Hello everyone! Hope we are all pumped for this week.

A few things. I’ve been a little MIA just with adjusting to my new day job and such. But, it’s the fun part of the season so I’m fully focused on wrestling. My new boss was super chill when I interviewed and made it clear the dates for Big12/NCAA were non-negotiable.

I just wanted to give y’all a heads up what to expect from me as we ramp up.

As soon as we get more from the conference in terms of seeds/brackets I’ll have a preview and thoughts from me.

Availability is on Wednesday so expect interviews and team updates.

Ben and I will have a podcast on Thursday AM for you to enjoy. We’re also going to be recording with Cody G. So you’ll have a double dose of Ben and I!

Plus, I did a 1:1 with Metcalf for an hour. I’m going to get you guys a fresh column from that!

As always, whatever you guys need let me know! I leave for Tulsa Friday so I’ll have live, on-site coverage. I’m gonna do my best to bring you unique and behind the scenes coverage of ISU.

Cheers!

Flying into Orlando Sanford for a convention next month. I typically use Super Shuttle Service but it look like that is not an option out of Sanford. I'm staying 1/2 mile south of convention center. Any economical transportation recommendations ? (Other than uber, lyft, taxi). Rental car will be about $225 and really don't need one other than to and from airport.

I've clicked through all the subsections associated with my account, but can't find a delete/deactivate.

Any help appreciated.

Looking to grab two tickets in the lower bowl tonight.

Let's show these guys some support and get them some views.

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4 vs West Virginia
Section 202 | Row 9
$50 for all 4 or Best Offer
Venmo preferred
DM me

vs


West Virginia (16-13, 5-11 BIG 12)
IOWA STATE (17-11, 8-8 BIG 12)
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27TH 8:00 P.M. CST
HILTON COLISEUM / AMES, IA


TV: ESPN2
Talent: Rich Hollenberg, pxp Jess Settles, analyst

Radio: Cyclone Radio Network (Varsity Network)
CRN Talent: John Walters (pxp); Eric Heft (analyst)

ALERT: Deadline to enter this year's contest has passed.​

It’s time for CycloneFanatic’s “Auto-Bid Madness,” 2023. I’m co-administrator, along with @ImJustKCClone. This marks the 10th year for the contest.

The basics
Choose the automatic qualifier for NCAA men's basketball tournament, based on league tournaments, in each of the 32 conferences. Post your picks in this thread, do not PM them to me.

Scoring/tiebreakers
Each correct pick receives 1 point. First tiebreaker: Correct Big 12 tournament champ. Second tiebreaker: Highest number of correct picks that aren’t favorites (i.e., teams seeded 1st in their respective tournament).

Deadline: 6 p.m. CST Wednesday, March 1. A few tournaments will be underway prior to deadline, but in early rounds (ASUN is earliest opener, Feb. 27).

CONFERENCE LIST TEMPLATE: For ease of record-keeping, copy this list and paste your picks in this order. Include your screen name at the top.

[Your Screen Name Here]
America East:
American:
Atlantic 10:
ACC:
ASUN:
Big 12:
Big East:
Big Sky:
Big South:
Big Ten:
Big West:
Colonial:
C-USA:
Horizon:
Ivy:
MAAC:
MEAC:
Mid-American:
Missouri Valley:
Mountain West:
NEC:
Ohio Valley:
Pac-12:
Patriot:
SEC:
SoCon:
Southland:
Summit:
Sun Belt:
SWAC:
West Coast:
WAC:

In follow-up posts, I’ll including a few handy links to schedules & brackets, teams ineligible for NCAAT and past A-BM results.

Let The Madness begin!

Enjoy!

4 in Section 111, Row 13 (for reference the top row in the lower level is 28 in this section). Willing to do $475 per-all session pass which equates to about $52 per game (9 games total)--2 sold with two remaining.

4 in Section 112, Row D (this is 4 rows from the floor) Willing to $625 per-all session pass which equates to $69 per game.—SOLD

PM if interested.

Section 236 row 9 on the aisle.
8pm weeknight game doesnt work this time, gf is on rotations.
$50 for the pair.
Can throw in parking pass if we can arrange delivery

$20 each

Possibly looking for three depending on price

$50.
Will electronically transfer.
PM or text 314-459-3954.

Section 202, row 8. $25 OBO total for the pair. Will transfer electronically and can do Venmo or Paypal.

Preseeds for the Big 12 Championship are scheduled to be released on Monday, with brackets to follow on Wednesday.

Seeding is done by a conference-appointed panel. Top 8 at each weight will be seeded, with the rest drawn in to the bracket. Bracket draws are done behind closed doors, from what I can tell.

Seeds and brackets are subject to change until Friday night, if there are scratches/replacements between now and then.

Section 131, row 12, seat 8
$50
PayPal or Venmo.
This section is across from the home bench.

Saw this schedule for the 2002-2003 season and the women played an exhibition against Johnson Financial?

There is no college called that. There is a Johnson Financial company out of Wisconsin but that’s all I could find so far.

@ChrisMWilliams any way to get a confirmation on what the heck this team was? Or anyone else have info?

Also shout out to the Men’s playing Coe that year

SOLD

I have an extra 2 bed hotel room at the Crown Plaza for the Big 12 Tournament. I have it booked for Thursday thru Sunday, but if you wanted to adjust your stay they will allow you. I book my rooms early, so I get a really good deal. Message me if you are interested in the room and I will get you details. This hotel is easily walking distance to the P&L, right across the street is where the women play their tournament and the hotel where the men's team stays is close.

I want to cancel by EOD Friday.

Ok, we all know TCU isn’t a good team. They reside at the bottom of the big 12 for a reason. Everyone counted this as an easy win. But…what team would show up for ISU? Would they struggle for a win or dominate?

The first quarter showed the sisters fighting hard for second chance opportunities. Joens, D and Fritz all picked up offensive rebounds and converted for two.

TCU was a strange rumbling mess of balls going everywhere and somehow managing to get the ball in the basket. With 4:37 left it was all tied up at 10.

The teams traded baskets back and forth with the sisters defense seeming to break at inopportune moments and allowing TCU to stay in the game.

The offense had chances to pull ahead and just seemed to find ways to misfire. But, after a fine Fritz recovery of a bad pass and score Joens had a great “break the seam” play for a traditional three. Donarski followed with a long distance three and the ladies lead 25-18 after one. The last minute was just a flurry of scoring. Prior to that flurry the score was 17-17. Use that as a reference going forward.

In the second the offense was firing on all cylinders right out of the gate. Kane would hit a jumper and Joens would score inside and out to spread the lead to 32-20 to force a TCU timeout. Defense also stepped up forcing TCU into turnovers and missed shots.

Joens was feeling it from deep hitting another trey.

The game devolved into a bit of a scrum for a bit. Lots of physical bouncing around with no relief from the stripes.

One of the very real positives was the scoring was being spread around with Joens going for 20 but everyone being involved. It was impressive to see Ashley actively looking for teammates when she was doubled.

After a 20-7 run the half ended with the sisters ahead 47-24.

the third started ok and the defense was being stingy. The offense was missing on some good looks, but all aspects of the game looked positive.

In a play typical of her entire game, Kane powered in for two. She was very active rebounding as well.

A couple of minutes of offensive mess and the ladies still edged the lead to 55-31 at the media timeout.

The ladies continued to frustrate an overmatched TCU team on the defensive end and pretty much dictated what happened on the offensive end. Each time I glanced at the clock TCU wasn’t getting anything and our ladies were increasing the gap. It was 62-33 at the 2:41 mark.

Twice in a row Joens went into a double team and found the open trey with Diew and Ryan. I love this awareness!

Some great passing at the end of the third to find an open Donarski and an…air ball. That was pretty much the only bad thing that happened that quarter.

End of three 70-34. It was all over except for the fat lady singing.

The fourth quarter started with Kane, Donarski and Joens on the bench. We wouldn’t see Donarski or Joens again.

Scoring for both teams was hard to come by as TCU was just TCU and the sisters had new groups playing together. It just wasn’t pretty either way.

Five min in and ISU had only outscored TCU 6-2. Yep…that ugly.

Kane returned and would hit what I think was her second trey of her career to loud applause from the Hilton faithful. 3 min left and the bench was cleared.

The rest of the game was watching TCU go to the line and make free throws and foul after foul was called. On our end there wasn’t much offense to speak of from the reserves. Final 84-56.

Observations:
POG - Joens all the way. This was the kind of game we need from her all the time. She scored inside and out and found open teammates from double teams. 30 min, 22 points and 11 boards. THREE assists.

Ryan - a little of everything tonight. 12 points, 5 boards and 4 assists. I know she wishes she had a couple of the three turnovers back.

Donarski - another solid game on both ends. We found out you don’t piss her off as well.

Fritz- an off night from deep but 9 points and 5 boards. Tough on D.

Diew - not her best game. Still gets beat on defense. Coach made some adjustments there to help with a double down low that raised havoc with TCU’s inside play.

Kane - she was a BEAST. 17 points and 8 boards. She was authoritative.

M&M - Got lots of minutes. Watched her closely and you can tell something just isn’t right. Did a nice job with her minutes though.

Izzi - thought she might set a record for fouls in the shortest amount of time. She was like a bill in a china closet a couple of times.

Free throws. The starters were excellent. Overall the team made 11-15, but the misses were mostly reserves.

Treys - 9 -27. Not great and not bad.

Assists - had an assist on 50% of the baskets scored.

So, this went as hoped. Starters got a breather with a the next game in Lawrence Wednesday. Another game the ladies should win. Let’s hope the good things we saw today carry over.

Side note…weather forecast for the tournament in KC is looking cool again. Not snow like last year, but mid 40’s for a high. See you all there!

TICKETS HAVE BEEN SOLD.
Offering two good upper level seats for the Iowa State vs West Virginia men’s BB on Monday, Feb 27. The seats are in
section 234, ROW 2, seats 11 and 12. Good view of the court. The game is at 8pm. Offering the pair for $75.
Payment accepted by Venmo and tickets transferred digItaly upon confirmation from Venmo.

Everything Bill Fennelly, Ashley Joens and Emily Ryan had to say on their team's 84-56 win over TCU Saturday:

I'm sure I'm not the only one that does this, but sometimes I find myself betting on Iowa or against ISU, with the thought that even if I don't get the outcome I want (ISU winning or Iowa losing) that at least I'll make some money off of it. Today when Iowa came back and won, which lead to me winning my bet, I said to my buddies that I would gladly lose the money to watch Iowa lose. This lead to the discussion...

If you could pay a certain amount to guarantee Iowa State wins a game (football or basketball), how much would you pay?
If you could pay a certain amount to guarantee Iowa loses a game (football or basketball), how much would you pay?

A couple rules:
- Not paying does not guarantee the opposite result. (ie If I pay 10 bucks to win the Kansas game and that's it, it doesn't mean we go 1-25)
- End of season tournaments or playoffs are not buyable.