by relying on defense, die by relying on defense".
 
I'm not saying by any means that we aren't a better team then we were when we saw them last and agree we've grown exponentially. I'm pointing out that the games we lose we seem to revert back to forgetting how to keep other teams from scoring in the paint and tend to rely heavily on the 3 when it isn't falling for us.

Honestly I'd love a rematch I just often find myself question our ability to minimize points in the paint and shot selection.
It's funny you mention shot selection because I just saw a graph on Twitter showing shot selection. Iowa and Gonzaga were head and shoulders above every other team. Shot selection is the least of our problems. Thus the number 2 offense in the nation.
 
I'm not saying by any means that we aren't a better team then we were when we saw them last and agree we've grown exponentially. I'm pointing out that the games we lose we seem to revert back to forgetting how to keep other teams from scoring in the paint and tend to rely heavily on the 3 when it isn't falling for us.

Honestly I'd love a rematch I just often find myself question our ability to minimize points in the paint and shot selection.
I can’t really dispute that points in the paint differential is a big deal. I don’t know what our overall margin is in that area, regardless of the obvious fact that IL really bested us. I would point out that we have seemed to block a lot of shots down the stretch, Luka, JW, Nunge, and even a couple of our second teamers have been effective.
 
Let's don't get the cart ahead of the horse. I think we should beat GCU and then either we get VCU or Oregon. Assuming Oregon over VCU that will be no push over. PAC 12 champs and they would be 21 and 6 if they beat VCU. One thing you can count on is upsets. I'd love the Hawks to get another whack at the Zags, but that match up isn't a gimme.
 
Top