Against some of the top teams we could potentially play in the NCAA tournament? Obviously we still have a Big 12 title race and Big 12 tourney ahead, but curious to hear some opinions on how we might match-up with Kentucky, Virginia, Duke, ZONA, Wiscy, etc.
How will we do
- Thread starter baller1
- Start date
Gonzaga IMO is overrated I'm for sure we'd take care of them. I'm just excited to see who we get matched up with.
*Put on homer glasses*
Kentucky - we win by 15+
Virginia - we win by 23+
Duke - we win by18+
Zona - we win by 25+
Wiscy - we beat by 19+
*Remove homer glasses*
What was the question again?
Not to be a smart aleck but the better question is how do most teams match up against us. The motion multi position offense that we run is pretty hard to prepare against on short NCAA turnarounds. Kentucky is so deep that is probably the biggest challenge. If we can go out and play solid defense and shoot a good percentage on offense we can play with anyone. I feel some of the challenge in the Big 12 is that people know what we are going to do.
I can't stress how much I want to play Kentucky. If we got hot it would be an incredibly high scoring game, because Kentucky could probably score inside at will.
i think our matchups with them also depend on when we would play them. in most of those cases, i'd rather play the team in the Elite 8 than Final Four. an exception might be UK. Cleveland will be PACKED with their fans. but otherwise, i think you have the slight chance to catch the teams looking ahead. as we've talked about a lot, it's one thing to plan for us in the B12, but another to only have a couple days warning to match up with our style.
CycloneErik
Well-Known Member
ISU's big advantage in the NCAA tournament will be the quick turnaround time between games, giving opposing coaches little time to prepare for an offense that their guys are unaccustomed to seeing. Of course I'm biased but I don't see a team out there this side of Kentucky that the Cyclones can't hang with. The 'Cats might be a different story, though.
Put us in a bracket with Zaga or Louisville as 1 seeds, and lookout ( assuming we play to our potential in the early rounds)....
HoopsTournament
Well-Known Member
demoncore1031
Well-Known Member
I'm more worried about these last four games than anything. The two tough opponents are both at Hilton, while K-State and TCU are on the road. Now that we have a couple road wins in a row, I think we could win out.
I also hope we run into them in the National Championship game. But I'd be extremely bummed if we lost that game!
Who better to counter an NBA team (UK) than a coach who runs his team with NBA principles? Maybe, we catch them off guard and show them what a team with a pulse can do.
For the record i believe Kansas would keep it closer than 30 if that game were played again too.
For the record i believe Kansas would keep it closer than 30 if that game were played again too.
Teams I would expect to cause ISU the most problems are 1) Big and athletic/offensive rebounding 2) Defensive and slow or 3) Shoot well from 3.
Assuming UVA is healthy, that is about the definition of a team that gives ISU trouble; top defense, slowest team in the nation. Wisconsin's ability to stretch the floor +Kaminsky would cause problems. And Okafor is probably the single worst matchup for ISU in the whole country.
I'd almost prefer to play UK and double down and let the Harrisons try to beat us from outside. Almost.
Assuming UVA is healthy, that is about the definition of a team that gives ISU trouble; top defense, slowest team in the nation. Wisconsin's ability to stretch the floor +Kaminsky would cause problems. And Okafor is probably the single worst matchup for ISU in the whole country.
I'd almost prefer to play UK and double down and let the Harrisons try to beat us from outside. Almost.