Iowa vs ISU sweet 16...

[83Hawk]

Hahaha just because Fred doesn't sign three star recruit after three star recruit with no other major offers he must be orchestrating illegal payments huh. Oh congrats on yet another three star recruit with no major offers you guys are really stockpiling them up over there. Fred will be here long after Fran don't you even worry about that.

A man with no coaching experience on any level and who is virtually unknown outside the state of Iowa, is able to get blue chip recruits to come to Iowa State from Day 1...Iowa State...with few major accomplishments in their basketball history (and none in football). Yep, I'm sure everything is on the up and up.

 

[acgclone]

What I saw in the Big 12 Tournament was an extremely fortunate team. I won't say lucky because teams make their own luck IMO. Iowa State may very well be weak mentally. What I saw in the conference tournament were opponents which were even more weak mentally. Being better than bad doesn't necessarily mean good. It means not as bad.

Outside of the very top teams (ala Kentucky, Wiscy, etc) luck is usually involved to some degree with most teams.

We were a little lucky this past weekend?.... Yes, especially when Spangler missed a bunny for the tie in the Semis.

But I'm not sure you can say we're mentally weak at this point. We have just come back from double digit deficits in FIVE straight. Four of those were against tourney teams.

We have been highly inconsistent in our games, but mentally weak is the opposite end of the spectrum from how I would describe us at this point in the year.

 

[DP5555]

I honestly wouldn't be shocked if ISU made the Final Four this year. I think they have the pieces. If Monte Morris keeps playing like he has been they could make a run. They won't be able to afford playing a lackluster half of basketball though like they have been prone to doing in these past several weeks. They'll have to be at their best damn near the entire game for each match-up past the first couple of rounds.

I think anyone saying differently is being incredibly biased towards the Hawks. The last couple wins the Cyclones have pulled off have been impressive. They've battled. That's what you need to do in the tourney. You have to have a tough minded team. ISU has 5-6 guys that are capable of doing damage. McKay gives them the post presence that they didn't have before and Morris has been playing outstanding in recent weeks. Then add the consistency of Niang and Hogue to the streaky performances of BDJ, Naz, and Thomas and I think for their team anything outside of beating Kentucky is possible.

 

[WindsorHawk]

I honestly wouldn't be shocked if ISU made the Final Four this year. I think they have the pieces. If Monte Morris keeps playing like he has been they could make a run. They won't be able to afford playing a lackluster half of basketball though like they have been prone to doing in these past several weeks. They'll have to be at their best damn near the entire game for each match-up past the first couple of rounds.

I have them in the Elite 8...can't see how that's any kind of an Iowa bias. And I will be absolutely shocked if they beat Duke. Because I think Duke is that good...but not as good as Kentucky.

 

[DP5555]

I have them in the Elite 8...can't see how that's any kind of an Iowa bias. And I will be absolutely shocked if they beat Duke. Because I think Duke is that good...but not as good as Kentucky.

I don't think it's likely that they would beat Duke, but I do believe they are capable of it if they put a complete game together. Without McKay down low they wouldn't have had a chance against Okafor. I'm sure he'd still do a lot of damage because he's a great player, but at least McKay would help out.

With that said, I agree with you. Elite 8 is probably realistic.

 

[blubberhawk]

The BIG 12 had 70% of their teams make the tournament. That is the highest percentage EVER by any conference. I feel pretty confident 5 of those teams will make the round of 32. Say what you will that is extremely impressive. You said ISU was soft mentally. How did you like the three day winning streak vs. Texas OU and Kansas? They are the complete opposite of what you said that team is full of winners.

It is about time the Big 12 has put together a decent year as far as a conference is concerned. They have sucked for a long time. I guess we will see how they do in the tourney this year.

As good as you say they are, the conference was still only 4-4 against the Big 10 this year in what is supposed to be a down year for the Big 10

I also think the old Big 8 had a year when six teams got in. That would be 75% of the teams. I also remember that all six teams were out of the tourney by the second round.

And finally, good for ISU if they make a run in the tournament. ISU has sucked for so long in virtually every sport that even ISU fans deserve to be happy every 50 years or so. Basketball season will be over soon and Baseball will take over.. Oops. ISU can't afford Baseball. They put all their marbles and money into basketball recruiting. Their pathetic athletic department runs a deficit and yet still can spend double what the other state schools spend in Basketball recruiting. How nice.

 

[trj]

I have them in the Elite 8...can't see how that's any kind of an Iowa bias. And I will be absolutely shocked if they beat Duke. Because I think Duke is that good...but not as good as Kentucky.

I wouldn't be shocked if
ISU beat Duke. I realize Iowa St. isn't great defensively, but neither is Duke. Okafor is a beast on the offensive end, on the defensive end he is just okay.

 

[WindsorHawk]

I don't think it's likely that they would beat Duke, but I do believe they are capable of it if they put a complete game together. Without McKay down low they wouldn't have had a chance against Okafor. I'm sure he'd still do a lot of damage because he's a great player, but at least McKay would help out.

With that said, I agree with you. Elite 8 is probably realistic.

I actually think McKay can contain (not stop) Okafor. But Quinn Cook and Tyus Jones shoot 39.9% and 38.3% from 3 respectively. And they shoot 89.1% and 88.4% from the line respectively. These 2 guys along with Okafor make Duke the toughest out in the tournament (excluding Kentucky) IMO. No team can foul them and catch up at the end because they don't miss free throws. And both of these guards have better than a 2:1 assist to turnover ratio. Duke is going to be a very tough out this year.

 

[BryceC]

Final Four, and then they woke up. By many are picking them for the final four do you mean the ones posting on cyfan. Cyfans just like their team are not relevant. What are you going to do when Fred goes to the NBA and the sanctions come down on ISU for the illegal payments that Fred orchestrated.

Your very own Jon miller picked ISU to the final game. Might want to hit him up for his analysis.

 

[RocknRollface]

I think Iowa is capable of beating them if they play one of their best games of the year like they did against Michigan or Indiana. However, Michigan and Indiana were small teams this year. Gonzaga plays in a very weak conference and even though the B10 was somewhat down this year I have to think the quality of competition Iowa has gone against would give them a bit of an advantage.

However, when I look at the match-ups it is pretty difficult for me to imagine Iowa pulling out a W if this game ends up happening. I give Gonzaga a slight edge when comparing bigs... Zabonis, Karnowski, and Wiltjer are legit talents and I definitely think they present more of an overall scoring threat than White, Uthoff, Woddy, and Gabe. We'd have to see great performances by White and Uthoff to have a chance. The guard match-ups aren't even close in my opinion though. Bell is a lockdown defender. He and Pangos are absolutely better than any guard Iowa has.

Ive watched them struggle to often against very weak competition to be intimidated. They're terrible on defense.

Bell might be a lock down defender for that conference but he and Pangos are average big ten guards.

Weve already faced much tougher defenders and won. Who's scared of Kevin Pangos when youve already beat Deangelo Russel, Melo Trembil, Yogi Ferrel and Marcus Paige?

Theyre bigs are good but they are not used to facing anyone close to their own size, and the few times they have they haven't done great.

Ganzaga is the best possible 2 match up we could get. I'm more worried about Davidson.

 

[deanvogs]

I'm pretty sure I said ISU isn't a mentally tough THIS year and it is true. With Kansas being down, ISU should have won the Big12. No way last years team loses at home (loss to Baylor). Not only that, no way last years team pizzes away the win at K-State. If this team was as mentally tough as last year, they are Big12 champs

Also part of mental toughness is not putting yourself in bad spots. This team isn't as mentally tough as last year team as they have gotten down by double digits in sooooo many late season games. We will see, but you can't keep living soooo close to the edge. The ISU team has got to actually focus for a full game if they want to go on a deep run. They have the talent, but do they have the mental toughness? We shall see, anything less than an Elite 8 or final 4 and you know they just aren't mentally tough. No way should ISU lose to UAB, UCLA/SMU, Gonzaga/Iowa/Davidson. If they cant get past the sweet 16 it is about mental toughness, not talent.

 

[PCHawk]

Ive watched them struggle to often against very weak competition to be intimidated. They're terrible on defense.

Bell might be a lock down defender for that conference but he and Pangos are average big ten guards.

Weve already faced much tougher defenders and won. Who's scared of Kevin Pangos when youve already beat Deangelo Russel, Melo Trembil, Yogi Ferrel and Marcus Paige?

Theyre bigs are good but they are not used to facing anyone close to their own size, and the few times they have they haven't done great.

Ganzaga is the best possible 2 match up we could get. I'm more worried about Davidson.

Thumbs up for your 3rd paragraph.

 

[DP5555]

Ive watched them struggle to often against very weak competition to be intimidated. They're terrible on defense.

Bell might be a lock down defender for that conference but he and Pangos are average big ten guards.

Weve already faced much tougher defenders and won. Who's scared of Kevin Pangos when youve already beat Deangelo Russel, Melo Trembil, Yogi Ferrel and Marcus Paige?

Theyre bigs are good but they are not used to facing anyone close to their own size, and the few times they have they haven't done great.

Ganzaga is the best possible 2 match up we could get. I'm more worried about Davidson.

Bell has shut down Tyler Haws a couple of times. Haws was the leading scorer in the nation for quite a bit of the season. I realize BYU doesn't play the best competition either, but Haws is certainly one of the best scoring guards in the nation. That's nothing to sneeze at. I'm not saying the Hawks should be scared of Pangos either. Just saying he and Bell are both better than any guard on Iowa's roster. Uthoff and White would be the keys to the game. Which is most likely the case anyways.

 

[clicheusername3]

I'm pretty sure I said ISU isn't a mentally tough THIS year and it is true. With Kansas being down, ISU should have won the Big12. No way last years team loses at home (loss to Baylor). Not only that, no way last years team pizzes away the win at K-State. If this team was as mentally tough as last year, they are Big12 champs

Also part of mental toughness is not putting yourself in bad spots. This team isn't as mentally tough as last year team as they have gotten down by double digits in sooooo many late season games. We will see, but you can't keep living soooo close to the edge. The ISU team has got to actually focus for a full game if they want to go on a deep run. They have the talent, but do they have the mental toughness? We shall see, anything less than an Elite 8 or final 4 and you know they just aren't mentally tough. No way should ISU lose to UAB, UCLA/SMU, Gonzaga/Iowa/Davidson. If they cant get past the sweet 16 it is about mental toughness, not talent.

You just try SOOOOO hard ALLLL of the time....take a break man, you deserve it.

 

[deanvogs]

You just try SOOOOO hard ALLLL of the time....take a break man, you deserve it.

Coming from the guy PRETENDING to be a Hawk fan......Just let it go man, everyone knows you are a Clown troll, talk about wasted effort.

 

[tm3308]

A man with no coaching experience on any level and who is virtually unknown outside the state of Iowa, is able to get blue chip recruits to come to Iowa State from Day 1...Iowa State...with few major accomplishments in their basketball history (and none in football). Yep, I'm sure everything is on the up and up.

Taking in guys who have a red flag in their files that keep better programs away was a very effective way to jump start the program. Now, there isn't any recruit in the country who wouldn't at least take a call from Hoiberg. That doesn't mean the program is dirty. Your post reeks of jealousy (not that I blame you; I wish we were where ISU is right now).

 

[RocknRollface]

Bell has shut down Tyler Haws a couple of times. Haws was the leading scorer in the nation for quite a bit of the season. I realize BYU doesn't play the best competition either, but Haws is certainly one of the best scoring guards in the nation. That's nothing to sneeze at. I'm not saying the Hawks should be scared of Pangos either. Just saying he and Bell are both better than any guard on Iowa's roster. Uthoff and White would be the keys to the game. Which is most likely the case anyways.

Every team in our conference besides Rutgers has better guards than us.

But Gonzagas aren't the extremely quick athletic kind that can give Iowa problems defensively.

Should Zags be favored , yes, but it's really about as good of draw as the hawks could get.

 

[mrolympia]

honestly, I'd just like to make it out of the first round.

no, the "first four" is NOT the first round, it's the PC name for "play in game".

 

[BryceC]

I'm pretty sure I said ISU isn't a mentally tough THIS year and it is true. With Kansas being down, ISU should have won the Big12. No way last years team loses at home (loss to Baylor). Not only that, no way last years team pizzes away the win at K-State. If this team was as mentally tough as last year, they are Big12 champs

Also part of mental toughness is not putting yourself in bad spots. This team isn't as mentally tough as last year team as they have gotten down by double digits in sooooo many late season games. We will see, but you can't keep living soooo close to the edge. The ISU team has got to actually focus for a full game if they want to go on a deep run. They have the talent, but do they have the mental toughness? We shall see, anything less than an Elite 8 or final 4 and you know they just aren't mentally tough. No way should ISU lose to UAB, UCLA/SMU, Gonzaga/Iowa/Davidson. If they cant get past the sweet 16 it is about mental toughness, not talent.

I think this is a pretty big stretch. Last year's team played from behind a lot. ISU finished with a better conference record this year and the conference was undoubtedly better.

However, even if it were true that there is no way ISU should lose to SMU or Zags/Iowa, it could certainly happen because that sort of thing happens all the time in basketball. Also, I don't think ISU is that much more talented, or even at all more talented than SMU or the Zags. Talent being a wash, could just be the other team's night, and that happens.

Personally I'd be happy with the Sweet 16 and any more would be great. The zags will be tough.

ISU went 14-5 vs. teams in the NCAA tourney this year. That takes a skilled team, but also a team that is mentally and physically tough. ISU has had two pretty special teams two years in a row and I'm thankful for it. As far as toughness goes it's splitting hairs.

 

[deanvogs]

I think this is a pretty big stretch. Last year's team played from behind a lot. ISU finished with a better conference record this year and the conference was undoubtedly better.

However, even if it were true that there is no way ISU should lose to SMU or Zags/Iowa, it could certainly happen because that sort of thing happens all the time in basketball. Also, I don't think ISU is that much more talented, or even at all more talented than SMU or the Zags. Talent being a wash, could just be the other team's night, and that happens.

Personally I'd be happy with the Sweet 16 and any more would be great. The zags will be tough.

ISU went 14-5 vs. teams in the NCAA tourney this year. That takes a skilled team, but also a team that is mentally and physically tough. ISU has had two pretty special teams two years in a row and I'm thankful for it. As far as toughness goes it's splitting hairs.

Where did I ever say ISU wasn't mentally tough? I just don't think they are as tough mentally as last year. Heck you and I had this conversation before the year started, that ISU would probably not go 13-2 in close games like they did last year, and they didn't (they last 4 close games this year).